Violence

Today in history, my teacher spent most of the class talking about the Middle Ages and, more specifically, the crusades. It makes me so sad to think about how many people died at the hands of these people who said they were fighting for Christ, many of whom truly believed that this was how to "carry his cross". This brought up some important questions about what the Bible says about violence. After all, many Christians throughout the ages have supported violence in some way.


I don't think anyone can argue against the fact that Jesus's teaching revolves around love. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus about what commandment in the Law was the greatest, Jesus replied that the greatest command is to love God with all your heart, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40). Jesus's entire ministry and message revolves around loving everyone - not just the Jews, God's original chosen people, but the Gentiles as well. As followers of Jesus today, we are also called to love our neighbors as ourselves. This doesn't just include fellow citizens of the United States, but also citizens of the world; not only Christians, but people of every faith, because we are all God's children, made in His image. This message of love, of course, translates into a message of nonviolence. Jesus reaffirms this specific call to nonviolence in Matthew 26:47-56, when he is arrested. Jesus condemns one of his disciples for trying to draw his sword to save him, and there is no greater cause for violence than the murder of our Lord.


Most people will agree with all of this, saying yes, Jesus was all about the passive thing, the nonviolence thing, but they often still ask about extreme cases. "Aren't there some exceptions to this rule? What about Hitler?"


This is a really hard question. It's easy for us to look back at genocides or at Nazi Germany and say, "There was absolutely no other option! We had to go in and save the people who were being oppressed. We had to help!" The bottom line is, though, it's not up to us to decide who is deserving of life or death. We are not called to liberate people through violence. Turning to violence says that we don't trust God to liberate His sons and daughters through love and peace. Did God not lead the Israelites out of Egypt? God will win, He will free the oppressed and cast judgements on the oppressor. And because God has given us His Holy Spirit, we are now called to be His hands and feet, to liberate His people by means of His love and mercy. We are called to be Oskar Schindlers and Martin Luther King Jrs. We are called to love until it hurts, and then keep on loving. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
                                                                                                     -Matthew 5:3-10


That could have been my whole post, honestly. I can't say it any better than Jesus!


For a great book about nonviolence, politics, and how to be a Christian in our country today, check out Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw's book called Jesus for President. It's awesome.


Tomorrow at 3pm I'll be leaving to go on a retreat for the weekend, so there won't be any posts until Sunday or Monday! :( If you think of it, please pray for all of those on the retreat, that God would use this time to shape us evermore in His image and evermore ready to serve Him.


Hope you have a great weekend :)