The discussion of violence and Christianity is a touchy one. For some there will always be some kind of justifiable violence and for others there is no good excuse. In fact, a pacifist is one that doesn’t believe any violence is justifiable.
I used to be just about as far away from pacifism as one could get. I had all kinds of reasons why war and violence were justifiable. And then I got to know the God who looks like Jesus.
For those who don’t know, a Christ Centered Theology is one in which Jesus is believed to be the center of everything. It means that all scripture and all things flow through the lens of Jesus. If what we hold to be true lines up with the life and ministry of Jesus then great. If it doesn’t we should let it go.
Click here for a brief explanation of why I’m confident in this approach.
In this view Jesus isn’t just brought alongside scripture, he’s established over it. It seems tough to get to a place of justifiable violence, in any case, when desiring to be an imitator of God who looks like Jesus (Eph. 5:1).
Now, some have used a specific passage to assert Jesus, at times, used violence to accomplish his goals. We’ll use the Matthew account.
There He found in the temple [enclosure] those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers sitting there [also at their stands]. And having made a lash (a whip) of cords, He drove them all out of the temple [enclosure]—both the sheep and the oxen—spilling and scattering the brokers’ money and upsetting and tossing around their trays (their stands). Then to those who sold the doves He said, Take these things away (out of here)! Make not My Father’s house a house of merchandise (a marketplace, a sales shop)! –John 2:14-16 AMP
If we examine this passage we come to realize we’ve made some assumptions. Nowhere in the text does it say that Jesus used the whip on people or animals. In fact, the whip was often used for the crack sound it made. That sound was very useful in moving animals from one place to another.
I recognize that the text also doesn’t say that he didn’t strike any of the people or animals. But I think assuming he didn’t is reasonable and fits into the rest of his life and ministry. Jesus taught to turn the other cheek and to love our enemies. He put the ear back on the soldier who came to arrest him and rebuked Peter for using the sword. The religious leaders would’ve loved him using the whip against people and animals because it would’ve made him a hypocrite.
I don’t think there is anything compelling and reasonable in the life and ministry of Jesus to assert that there is violence he views as justifiable.
BUT…
We can use the same passage to show that he is not some mamsy-pamsy wimpy guy either. In the scripture above, and many others, he is aggressive. He turned over tables, he rebuked the religious leaders who oppressed the innocent, he bound and cast out demons, and he advanced the kingdom of God.
I’m not even sure I’d call him a pacifist. There’s a war I think he’d call justifiable. It’s just different than the one we typically fight. While we’re busy fighting each other he’s doing what he can to advance against the principalities, power, and the dark powers of this present age.
We were created with that same warrior instinct. It was given to us for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil and it’s been severely perverted. Has our adversary convinced us to point the barrel of the gun at each other instead of at him? Does he smirk when we imagine scenarios in which we would take a life and feel justified doing it?
The weapons we’ve been given are not carnal but mighty for the pulling down of strongholds. Maybe if we learned what those weapons are and how to use them we wouldn’t resort to violence against each other in situations we feel there are no other options.
I think one of the issues is that we value some lives more than others. The lives of our families are more important than the lives of our neighbors. Maybe that’s why the most common objection to non-violence involves a scenario in which it’s the life of a stranger against the life or well being of our spouse or kids. And it’s completely understandable that many of us would choose the life of our family and do what’s necessary.
But I don’t think God values life in the same way we tend too. In the above scenario, I think he views each life as equally important and valuable. And if Jesus was there (and he is) I think he would be aggressive but I don’t think he’d be violent. I don’t think he’d kill in order to save one of us but I think he’d passionately fight against the forces of darkness instigating and propelling it all.
I don’t claim to know what aggression without violence looks like in every situation. But I think the wisdom of God is sufficient to guide us through anything we’re confronted with. We just have to be able to hear him, to listen for his voice, to consider that there might be another way.
I don’t know how I’d react if it was a stranger or my family. But I know I want to be like Jesus in the best of times and the worst of times. I'd be aggressive but hopefully not violent.
Blessings,
Jesse and Kara Birkey
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