By Jon Kauffman

I have been asking Christians why they feel it’s acceptable for Christians to use violence for 40 years. Listed below are reasons I have been hearing. I have provided a link to my response. I am planning to post responses to more of the reasons.

I think the best argument I have heard is “Protecting your family when violent people come.” (See reason 1 below.) But even in this case an alternative to the Christian using violence almost always occurs.

Notice however, that when we start looking for reasons to defend a pacifist position using the teachings of Jesus or the examples of Jesus, Paul, Peter & James, we can easily find one argument after another. For example, in Matthew 5: 8-13, Jesus shows us how to treat an enemy by healing the centurions servant. (See reason 13 below)

Arguments people have given me to suggest that it is acceptable for Christians to us violence:

Protecting your family when violent people come.
See my response:

Agent X, Blogger, “Intruder”.

How Jesus Fights Wars
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Protecting your country when violent armies come.
See my response:

The Flag and Daniel.

What About Hitler?
.
Protecting religious freedom.
See my response:

Should a Christian Fight for Freedom?

How Jesus Fights Wars.
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Protecting vulnerable neighbors when violent people come.
See my response:

SERMON OF SUBVERSION: SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Violence and Responses.
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They feel like they are doing the right thing.
See my response:

Hiroshima and Mass Murder?
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Some say we have the right to self-defense. Keith Giles wrote a Christian Bill of Rights. See it here: “Christian Bill of Rights.” Pastor Giles did not include self-defense and I agree.
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Soldiers have good medical benefits. Should a Christian put medical benefits as a higher priority than following the teachings of Jesus?
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Soldiers have good educational opportunities. Should a Christian put education as a higher priority than following the teachings of Jesus?
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The military teaches discipline. It takes great discipline to follow the teachings of Jesus. Which is a higher priority?
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Veterans are recognized as heroes.
See my response:

Why I Can’t Thank Veterans.

What Do We Owe Veterans? Or The Last Native American
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Theologians such as St. Augustine and Martin Luther have justified Christian use of violence. The issue is settled and we don’t need to talk about it anymore. See my response:

St Augustine’s Mistake.

Greatest Heresy of All Time? Just War Doctrine?

Does Just War Exist?

The Authority We Follow
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Paul used the Armor of God (Military references) as a metaphor for Christian spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:11-17. Because Paul referenced military equipment, that means he approved of Christians participating in military violence.
See my response:

The Armor of God, Ephesians 6:11-17
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Jesus healed the Centurion’s servant and did not ask him to leave the military. Matthew 8:5-13.
See my response:

Jesus and the Roman Centurion, Matthew 8:5-13

OUR FRIEND TALKS PACIFISM
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Romans 13 teaches that Christians are to be subject to the state.
See my response:

Does Romans 13 Justify Christian Participation in Violence?

Can Christians Join the US Military?

Submission to Governing Authorities: A Study of Romans 13:1-7 by Matthew G. Neufeld

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John the Baptist gave the soldiers advice and did not ask them to leave the military.
See my response:

Does John the Baptist Say Christians may Use Violence?
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Christian’s must use violence to protect their constituents when they become involved in politics.
See my response:

Jesus’ Kingdom, The Kingdom of God

Why I Won’t be Voting in 2020.
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Christ himself said, If a man does not own a sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36. I follow Micheal Snow’s blog. Michael has written an excellent response to this argument.

Two Swords: Enough. By Michael Snow.

“No More of This!” (Why Jesus Armed and disarmed Peter) by Brian Zahnd.
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The sixth commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” should read, “Thou shalt not murder”. If you are killing at the request of the state, it is not murder.
See my response:

Hiroshima and Mass Murder

Who is God? Thou Shalt Not Kill
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God commanded Israel to war against the inhabitants of the Promised Land. See my response:

Seven Reasons the Old Testament Cannot be used to Justify Christian Violence

Does 2 Kings 9 Justify Christian Violence?

Mary, Warrior of God.

Does Isai a h 2:3-4 Teach Christian Non-Violence?

