Wouldn't "turn the other cheek" be an invitation for evil to win?

Question

thanks loco great question

Answer 1

i believe so.
if 50% of us always turned the other cheek, the other 50% would control us completley

Answer 2

People always talk like that quote is an invitation to pacifism. But turning the other cheek when someone slaps you does not mean turning the other cheek to invasion, or to offenses against others. What Jesus is saying here is that the ideal man would be above personal affronts, and wouldn't care if somebody insulted him (since a slap in the face is more of an insult than anything else). He Himself used violence to defend things that needed defending. But He was secure enough to ignore personal insults and things that people normally take as cause for violence. And that's what turning the other cheek means.

Answer 3

Yes, if you look at it that way. Try this on for size. "turning the other cheek", is a means of showing that you are the better person by showing the "jerk/jerkess" that you can remain calm while they continue to be all jerky to you. Of course, that was then, and now is now. Besides myself and what I have taught my children about that parable, there are hardly too many people around who would let anyone get past the point of the "first" cheek! Patience is still a virtue.....Getting even is better than virtue! You have to decide, better person or becoming the evil twin! Good question.

Answer 4

Doing nothing would be an invitation for evil to win. Turning the cheek is a choice to do something, namely, to expose the offender as cruel and unjust. The other example--go the extra mile--comes from the Roman law that mandated one to carry a burden for a soldier 1 mile if asked. When Jesus said to go the second, he was endorsing a plan of action that would expose the injustice in the system without reverting to the system's way (violence, force, threat of death).

Answer 5

The word "evil" has a religious connotation. Any time religion comes into the picture, people have a knee-jerk reaction stemming from their own faith. They tend to want to fight for their god (and of course, "evil" is always found to be in direct opposition to their religious icon) Lately, the word has become a political term representing a minority of people with an extreme faith.
If you replace the word "evil" with "anger" or "violence", the word looses momentum and impact. That being said, why would you match anger & violence with more anger and violence? Evil to dispel evil? It doesn't make much sense when you take time to disect it.
In the end, I want to know that what I put out into this world is goodness. If someone wrongs me, I will not waste my energy trying to get even. Anger takes so much to hold onto and I'm not willing to give that much of myself to someone who does not deserve me. I have bigger things to do.
Why not be a leader by example? If someone wrongs you and you project nothing but love back, isn't that true strength? Is kicking a-s better than someone else a final solution to violence?
Can you stop negativity with more negativity? Doesn't that just create a cycle that sparks one-upmanship?
I think there is real strength in non-violence.

Answer 6

The society at the time, you could back slap an "unclean" person with the back of your hand, but not touch with the palm. So the Romans think the Jews are unclean ans use the back of their hand to slap across the cheek, the Jew turns his other cheek in an invitation to slap it. Since the Roman's palm is in perfect position to slap they just might yield to the temptation and therefore touch an unclean person with their palm.

Yes, it is a way of be humble but at the same time it is a way of getting even.

Answer 7

Turning the other cheek is not submission to insult or injury, but standing, unaffected in the face of it.

It is a controlled, disciplined response to out-of-control behavior.

It's not saying, "Okay, I deserve that, go ahead and do it again." It is saying, "Your misdeed does not reflect me or my behavior in any way. It does not change me. It does not change our circumstances. The ball is still in your court."

The unexpected response should stun the offender and make him consider his own actions.

The sort of striking being talked about in the passage is striking with the left hand, which was an act of insult. Turning the other cheek is refusing to accept the insult.

Answer 8

Nope, lowering your standards to their level would let them win...being a better person and showing that they dont matter would be better. But you dont give a specific type of "evil"...is it a verbal problem or something that law enforcement would have to be involved in? In either case if you do react the same way they do, the "evil" will continue to "win". But then again, thats just my opinion! Hope you get the answer your looking for.

Answer 9

You obviously have not studied what the term really means, and how it worked within the Jewish culture.

a person would slap you on the cheek as an insult ( not to hit you like in a fight) but it was an insult.

But it was not allowed in the culture to "back hand them" so after they slaped you, if you turned the other cheek you were positioning your face to allow them to backhand you.

A person could only backhand a person of equal social status, so if they actually did it, they would be saying you were of equal status.

In doing it, you were basicly saying you were as good as they were. and since it was also an insult to back hand a person, you were saying that you thought so little of them, that they would do this..

Answer 10

Actually, it's an opportunity for the offendor to realize that meekness is more powerful than violence and nastiness. For one to be meek, they must possess a quiet strength, for it takes strength to NOT lash out in retaliation. True, there are individuals who are subservient and timid by nature, but most people, when provoked, will instinctively desire to "rectify" the situation on a level parallel or greater than the original provocation. To contain that instinct can be difficult for some, but to succeed is proof that meekness, though subtle, is more powerful.

Answer 11

Evil lost about 2,000 years ago when the tomb was found empty... Jesus conquered evil when He turned the other cheek on the cross and asked His Daddy to forgive His killers... Think about it...