(Meant to post this Sunday, oh well)
“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” -1 Corinthians 11:1
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” -Ephesians 5:1
“You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 1:6
A new reader, Jamie, mentioned teaching non-violence in church and it got me thinking. There is a definite alternative to this idea of placing armed guards in churches, and that is for a church to instead advocate, teach and promote an attitude of non-violence. I believe this is a deeply biblical and deeply spiritual issue and I figured I’d write a devotional thought regarding it.
I think there might be varying opinions on what the goal, motive or vision for a church should be, but everyone would have to agree it has something to do with teaching and modeling following Christ (being ‘Christian’). And, considering the vast majority of people that attend church regularly profess to already be ‘Christian’ and followers, it would seem we would take the verses above seriously.
If we are to imitate Christ in all that we do, how we respond to violence is one of those areas; and it is one we have a very clear example in. We as individual Christians and as collective church bodies should serve as an example to others, including would be perpetrators that we will not return evil with evil, “but overcome evil with good.”
You know how buildings sometimes have those signs at the front that say: “Weapons banned on premise” or something similar? What if churches had signs out front that said: “We practice non-violence.” They could have pamphlets about it inside for everyone to be informed, and they could even preach on it from the pulpit. There are plenty of Biblical examples.
Not only does Jesus preach on non-violence (love your enemy, etc), he exemplifies it in his death. The early church is full of examples of non-violence as well. Jesus, I think, makes it explicitly clear to us how to respond to the sort of violence we see in our society:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
-Matthew 10:28
Rod Sider wrote a great article for Christianity Today outlining why Just War Theory has failed and non-violence needs to be given a chance. He makes a persuasive argument that non-violence has not been given a chance by most churches because it requires too much sacrifice and is not “safe.”
Thanks for the feedback on my article.
This would be the moment for me to say that I have lurked on this site several times and been consistently impressed with the moral clarity I see in writings here.
I’m not going to identify myself because I don’t seek to become part of a Christian community. Having been raised Church of Christ in Nashville, I walked away from Christianity, and from any faith that there is a God who cares about me, as a young teen. Church was a place for passive-aggressive people to make me feel small — compared to them, not to Christ. I have reconsidered this point of view several times as an adult, but each time I emerge further from the possibility of faith.
Maybe because I don’t believe, I find a simple clarity in my admiration of Jesus Christ. This man, as revealed in what I know to be selectively chosen gospel texts but what the historian in me also recognizes as reflections of real human experience, is my hero among heroes and the person whose life ethos I most wish to emulate.
You hear about atheists in foxholes. But I have summoned the power of Christ’s example in real life, when nothing about doing so saved my ass or made me look good at all. The most dramatic of several examples occurred about 15 years ago at a college football game, when a powerful man in Nashville society angrily, very publicly and incorrectly accused me of poaching a seat that he thought belonged to him. He got me thrown out of the game in front of my former high-school football coach (the last time I saw him before his death) as well as a friend whom I would see only one more time before he died in an air crash.
I was seething with violent hatred that night. But in the hours and days afterward, something made me call on the example of Jesus (and Gandhi, and Dr. King…). The man who had caused the problem learned before the game was over that he had been mistaken, and he tracked me down to offer an abject apology the following Monday morning. People told me I could have sued him. It made me feel stronger to let it all pass: not just not to sue, but not to hate him. The guy is a casual friend and business acquaintance today.
I wish I could share the faith that so many of my dear friends and family have. I can’t, but I feel I ought to tell you how even a heathen can find Jesus a great role model. And in this season when he is celebrated, I can certainly, and earnestly, wish all of you, and all of us, peace on earth.
Warm regards…
I have read and often thought about the idea of non-violent training being a requirement for catechism in the church. i think people often overlook non-violent resistance because they have received no training. what if people received both philosophical/theological training as well as practical hands on non-violent resistance training in order to become members of a church? how about that for catechism!
What an example it would be to the world for Christians to redefine themselves on the global stage as practitioners of non-violence especially in the light of what our current administration has done in the name of “good”.