God Is Not Violent: Korah’s Rebellion

Jason Potterfield discusses Violence in the Old Testament:

New Series: Violence In The Old Testament by Jason Potterfield
Violence In The Old Testament. Part 2: The Problem by Jason Potterfield
Violence In The Old Testament Part 3: Filter The Bible Through Jesus by Jason Potterfield
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Most churches and their leaders support the Christian use of violence.
See my response:

St. Augustine’s Mistake
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Pacifism is not safe and secure. Pacifists must depend on non-pacifists to defend them physically.
See my response:

“Neutering Male Courage.”
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1 Peter 2:13-17 justifies Christian military service.
See my response:

Does 1 Peter 2:13-17 Justify Christian Violence?
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2 Timothy 2: 3 & 4 justifies Christian military service.
See my response:

Does 2 Timothy 2:3 & 4 Justify Christian Military Service
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Evidence of Pacifism in Early church is too fragmentary to know what they thought.
See my Response:

Does Isaiah 2:3-4 Teach Christian Non-Violence?

SERMON OF SUBVERSION: SERMON ON THE MOUNT
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“Pacifism is a satanic belief system designed to hurt innocent people and neuter male courage.”
See my response:

“Neutering Male Courage.”

How Jesus Fights Wars.
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“But for me,the strongest evidence that Christians can join the military in good conscience is God’s command to protect the innocent.”
See my response:

Brandon Adams, Veteran, Teacher
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If Christians did not fight as soldiers, the whole world would fall apart. Christianity would be destroyed and civilization would end.
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To prevent future terrorist attacks. Terrorists would destroy our country if Christians did not fight.
See my response:

“Neutering Male Courage.”
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It is foolish for Christians to depend on evil people for protection.
See my response:
.

Jesus is violent in the book of Revelation and uses violence to bring justice. If Jesus is violent we also can be violent.
See my response:

Does Revelation 19 Justify Violence by Christians?

See how Jesus fights: “Holy War.” video by Greg Boyd
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Christians can fight in any war. The war does not need to be just. The only requirement is that the Christian must fight heroically.

Can Christians Join the US Military?
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Ryan Callahan has written one of the best defenses for Christian violence than I have heard or read over the last 40 years of asking. Ryan said, “Good to meet you Jon. I agree that as followers of Jesus we should be men of peace. The Bible is also clear in 1 Corinthians 13:7 that love always protects. Defending your family is not a matter of violence. It is a matter of love.” Closely related is Phil Robinson’s defense of Christian violence.
See my Response:

See the very interesting conversation between Ryan and Agent X.

Ryan Callahan, Author, Blogger and Everyday Minister
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My friend, Mark Netum told me a story that he felt demonstrated the need of Christians to fight.

Mark Nettum, Veteran, Retired. Does Matthew 13:24-29 Teach Nonviolence?
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“I have no problem with people Christian or otherwise for that matter choosing not to defend themselves ( particularly if doing so would involve violence) I do have an issue with people who refuse to defend OTHER people and/or tell people that it is wrong to use their legal right to self defense.” I found this quote on Christian Forums.

See my Response:

Can Christians Join the US Military?

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Philippians 2:25 and 2 Timothy 2:3,4 clearly justify serving as a soldier.
See my response:

Do Philippians 2:25 and 2 Timothy 2:3,4 Justify Violence by Christians?
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In Numbers 32, two tribes of Israel wanted to stay in Gilead and discontinue fighting. Moses spoke severely to them therefor we also should fight in war.
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One friend said, “Jesus often saves people in the military so it must be alright to work in the military.” Jesus saves people who once were prostitutes and thieves. That does not indicate that is acceptable for people to remain prostitutes and thieves.
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What arguments for violence have I missed? Please feel free to point out any errors in my thinking.

A Few New Testament References That Support A Nonviolent Position:

What arguments for violence have I missed? Please feel free to point out any errors in my thinking.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is dirk-willem-2.jpg — In the Sixteenth Century at least 1500 Anabaptists were tortured and killed because they insisted on living by the teachings of Jesus. An Anabaptist, Dirk Willem was imprisoned to be killed.

Dirk escaped prison and was fleeing for his life. He crossed a pond covered by a thin layer of ice. His pursuer fell through the ice. Dirk turned back and saved his enemy from drowning. The man he saved, grabbed him and held him for arrest. On May 16, 1569, Dirk Willem was executed by fire.

I absolutely agree with you that war is not compatible with Christian belief. It’s the reason I long ago ceased to call myself a Christian. I believe that there are circumstances in which war is justified and would cite the activity of Adolf Hitler and his followers. Had the rest of the world permitted the Nazi’s to continue with their programme, which included unspeakable violence against large numbers of our fellow humans based on their ethnicity/religious beliefs/failure to meet a supposed ideal of physical and mental perfection, neither you nor I would be alive today. Frank Parker

I find Frank’s honesty refreshing. I remain a Christian and believe it is wrong for Christians to participate in war. Why should we leave the Christian faith if most Christians do not follow that faith?

