Colonel's Blog - The Apologetics of Violence

Location: Blogs Colonel's Blog
Posted by: rjones	6/24/2007
Sigh... Yet another post dealing with the topic of violence. In the six years that this ministry has maintained an online presence, I have received emails from all over the world. A few have been encouraging, and wanting more information, but many have been downright hateful. The most hateful always seem to come from atheists and left-wing liberals (OK, I expect that) but more than a few have come from fellow Christians, who seem to have a wild mis-understanding of what we are, and what we do. These commentaries are also obviously from people who have actually never bothered to read the web-site, or request additional information, but choose to just make an assumption and attack. I was talking to an individual the other day, and the subject of this ministry came up. He stated "I've heard of you. Your the guy that trains Christian mercenaries." Again, sigh... Please. A mercenary is a "soldier for hire" who works for the highest paying employer, and generally does not care who they kill, as long as they are getting paid. SEMSAR is not a mercenary organization. We don't train "Christians" to de-stabilize third world countries, or provide mercenary armies to the highest bidder. In fact, security is only a small part of what we do. We were formed as a medical missions and search and rescue organization, and that is still our main mission. We do, however, train Christians and ministries in how to be secure, and how to protect themselves. I find nothing in the Bible that says that is wrong, or in any way "un-Christian." I have even had people go as far to say that my being a police officer is "offensive" to God, and that I cannot possibly be a cop and a Christian, because I carry a gun and may have to "murder" someone. These comments obviously made by individuals who have never read Romans 13. I will never forget the individual who asked me a question after preaching on being a Christian warrior in a small country church. This person approached me with a "Scenario" and wanted to know how I would respond to it. The scenario was this: "Suppose you come home from work, and find your Police Chief in your house, violently raping your wife. The Bible says we are to respect the authorities over us, and he is your boss, after all, and that we are to turn the other cheek. The 8th commandment is "Thou shalt not Kill." So, what would you do?" My immediate response was that the next day's newpaper would report both a funeral listing, and a job opening for police chief. This response highly offended the person asking me the question, and he questioned whether my salvation was even real. I then asked him what he would do. He responded "I would fall down on my knees and pray for that man." Wonderful. I am sure his wife would be real appreciative of his level of faith. The problem here, is that this person had a total mis-understanding of scripture, but like most people, was convinced of his own theological intelligence. I will be the first to state that I don't understand how to apply much of the Bible, and readily agree that there are many aspects of scripture that I do not understand, even after years of study. (anybody out there know who the "helpers of Rahab" are mentioned in Job, and why God made them crouch low?) I do know this. The 8th commandment is actually translated as "Thou shall not shed innocent blood." The police chief in the above illustration is not innocent. He has entered my home, violated and hurt my wife, shown no respect for her person or mine, and at the very least has broken commandments 7,8, and 10. He has violated and abused his right to authority, broken the laws he has sworn to protect, and there is probably no other reason that I should come home at just that moment, than for the reason of arranging for this "chief" to meet God face to face. My wife was given to me as a gift from God, and it is my duty to protect her. It is a sick society that protects the evil doer, and enables him to do evil. God has never repealed capital punishment, nor did He ever state that His people should be the doormats of the devil's children. Yes, part of what our ministry does is teach people how to use violence. We do not, however, teach them to enjoy it, or to employ it for other than righteous means. We teach them to protect themselves from the predator that would try to harm or steal from them. In the area where I live, a young teenage girl was recently abducted from a shopping mall and killed. The video tape of her abduction does not seem show her to be resisting as the abductor forces her into her own vehicle. The abductor may have had a knife, or a gun pointed at her, I really don't know at this point. The bare fact of the case is this: The abductor obviously used some threat of force or violence to gain compliance, and then once allowed the upper hand, followed through with murder. Violence against the abductor in any form, could have radically changed the outcome of this tragic event. The psychological profile of every bully is roughly the same. They will bully until they face resistance, and then the coward within takes over. Many bullies will torment and torture a defenseless puppy, but I don't know of any that would torment a slavering and aggressive pit bull. From everything I have read of this case, the young lady in question was exactly that. A young lady. Sweet, innocent, caring, loving, and friendly, and would never want to harm another human being. I wish we lived in a world where such people were the norm, but it is people like this young woman that predators seek out. They expect little or no resistance, and the fear of the victim gives them a sense of power they lack. In this case, the darkness won, and a bright light was snuffed out. We teach Christians how to protect themselves. Yes, we teach non-Christians too, but it is the Christian that often has a problem with defending themselves, believing that it is somehow wrong to protect onesself or loved ones. Knowing how to defend yourself from a predator does not make you less of a Christian, nor does it make you a "mercenary." The predator does not care whether you live or die, and if what we teach allows one person to survive an encounter like the one above, then that life is well worth all the hate email.
Copyright ©2007 Ray Jones

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