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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Should Christians practice nonresistance | Lev 26:6 | Makarios | 15627 | ||
Should a Christian practice nonresistance, even in the face of violence and warfare? | ||||||
2 | Should Christians practice nonresistance | Lev 26:6 | Sir Pent | 15828 | ||
I am called to never kill another human. The answer to this question is extremely difficult to apply to all Christians. But let me explain what I believe God's will is for me. When it all boils down, it is a question of whether it is right for you personally to kill another specific person. So lets look at some common reasons for killing people. Some of these are easy to throw out as obviously unchristian motives. I think that we would all agree that it would be wrong to kill a person becuase of greediness for another person's wealth or position of power. I would also assume that all Christians would, upon reflection, agree that it would be wrong to kill a person becuase of hate, even due to such terrible things as adultery or abuse. I only say "upon reflection" because some Christians might have a first reaction of supporting a wife, who has been beaten for years, finally fighting back and killing her husband. Then there are those middle areas where most, but not all Christians agree that killing is wrong. This would include abortions. I think all Christians would agree that abortion is wrong when motivated by its most common reason, convienence (the mother just doesn't want to deal with having a kid). However, more Christians would be supportive if the girl had been raped, and a very high number of Christians would support killing the baby if the life of the mother was in danger. I believe however, that it is wrong to kill a baby, even to ease the pain of the trauma associated with rape. And although it is more difficult to say absolutely when the mother's life is endangered, I believe personally that it too is wrong. Another of these issues where there is disagreement within the Christian community is the death penalty. Many Christians would say that it is right to kill a serial killer. They would say that this is what that criminal deserves, that it keeps them from harming more people, and that it deters others from following in their path. Once again, I would disagree. I believe that it is wrong to kill a human to set an example, or based on what they might do in the future, or even to get the fair revenge for what they have done in the past. Finally, there are some issues, which the vast majority of Christianity agrees are appropriate reasons to kill a person. These would include protecting of countries (wars) and protection of our families (from criminals). I'm going to go out on a limb here to be in the very small minority who believes that these too are wrong. As a soldier in a war, it seems that there would only be a few motivations when one fires one's gun to kill someone, or pushes the button to blow up someone. The first is that one likes doing it, and I think all Christians would agree that is sinful. A second is that one really believes in one's cause. For instance, one could believe that democracy is so much better than communism that one was willing to kill a Vietnamese man in order to keep a country from switching political systems. This is an oversimplification and I am probably extremely offending any Vietnam veterans on our forum, which is not my intent. Please be patient with me. The third reason that I can think of is that one could feel that it was one's duty to obey the orders of one's superiors. I agree that God wants us to respect the authorities over us, but I think that our obedience is limited by the will of God. Therefore, if an authority over us commands us to do something that goes against that (such as, in my opinion, killing people), then we are not responsible to obey that command. The last issue that comes to mind is that of protecting one's family. Almost all Christians would say that if a burglar broke into their home and was threatening to kill their family, that it would be right to kill that person. This brings up a couple of questions. Should we do something wrong to keep someone else from doing something wrong? More classically this is the question, "Do the ends justify the means?" The second question is based on an assumption. Probability would indicate that the family members of a Christian are more likely to be in a better relationship with God than a murderer who breaks into their house. So the question is, "Which is worse, for the murderer to kill the innocent family members (who would probably go to Heaven for eternity), or for the Christian to kill the criminal (who would almost definately spend eternity in Hell)?" I know that most people in the Christian community and probably on this forum will disagree (some extremely) with this perspective. I ask that you please respond gracefully, not for my sake (I could take the attacks), but because of all the other people who will read these posts and judge Christianity by how we deal with each other. They will know we are Christians by our love. |
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3 | Should Christians practice nonresistance | Lev 26:6 | Reformer Joe | 15840 | ||
You wrote: "I believe that it is wrong to kill a human to set an example, or based on what they might do in the future, or even to get the fair revenge for what they have done in the past." I do not view the death penalty as revenge or deterrant so much as I view it as justice. When the society establishes a death penalty for heinous crimes, what it in effect is saying is that the values that the crime violates are so cherished that the violator should be completely eliminated from the society. This has Biblical precedent. Even though we are not ancient Israel, obviously it is not always wrong for a society to execute those who violate the highest mores of that society. --Joe! |
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4 | Should Christians practice nonresistance | Lev 26:6 | Sir Pent | 15841 | ||
Death penalty in OT is good, death penalty in NT is bad. I agree with you that in ancient Israel, it was right to kill people for certain reasons. For instance God specifically commanded stoning to death for certain sins, and specifically commanded killing certain kings and enemy nations. However, I think that a fundamental change occurred, which causes killing for any reason to no longer be an appropriate action. This fundamental change happended between Christ's death and resurrection. During that time, Jesus preached to all the people who had died before that time. Therefore, it seems that although the people in the OT were killed in the body, they still had a chance to later hear Christ's message to them. However, from that time on, people have had the opportunity to hear the message of salvation during this lifetime, so that when they die, their eternity is set. This is why I think that killing people now is so terrible. It not only kills their body, but also takes away any chance that they would later come to know Christ and be saved. I think that it is interesting and somewhat supportive that never in the NT is it presented as good for a human to kill someone. In fact the only times when death is seen as a good thing, it is done by God Himself (Annanias and his wife Saphira, King Herrod). P.S. Joe, I know that you come from the reformed perspective and therefore probably believe that giving someone more time to choose whether to follow God is irrelevant, because they are predestined one way or the other. This has of course been thoroughly discussed in other threads. But, I want to give everyone as much of an opportunity as possible to come to relationship with God. |
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5 | Should Christians practice nonresistance | Lev 26:6 | Reformer Joe | 15856 | ||
More later, but I just wanted to note the perspective you cited as "reformed" is held by others outside of that tradition. Anyone who holds that God is sovereign will agree that no one dies unless it is ordained (or at least permitted) by God. I would suppose that even under a view in which God merely "foresees" the choices we will make, that a just God would not let someone be killed who otherwise would in his life trust Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. Therefore, I don't see how "we" as human beings are giving people any more of a chance by prolonging their lives. Otherwise, we enter into the dangerous territory of claiming that deaths are "accidental" or "untimely" from God's perspective. "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father." --Matthew 10:29 "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment," --Hebrews 9:27 Thanks! --Joe! |
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