so I had to write a response to a question based on a book weve been reading in school. Were presenting the answers to our class tomorrow morning. This is my groups response. Thought Id just leave this here Caleb Sullivan Chapter VII group discussion What is the place of violence in Christianity? In your response to this, you will need to (a) account for Volf’s thinking on the matter, (b) cite historical examples of your point of view and (c) explain how your response is supported by scripture. I think perhaps a better way to ask this question is not, “what is the place of violence in Christianity,” but rather, “in Christianity, when should violence win out over grace, mercy, embrace and forgiveness? In a world where violence is always prevalent in nearly every aspect in society, it’s a difficult question because we have such a strong desire to see perpetrators punished and the good rewarded. The problem with violent social conflicts is that if everyone is honest, the truth can at times be really hard to find, and when it is found, the line differentiating between “who’s right and who’s wrong” can wind up being blurred. In a world where violence of one people group causes violence and hatred of the other, it’s easy to point fingers but eventually the oppressed, out of the need for revenge becomes the oppressor and innocence is lost. Both sides, believing their own side is more just, commits the same atrocities and thus continues the never ending cycle of violence. The biggest struggle of course is the need for justice, this question of, if I take up my cross of forgiveness, then who will execute justice? Well, firstly, as Volf points out, this does not mean acting as if sin is not there. If we were to do this then: “the world will remain forever awry, the blood of the innocent will eternally cry out to heaven. There can be no redemption unless the truth about the world is told and justice is done. We cannot live in the world as if it were redeemed when it in fact is not.” Volf said that the cross breaks the cycle of violence. How does it do that? It does that by overcoming evil with good. Which is something that Jesus commands us to do. Jesus broke the cycle of violence by taking that violence upon himself and embracing the perpetrators in forgiveness through atonement. Their sin was atoned for. Of course it’s up to them to decide what to do with it, but as far as we are concerned, if we are to follow the example of Christ, we must bear our crosses and immediately forgive. I think Martin Luther King Jr made a great point in his I have a Dream speech. He said: But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the black community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. Let us remember that Martin Luther King was killed for his words and deeds, but the movement he was a part of was successful. He was imprisoned beaten. So were his followers, but today his dream is a reality because he understood that the cycle of violence had to be broken in order for his mission to be accomplished. He understood something about freedom that volf pointed to in another chapter. As MLK and his followers absorbed the beatings and took the violence upon themselves, they embraced their oppressors, which in turn allowed the lawmakers to later be freed from the act of oppression, which in turn again, freed the black community from their oppressors. What we see here is that the act of breaking the cycle of violence by acts of nonviolence freed both parties from simultaneous oppression. It wasn’t immediate of course, we still have problems today, but our country is vastly different because of MLK’s choice of nonviolence. When Christ died on the cross, sin was absorbed and atoned for. Therefore, the only option we have is that of embrace. God commands it, and it seems to be practical for making the world a better place. The answer to the question of justice is simple. Romans 12:19 says: Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for Gods wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. And when he does, violence will thereafter be a thing of the past.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 04:57:27 +0000
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