In response to something I wrote earlier where I stated that I am a pacifist, someone commented that a Christian pacifist needs to be able to defend their position. First I need to state that by pacifist; I mean someone that rejects violence, not someone that is quiet in the face of injustice.
My short one line defense is simply this: You can not take up your cross until you put down your weapons. In a way, that says it all. I have heard people state that Jesus took up His cross so we don't have too. That is not the gospel message of Jesus; He was quite explicit that we; His followers, must take up our own cross as well.
“...and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me”. - Matthew 10:38
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”. - Matthew 16:25
He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”. - Mark 8:34
Then he said to them all, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me”. - Luke 9:23
“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”. - Luke 14:27
“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life”. - John 12:25
The rest of the New Testament makes it clear, none of the followers of Jesus use violence to defend themselves or their group. The Bible records that Stephen and James are killed and talks about the type of death that Peter will endure. No violence is used in their defense. The clearest example is Paul also known as Saul. Before Paul accepts Jesus; he has no problem killing people to force his religious views.
And Saul approved of their killing him. - Acts 8:1
After Jesus confronts Paul on the Damascus road; he clearly rejects violence. He is beaten and even stoned but neither him or his followers fight back with violence.
“Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning”. - 2 Corinthians 11:25a
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them”. - Romans 12:14
By taking up His cross; Jesus taught that the way to bring heaven on earth was to suffer violence without resorting to violence. The cross breaks the cycle of violence, when someone suffers violence, that natural response is to strike back, or to use violence to subdue someone else weaker. It never brings true peace, it might bring submission, but they are not the same. On the cross, Jesus showed he would rather die than to kill. Violence is about obtaining earthly power, the cross is about being a servant. Jesus does not call us to silence, He stood up to the powerful, the religious leaders and the empire in defense of the needy and the outcast. That is dangerous work, it got him killed. He received hate and violence and returned love and forgiveness. That is the message of the cross. That is the power to change the world, that is the power we get when we accept the Holy Spirit. It is our privilege to play that forward, not because we are required but because the love of Christ leads us. Christianity only grows by passing on love.
We love because he first loved us. 1John 4:19
Picking up a weapon, even if just a clenched fist, is to reject the cross and hence is a rejection of Christ. The use in violence shows a faith in individuals, in the empire, in us, we do not trust God to resolve the situation in our favor. It is no longer about the Kingdom of Heaven but about our own prosperity against the outsiders. Once we accept violence, it is just a matter of who to use violence against and it is our decision. We are no longer the servant, we want to be the master. We are not seeking greatness according to Jesus but earthly greatness.
But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave” - Matthew 20:25-27
One of the biggest arguments in defense of violence and one that personally struggled with is Nazi Germany. The argument that it took violence to stop Germany in WWII is a good one. However, it is important to note that most Germans also considered themselves Christian. In fact, Germans that called themselves Christians were more likely than others to support the nazi movement. The time for Christians to stop the nazi movement was at the beginning. When Christianity turns inward and starts to put itself first it has lost Christ and a short distance to hating those that are different. Then they feel justified to use violence.
In addition, Jesus in the parable of the wheat and tares says not to uproot the tares because you will do more harm than good. We are to trust God and not to repay evil for evil or violence for more violence.
“‘Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” - Matthew 13:30
The idea that we can provide peace by violence or the threat of violence (often called peace by strength) has led to a world where several countries have the power to destroy the whole earth. This while the justification for war keeps getting lower. This is a dangerous mix.
From an individual use of violence standpoint the argument is that weapons, most often guns, are needed for protection of individuals and families. However, gun ownership statically makes people more likely to suffer gun violence. Yet, we still trust in ourselves instead of God.
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will die by the sword”. - Matthew 26:52
I see memes often that state, it is not the gun, making reference that it is just a tool. I agree it is not the guns, it is the people that put their faith in violence. However, they are the ones that drive the gun industry, especially the industry for guns designed to kill fellow humans. The US has the highest gun ownership rate of any industrialized nation and it is the country of school shootings. Also our police force kills those it is designed to protect at a level roughly 10 times that of Europe. Fighting violence with more violence is a downward spiral.
When we believe in violence we are not furthering the Kingdom of Heaven, where the world is changed by love of all neighbors including enemies. We are not seeking greatness as Jesus taught by being a servant, violence is about worldly greatness. In summary, we can not follow Christ unless we reject violence because we cannot take up our cross unless we put down our weapons.
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