Many times the use of violence seems logical and right, but Jesus taught non-violence and gave us the example of a life and death of non-violence. Nowhere in the teaching of Jesus is violence taught as an acceptable alternative to non-violence.

Jesus as the Son of God has the right to ask his followers to live lives of non-violence if that is what he wants to do.

40 years and I have not found any reasons that Christians use to justify violence, that I felt is convincing.

When We Disagree.

Contact me: jonkauffman01@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2019 by Jon Kauffman Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.
Permission is gladly given to re-blog this post.

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Edited 10/31/2021.

Edited 4/23/2022.

Sunlight streaming through the morning fog. Courtesy Leon Kauffman.

Jesus and the Roman Centurion

By Jon Kauffman

Some Christians feel that because Jesus did not rebuke the Roman Centurion for military service, then Jesus is condoning military service.

The Faith of the Centurion

⁵When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹²But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. Matthew 8:5-13 NIV

In the story, Jesus does not specifically mention the centurion’s career. We do not know that Jesus did not discuss his career with him also. The point of the story is the centurion’s faith. This story comes immediately after the ‘Sermon on the Mount” in chapters Matthew 5-7 where Jesus makes it very clear that we are to love our enemies.

Jews felt the Romans were their enemies. The Romans were brutally violent and evil. Seeing rebelling Jews on crosses around the country was a common sight. Later, at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, Barabbas who was freed was a rebel against Rome and many Jews agreed with him. A Jew joining the Roman military would have been considered a traitor. Most of those among the Jews following Jesus would not have considered joining the Roman military. Far more startling to Matthew’s audience was the fact that Jesus would offer healing, salvation, and forgiveness to an enemy and a gentile.

Jesus healing a servant of a Roman soldier was a striking contrast to the disciple’s desire to see Jesus overthrow the Romans. One of Jesus’ disciples was a zealot. Simon the Zealot. Zealots were a group of Jews who promoted armed rebellion against Roman rule. Perhaps Matthew felt that discussing how the centurion’s career built on violence contradicted the teaching of Jesus was unnecessary.

Perhaps if we follow Jesus’ example with the Roman centurion, we will heal our relationships with our enemies and make friends with soldiers from ISIS and Boko Haram?

Imagine if an American missionary with the gift of healing went to Iraq. Suppose an Isis leader came to the missionary and asked the missionary to pray for healing for his friend. Suppose the Isis leader had heard the missionary preaching. Suppose the Isis leader demonstrated his faith in Jesus in a similar manor as the Centurion demonstrated his faith. Suppose the missionary did pray for the Isis leader’s friend and his friend was healed. The missionary would no more be condoning the Isis leaders career than Jesus was condoning the Centurion’s career. Such a situation would show a Christian following Jesus’ command to love our enemies.

Later in the book of Matthew, in Chapter 24, Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple and violence resulting from the rebellion of the Jews. In 70 AD this destruction occurred. Those who followed the advice of Jesus fled and survived. Those who participated in the rebellion died. One source says a million Jews died in this destruction of Jerusalem.

Jesus saw Roman soldiers killing and abusing his fellow Jews, friends and relatives all his life. He knew he would soon die on a cross at the hand of Roman soldiers. He knew Roman soldiers would soon kill his people, the rebelling Jews in Jerusalem.

Perhaps this story verifies that Jesus loved his enemies with a wild, reckless, healing, forgiving love. He even healed the friend of his enemy the Roman soldier!

It seems to me that it takes a great leap of logic to believe that the healing of an enemy’s servant by Jesus would in any way justify us killing our own enemies today.

Suggesting that because Jesus healed his enemy’s servant means that Christians should join the military is like suggesting that when a Muslim terrorist becomes a Christian, that means we should join the terrorists in fighting the United States.

Maybe Jesus healing the Centurion’s servant was similar in 2001 to an American doctor giving Osama Bin Laden a dialysis machine a few months after 9/11?

Reasons why other Christians participate in violence: Reasons Christians Give to Say Violence by Christians is Legitimate

Jason Potterfield has written an excellent post about the Centurion on “EnemyLove”.

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Jesus and the Roman Centurion

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