BD
Over at Faith Impoverished, Tim Gombis has a excellent post on christian non-violence entitled "The Logic of Religious Violence." On this matter, my own view has been changing over the past year or so. I have found that so often I acquiesce to an American driven theology of life, instead of one driven by cruciformity (conformity to the crucified Christ). Check out Gombis' post (here) and let me know your thoughts.
BD
2 Comments
9/20/2012 09:58:45 am
The foundational questions that are raised certainly are worth wrestling with in our lives. I just finished preaching through Rom.12 and I am now into ch.13 with government and submission. So I think there are certain tensions here that Paul raises in our response to evil. I had to ponder, while preaching through the "overcome evil with good" section, why Jesus told them to grab their sword on the way out the door that night. I don't have all the answers on that scenario. Nor do I think I know what I would do if someone entered my house with a gun, but it isn't likely I would offer him coffee :O However I know the goal is to turn them away from their evil. What I like about Paul's text in Rom. 12 is that everything links back to v1-2 of the chapter and the gospel. I am trying to hammer that into my heart desires when I think about bad things said or done to me. How can I turn it into a gospel opportunity? How will I show them what a gospel-driven life looks like?
Benji Davis
9/21/2012 06:03:26 am
It is interesting that Jesus tells the disciples to grab a sword as they head out the door to the garden where he was to be betrayed. But, was this Jesus' okay to use of the sword? Just a few verses later (assuming your reference was to Luke 22), the disciples responded, "Lord, should we strike with the sword?" and before Jesus could respond one of the disciples removed someone's ear. This prompted Jesus to say, "No more of this!" Then he placed the ear back on the man's head. In the parallel passage in Matthew, Jesus responds to the incident by telling them to put the sword away because those who live by it will die by it (Matt 26:52). Jesus may have told them to bring the swords in order to demonstrate that even though the tools to ward off his captors were available he voluntarily handed himself over. Leave a Reply. |