Roberto C. Sanchez wrote:
Agreed. There is instance after instance in the Bible where men turned to warfare or individual violence to either protect people or principle. Jesus did this himself in the temple. He grabbed a whip, overturned tables, and cleared the temple of all the cheats, money grubbers, etc... who were making a living by corrupting the Jewish religion by making it more about money than principle, not once, but twice. He also said it would be better for a child molester to have had a stone hung around his neck and been drowned than to come to judgment after he had done so. Also, Abraham, called the "friend of God" in the Bible, armed all the men who worked for him and fought a battle to free his nephew Lot when what the Bible refers to as the "cities on the plain", which includes Sodom and Gommorah, had been conquered by rival kings and their inhabitants made prisoner. He was worried afterward about the repercussions of having taken up arms against the kings who had started the war and God basically told him to not worry about as he had done the right thing. The idea that Christians are never to stand for principle, never to fight is a total misunderstanding. A Christian, who actually follows the Bible is supposed to be more than willing to defend those who are being taken advantage of and those who cannot defend themselves. There are clear and explicit instructions about that in the Bible. Any Christian who turns his back on someone else who is greatly in need of being protected, in any way, is not following the teachings of the Bible. No Christian should be a namby pamby, I cannot physically defend anyone because I'm a pacifist. If they are they most certainly are not following the example set by Jesus and the patriarchs of old. David used to pray and ask for help before battles and God would give him the strategies he used in the battles to defeat Isreal's enemies. If warfare was against the principles of the Bible then God would have never helped David in war. It would have been against His very nature and His own commandments. Also, very few people realize that the very first recorded war was fought in heaven, not on earth. The devil rebelled against the government of God along with 1/3 of the angels and it took open warfare to kick him out of heaven. The Bible specifically mentions this war. That is found in Revelation 12:7. The Bible also says God makes war. That is found in Revelation 19:11. The Bible defends goodness, justice, right, etc... and realizes that in an imperfect world that there are those who will refuse to honor those principles, and that war is sometimes necessary so that innocent people may live and tyrants and evil may be stopped from harming more people. That lesson is taught throughout the Bible.On Wed, Mar 07, 2007 at 06:35:40AM -0600, Ron Johnson wrote:On 03/06/07 23:13, Paul Johnson wrote:Neoconservatives are so fond of thumping on the Bible, and yet fail to turn the other cheek when presented with the opportunity. Hardly the pinnacle of morality they claim to be.That's the 2nd time you've said something sensible. Stop that!!!Actually, what he said is nonsense and only demonstrates his ingorance of the scriptures. Also, now where in the Bible does is it say that turning the other cheek means being a doormat. Regards, -Roberto
War is rarely just, but there are just wars. Roberto C. Sanchez <roberto@connexer