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Christian Pacifism
Comments by James Hall - 16 Jan 2002 - 1414

Hello,

I had told myself I wouldn't comment on this subject again, but some recent communications made the temptation too great.

Pacifism is a nice theory, but one must accept the premise that all people are essentially good and that the evil in some people isn't trying to destroy all of the rest of us.  But, of course, the Bible tells us repeatedly that evil has been unleashed in the world for thousands of years and
that we must be realistic about the fallen world in which we live.

I heard a great philosopher/writer put it this way the other day: "What if the Samaritan of the Bible had come upon the afflicted man a few hours earlier, when he was in the process of being robbed and beaten.  Would the Samaritan have stood back and watched while the helpless man was beaten nearly to the point of death.  No, the Samaritan would have jumped
into the fray and tried to rescue the poor man physically."

In a perfect world, pacifism is a great precept.  In the fallen world of sin that we live in, it is a theory that leaves the poor man out on the Jericho road to the mercy of merciless thieves and thugs while the pacifist stands nearby and wrings his hands.

Jim H.

Isaiah writes about the Messiah as being "The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).  Jesus calls upon all believers to become peacemakers, and says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [children] of God" (Matthew 5:9).  Paul writes, "For the anxious longings of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons [children] of God" (Romans 8:19).

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