Posted on 4/8/2003, 1:25:15 AM by Raymond Fabrizio
Some people ask me,”How can you being a preacher be for war? There has been so much misunderstanding of the Bible teaching on this vital subject. Some ministers have taken verses out of context or distorted their meanings.
Did not Jesus say, “Turn your other cheek”?
“You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say unto you, that you resist not evil.; but whosoever shall smite you on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Many take this to mean that it is not right for a Christian to defend himself but rather one ought to be passive. The fact is Christ is not teaching pacifism here.
The Lord Jesus is dealing with personal insults here rather than bodily injury. He is giving a general principle on how to respond after being insulted. It has nothing to do with what one must do when being physically attacked and having one’s life or wife threatened. This is not an absolute rule. Jesus is speaking primarily to individuals and not governments here. Most often, the most effective way to overcome evil is by not retaliating. I try to practice what I preach on the tennis court. Many partners have chided or blamed me for losing a point during a game, but I never once retaliated when they made a mistake. If someone tries wrongly to cut in front of you on the freeway, it is usually best just to let them do it.
Should the world have turned the other cheek to Hitler when he invaded Poland? When Osama Ben Laden ordered the attack on the WTC, should America have responded by letting him demolish the Sears Tower as well? If we are to carry this pacifist philosophy to the logical conclusion, we should do away with the military, the police , and justice system!
Bible examples of self-defense:
Abraham once mustered one of the first armed militias to rescue his kidnapped nephew, Lot (Gen. 14:21). This was not revenge but was solely to rescue a relative and to retrieve private property.
"If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him…." (Ex. 22:2-3).
So protecting your family and possessions by using physical force when an intruder enters your home at night is legitimate. If you end up killing the thief, it is not your fault.
Luke 22:36 says: “ Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one".
Our Lord here encouraged His disciples to get protection. He was speaking of a literal sword according to verse 38. Jesus’ rebuke of Peter’s use of the sword in another occasion was because of the nature of His mission- to die for the world. He did not want Peter to use force to protect him from being arrested. Jesus’ statement that "all who live by the sword, shall die by the sword" was not a ban on defending oneself, but rather a condemnation of those who live by violence (like the terrorists).
“But doesn’t the 10 commandments say ‘Thou shalt not kill’?”
In Exodus 20:13, the word “kill” in the Hebrew means cold-blooded, premeditated murder. The accurate English translation would be "You shall not murder". All murders are killings, but not all killings (such as in a just war or self-defense) are murders.
Pacifism and appeasement only buys temporary peace: The false prophets in the old Testament cried, “Peace, peace when there is no [real] peace” Many engage in wishful thinking, that if America will only be nice and loooooongsuffering to Satan, I mean Saddam Hussein, he won’t bother us by using surrogates or supplying them with weapons of mass destructions. It is true that war is cruel, but long- term pacifism would result in even more harm to the world because it would give ambitious despots virtually free reign. The amnesiac people of France today will be speaking German!
But doesn’t Isaiah 2:4 says,” Thou shalt beat the swords into plowshares…?”
Yes, but look at the context in verse 2, it describes the “last days” when God will be on the throne with true global peace in the future! The liberal clergyman never quotes Joel 3:9,10 where it talks about beating plowshares into swords!
Luke 3:14 allows military service:
It is significant that John the Baptist did not tell the soldiers to leave the military when they asked him a question. Instead, he suggested he be a good, contented soldier and not to abuse their power.
Rom. 13:1-6 clearly supports a government, which is tough on crime & punishes evil-doers. It calls good police officers “ministers of God”!
1 Peter 2:13-4 confirms the teaching of Romans 13:3-4 In 1 Peter 2:13-14, we are taught: "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right."
The Bible shows us in both the Old and New Testaments that our God of love is also a God of justice and righteousness. Force is never condemned in the Scriptures – only the misuse of force. Love and force are not incompatible in God’s mind. God is not a sissified God! Modern Americans are so sissified they cry more for the bad thugs than for the good guys! Dan Rather borders on treasonous to allow Saddam Hussein 3 hours of free TV time to play on the weak emotions of American! It would have been unimaginable if we had given 3 hours to Hitler on national TV! We have come a looong way!
Principles of a Just War :
From the days of Augustine in 400AD, church leaders including Calvin and Luther have taught a just war can be fought with just intent and after peaceful means failed. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace or obtain security from future attacks. In spite of current charges of imperialist America, she has restrained herself every time from taking any land after defeating a foe. She has gone on to rebuild her enemies’ city and economy (Japan, Germany). Can you name another nation that has amassed as much military power and abused it less? I am saddened to hear America bashed and trashed daily by so-called “peace” protesters! Their actions and civil disobedience after war breaks out during March did not seem very peaceful or civil! Lastly, space would not permit me to show strong evidence by eyewitnesses, Iraqi defectors (not mentioned by the mainstream media) that Iraq was behind both attacks on the WTC, that terrorists have been trained at Salman Pak, Iraq to overpower flight attendants, hijack planes, that Iraq has trained terror thugs to poison, attack America with WMD. Most people think terrorist attacks on America began on 911. They forgot that since 1972, American targets have been attacked, last I counted over 20 times, resulting in over 800 Americans killed before 911! America, contrary to the liberals’ criticism, has been very patient! The Middle Eastern terrorist network has long declared war on us, not vice versa. We have pressed the snooze button on our alarm clock over 20 times and finally woke up on 911! Watch and pray.
The number one passion of Hussein is to obtain a nuclear weapon to detonate it on US soil, according to his ex-mistress and defectors. Hussein would spend hours watching gleefully prisoners tortured, babies torched, eyes gouched out… He enjoyed watching videos of Atomic explosion on Hiroshima. He is a clear and present danger to not only America, the Middle East, but also the world... President Bush should be saluted for having the courage and foresight of a modern day Winston Churchill to stop this madman before another 911 hits us, except a lot worse. It does not take intelligence to criticize, but how would you like to be in his shoes, knowing that for the rest of your life, you & your family might be in danger of assassination or kidnapping?
Before you join the chorus of the Marxist-instigated and controlled “peace rallies”, what would you do if say you are the president and you decide to wait and see instead of going to war. You got a call from Hussein 6 months from now, ”Mr. Bush, I got a nuclear bomb smuggled into one of your 120 major cities, ain’t telling you which one, I will detonate it within 48 hours, killing hundreds of thousands unless you meet my demands…?” What would you do? Would you evacuate every one of the cities? Haven’t you heard of nuclear blackmail?
True, and similar to, "All that is necessary for evil to succeed, is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.