If Jesus said, give unto Ceasar what is Ceasars and unto God what is God, was he not saying that we ought not give our souls,mind, hearts, worship, devotion, bodies to serve Ceasar but to God?
Please think carefully before assuming that if face with threat we must fight or die, because what is better, to die fighting killing others, joining their evil, or to die as a sacrifice to God in obedience non resisitng for the good? Because if you go and fight there is a good possibility you will die, so that, to avoid dying cannot be your motivation for fighting anymore.
Don't we totally overcome evil by not being overcome by it, no matter what. If we die we have not lost, but won. If we fight we have lost and it proves we love this life and have no real faith in eternal one?
All these are questions. I lean towards this ideal non resistance but I have doubts at times.
But it seems to me to be an issue of how simply and seriously do we take Jesus' teaching and example.
2006-12-25 08:55:24 · 9 answers · asked by Socinian F 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
To me it seems, if we give in to fighting , then the spirit has been overcome by the flesh. Because the spirit has no fear in it, but perfect love and this perfect love, perfect peace,and perfect joy overcome the world. It becomes the perfection of them when we resisit sin unto death like Jesus, meaning we have perfect faith as well, unto the end, looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.
2006-12-25 10:15:24 · update #1
This is a very good question, and a difficult one. I think God is a God of justice, and if you take power by violence, it is an unjust thing. Even if you had good intentions, they will be built on sand. Not everyone who is a christian will have the faith, the strength to do this, and many would want to justify violence in the face of an enemy. All I can say is the strong are as disadvantaged as the rich in the Kingdom of God.
2006-12-25 10:16:56 · answer #1 · answered by Darren S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a deep theological issue - one many people have struggled with for centuries. This is the way I see it - God uses armies of various nations at points in history to right wrongs and help the people who are being oppressed. If you read the Old Testament, you will see numerous occasions when God did this. Also, think about WWII - if no one had fought against the Nazis - how much more damage would have been done? We have an obligation to help others. It is not just about fighting to survive. Jesus also said there is no greater love than to lay down your life for someone. When he said to give to Ceasar what is his - he was referring to money. Loyalty belongs to God. If you would like to read a great biography - read Dietrich Bonhoeffer - a great writer and thinker during WWII - who struggled with the same things you are considering. It is interesting to read the process he went through before he came to the conclusions about war that he did. His fate was equally interesting. He is definitely worth the read.
2006-12-25 09:04:26 · answer #2 · answered by sandy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that it is silly to let what someone said 2000 years ago influence your decisions, but that's just me. I believe that with the "render unto Caesar" statement, Jesus was talking about separation of church and state, and saying that people had to listen, not to one or the other, but both, and respect the laws in effect at the time, particularly with regard to taxation. In other words, "Don't put me up against the leaders of Rome or I will end up very, very dead." As a person, Jesus was not, to my mind, much into warfare, but I don't think that he ever encouraged anyone to fight, or not fight. There were some issues that he very wisely avoided.
2006-12-25 09:05:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Don't take all that stuff you read in the Bible too literally as its not necessarily the actual words of Jesus.
If you do then you put yourself in the Fundamentalist group categories that have caused so much suffering in the USA, UK and Iraq.
You need to think and make decisions for yourself. But you might think what would Jesus do in this situation....
2006-12-25 09:09:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
On a personal level i know from experience that to trully pray for your enemy, that he may experience the love of God in his heart that i have found in mine, will give God the problem and his love will dissolve the emnity. I don't know how to get the majority of a nation to reach this level of dependence on God for protection. If called, one must do their duty to country. Sgt. york, in ww 1 solved this problem,at least according to the movie. He performed his duty from love, and a sense of regret ,not from hate.
2006-12-25 09:22:54 · answer #5 · answered by Weldon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK, not.
Turn the other cheek is Christ's teaching about when you are proselytizing. If some one smacks you for no reason, defend yourself.
If you love God you hate evil.
Psa 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
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2006-12-25 09:00:10 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
sorry buddy, thats just ignorant. sorry. Jesus said to give the tax to Caesar. he said "give to caesar what belongs to caesar(coin with his face in it to pay the tax) and give to God what belongs to God- love and worship.
once again people trying to manipulate scripture.
2006-12-25 08:58:07 · answer #7 · answered by ConstElation 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christians really do fight for nothing, especially since ive realized christianity is a bold faced lie, i feel sorry for those that are christian and refuse to see the light.
Also why do christians want to go to heaven but they dont want to die? Maybe because thier spirit realizes something thier mind does not........
2006-12-25 09:00:00 · answer #8 · answered by shippochan 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
we are fighting for our rights and Jesus knows that the Israelites are not obeying his word by trying to kill the president, and murdering ppl. It is against his word.
2006-12-25 09:00:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