I probably should pause and think before I respond to mwooten, but I guess I won’t. “Its’ difficult and dangerous” to consider the words of Jesus “when speaking of war and politics”? Are these outside the realm of Jesus’ concerns or authority? All we have of Jesus are his recorded words, and the Holy Spirit to help us interpret them. It isn’t as if what he said was in the realm of great mystery; in fact, many times he spoke specifically to CLARIFY Old Testament understanding of what God wants. If we don’t need Jesus in our war and politics, I wonder what we do need him for?
Also, you say “we agree there are laws and consequences that need to be upheld if we are to live together in peace.” Very true, but what does that mean? It’s like the old discussion topic, what do you do if you find someone attempting to rape your wife? You try to stop him, certainly. But does “stop” mean you kill him, or do you stop him by lesser means, if possible? Or, to open another knotty topic, are the Christian “consequences” of murder capital punishment, or lifetime incarceration without possibility of parole? What part of life is Caesar’s, and what part God’s? Maybe war is a Christian “last resort,” although I’m not hearing anything compelling from any of you on that score. But “last resort” implies there are (many?) other possibilities before you get to that point.
SandyWilbur
Apr 04 2003
01:56 pm
I probably should pause and think before I respond to mwooten, but I guess I won’t. “Its’ difficult and dangerous” to consider the words of Jesus “when speaking of war and politics”? Are these outside the realm of Jesus’ concerns or authority? All we have of Jesus are his recorded words, and the Holy Spirit to help us interpret them. It isn’t as if what he said was in the realm of great mystery; in fact, many times he spoke specifically to CLARIFY Old Testament understanding of what God wants. If we don’t need Jesus in our war and politics, I wonder what we do need him for?
Also, you say “we agree there are laws and consequences that need to be upheld if we are to live together in peace.” Very true, but what does that mean? It’s like the old discussion topic, what do you do if you find someone attempting to rape your wife? You try to stop him, certainly. But does “stop” mean you kill him, or do you stop him by lesser means, if possible? Or, to open another knotty topic, are the Christian “consequences” of murder capital punishment, or lifetime incarceration without possibility of parole? What part of life is Caesar’s, and what part God’s? Maybe war is a Christian “last resort,” although I’m not hearing anything compelling from any of you on that score. But “last resort” implies there are (many?) other possibilities before you get to that point.