Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Another Good Article

A nice read, especially considering that Easter just passed.

Peace Be With You

posted by John Pierce @ 12:10 AM   2 comments

2 Comments:

At 2:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting article. I appreciated how the author addressed the main arguments people use against pacifism. However, what should be the Christian response when people are being tortured under their government? I realize that obviously we should try to aid people, and Christians do that to some extent. But does there never come a point when we must use force to stop injustice? What good does it do to feed and clothe people when they are daily living under oppression. (And I don't mean a non-Democratic government...I'm talking about a government that intentionally harms and tortures a segment of its population) It's a difficult question, but I tend towards the just-war position that argues that use of force is justified to protect the innocent and as a last resort. Now, I realize this is a tricky position. It's easy for a country to say they are going to war for just reasons, when really they have economic or other interests (as I think we have seen in Iraq). Also, it is a lot easier to send soldiers off to war to deal with a problem rather than show actual Christian compassion. Even in our own country, we are reluctant to help those who need it. But still I just can't say that the use of force is never justified. Sorry for the long comment. Thanks for the thought-provoking article.

 
At 11:06 PM, Blogger John Pierce said...

Kayla,
Don't worry about the comment being long. In fact, I really appreciate it.

The issue you raise is definitely the tricky one, the one I keep coming back to. I can only claim to be about 95% pacifist because I've never totally settled on the point of what to do concerning instances of genocide/torture. My position's not entirely settled.

Still, I'm pretty sure that I am a pacifist (though, admittedly, a wimp of one). I just keep coming back to Christ's situation. He was definitely living in the midst of violence and oppression. What the Romans were doing to the first century Jews (and what they would particularly do in the decades right after Christ died) has often been called genocide, and the other men who claimed to be the messiah in that time tended to make their claim by raising a resistance. Christ could have done that and stopped that injustice. I think that Satan basically offered him that chance, and Christ's response was to die on the cross instead. That's where I keep coming back to on my position. Considering Christ's actions within his historical situation, I can't see him participating in war.

I could definitely be wrong though.

 

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