I realize I\u2019m treading on dangerous ground here.\u00a0 And everyone who knows my Anabaptist tendencies will not be surprised.\u00a0 Nor will those who know my Niebuhrian tendencies.\u00a0 That\u2019s right\u2013I\u2019m a person caught in a paradoxical mindset torn between John Howard Yoder and Reinhold Niebuhr!\u00a0 I tend to think every reflective Christian ends up there.<\/p>\n
One thing Yoder (Anabaptist) and Niebuhr (Christian realist) would agree on is that Christians should never celebrate killing\u2013however justified it may be.\u00a0 Anabaptists like Yoder probably think no killing is truly justified.\u00a0 Christian realists like Niebuhr probably think some killing is justified, but no killing is righteous.\u00a0 I find myself leaning toward the Christian realist view on this, but when I read the Sermon on the Mount and think about what Jesus would do I have trouble believing a Christian ought ever to kill.<\/p>\n
However, even Anabaptists believe God gave the sword to the state and so some killing is justified even if it is\u00a0sin.\u00a0 But it is never justifiable for the Jesus follower to kill.\u00a0 It is not God\u2019s will for his people to kill.<\/p>\n
Christian realists believe sometimes God\u2019s people must hold their noses and kill.\u00a0 But even when killing is absolutely necessary (e.g., in the case of Bonhoeffer participating in the plot to kill Hitler) the Jesus follower must not celebrate.\u00a0 The appropriate response is instead to repent and trust God for forgiveness.<\/p>\n
These last two days America has been in a frenzy of celebration over the killing of one of our and humanity\u2019s worst enemies.\u00a0 Personally, I\u2019m glad he\u2019s dead IF that is the only alternative to him engineering more horrendous deaths through terrorism.\u00a0 Apparently it is.\u00a0 But I can\u2019t celebrate.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t understand Christians who do celebrate death\u2013especially when there is \u201ccollateral damage\u201d as in the case of the woman used as a human shield.<\/p>\n
What I can celebrate is the end of terrorism, but I don\u2019t see that coming just because of this one death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, the Niebuhr in me wants to pat the Navy Seal who killed on the back and say \u201cGood job!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNow let\u2019s pray for forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Yoder in me wants to say \u201cNow let me talk with you about being a peace maker instead of a killer.\u201d<\/p>\n
I live in a city where the majority of people consider themselves serious Christians and\u00a0where I see lots of bumper stickers\u00a0that raise doubts about whether all who think they are really are.\u00a0 One that I see a lot says \u201cThank God for our soldiers\u2013especially the snipers.\u201d\u00a0 I would prefer one that said \u201cThank God for our soldiers\u2013especially those who do non-combatant alternative service.\u201d\u00a0 (I guess that would make for a big bumper sticker or else print too small to read!)<\/p>\n
A few years ago I attended a \u201cGod and Country\u201d Sunday morning \u201cworship\u201d service at a large evangelical church.\u00a0 The whole service was devoted to celebrating the military.\u00a0 They sang the \u201chymns\u201d of the various branches of the military and had people who served in those branches stand as the congregation sang and as an honor guard marched down the center aisle carrying the military flags.<\/p>\n
I wondered when they were going to have conscientious objectors who performed alternative or non-combatant service stand to be honored.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t.\u00a0 I can only call that \u201cservice\u201d an orgy of militaristic, nationalistic jingoism.\u00a0 There was no hint of sorrow for innocent lives lost in war or repentance for our numerous military incursions into non-combatant countries to defend our \u201cnational interests.\u201d\u00a0 (The US has, without invitation by\u00a0legitimate governments,\u00a0militarily intervened in Latin American countries about 150 times.)<\/p>\n
In conclusion, while I\u2019m glad the snake has been decapitated, as a Christian\u00a0I can\u2019t celebrate any violent death.\u00a0 I can only breathe a sigh of relief and pray \u201cGod have mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I realize I\u2019m treading on dangerous ground here.\u00a0 And everyone who knows my Anabaptist tendencies will not be surprised.\u00a0 Nor will those who know my Niebuhrian tendencies.\u00a0 That\u2019s right\u2013I\u2019m a person caught in a paradoxical mindset torn between John Howard Yoder and Reinhold Niebuhr!\u00a0 I tend to think every reflective Christian ends up there. One […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n