ASK FR BITAJU | KAIROS GLOBAL | JULY 2022

Author: Fr Bitaju Mathew

Q. As Christians should we fight for God? Do we use violence or keep our calm?

Jerin Vakayil, Bangalore, India

Primitive people believed that their gods needed human support in the form of animal and human sacrifices in order to live. However, God, in the New Testament, made it sufficiently clear that he does not require our sacrifices.  He is self-sufficient and omnipotent. Yet, it seems that today Christians tend to forget this; and believe that God needs us to speak for him, to defend his honour as if he can’t speak for himself. There seems to be a growing intolerance among believers when others reject Jesus. But how did Jesus respond to such rejection in his life?  When the Samaritan village refused him hospitality, James and John wanted instant retaliation when they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’ (Luke 9:54). Jesus immediately ‘turned and rebuked them’ (v. 55) as that was not his way of responding. For, ‘God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him’ (John 3:17). When Simon Peter tried to defend Jesus in the Garden, by cutting off the right ear of Malchus, Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath’ (John 18: 11). 

The life and teaching of Christ are a clear ‘no’ to any kind of violence.  The only law that he gave was to ‘love one another’ (John 13:34; 15:12). Moreover, every civilised society has rules and systems to protect and safeguard human rights. As Christians, we are called to respect and uphold such rules and regulations that are for the well-being of the humans. In the current global scenario, religious intolerance and lack of respect for other faiths is alarmingly increasing. Christians also easily become victims of attitudes of intolerance and hatred which is contrary to the teaching of Christ and Sacred Scripture.  In the history of the Church, violence was the response to certain situations but she has apologised for the same, admitting her mistake, knowing that it was not what Christ taught us and showed us through his life. This does not mean that as Christians we are called to be doormats. Certainly, we can employ peaceful means of protest and resistance which would require time, endurance, restraint and love (Mathew 5: 9-11).

YOU CAT 397 

What does Jesus think about nonviolence? 

Jesus places a high value on nonviolent action. He commands his disciples: ‘Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Mt 5:39). [2311]

He rebukes Peter, who wants to defend him with force: ‘Put your sword into its sheath’ (Jn 18:11). Jesus does not call his disciples to take up weapons. He remains silent before Pilate. His way is to take the part of the victims, to go to the Cross, to redeem the world through love, and to call the peacemakers blessed. Therefore the Church, too, respects people who for reasons of conscience refuse to be part of the armed services but place themselves at the service of society in some other way.