Close to feeling total peace and confidence

[lucky4075]

All right,
Over the past year or so I’ve posted on here a handful of times about self defense etc. I’ve always gotten great answers and support from people. I want to be a cop, I feel called to protect people and to be a part of the ‘fine line.’
I know the Cathechism/Church teachings and I absolutely believe them without a doubt. I feel like I could do a good job and that I have a good temperament for the things that I could see etc. I’ve done a rode along/ shadow with an officer and I work part time in a police station while at school- I’m getting experience with the general environment and people, and I absolutely love it so far.

I understand that self defense is not murder and is not sinful given that the circumstances weren’t abused etc. Really the only argument that bothers me came from an Orthodox perspective. I believe some Orthodox teach more or less exactly what the Catholic Church teaches, but one person had an argument that really bothered me. Shouldn’t we care about the attacker’s soul? Their reasoning was that you shouldn’t defend yourself because you know Christ for salvation and can accept death to get your reward. If you kill the attacker defending yourself then you do not allow them time to repent and know Christ for salvation. So it’s ad if you are sending them to hell to save yourself.

I really feel called to the job, if I kill someone defending myself or others it will be the hardest thing I have to do. It will probably bother me or make me feel guilty but I feel like I have what it takes to make the hard decisions and live with them. I feel like God will be next to me the whole time. Maybe that makes me a bad Christian or person for vein ready to deal with those things, I don’t know. Can anyone answer the argument and shed light on this?
Thank you.

 

[DexUK]

I can see the point raised, but I wouldn’t agree with it, since the attacker made the decision to do something bad and thereby took the risks that were appropriate to his actions. If by your self-defence, your attacker loses his life and also loses Heaven, it’s his fault, not yours. You can’t be held to blame for that since you did not asked to be attacked. I would say that you should feel no worries about it.

 

[Luvtosew]

Its just my opinion, but we need good dedicated policemen to protect us, and you will be putting your life on the line every time you go on duty. If you need to shoot someone to protect yourself or innocent people then you will need to. Most police I’ve read never shoot anyone, but depending on where one lives might make a difference. I know how police who do have to shoot and kill someone in the line of duty need some sort of counciling to reconcile and well being a man of faith you also have plenty of resouces to help you if you should need them.

You say you feeling a calling, much like a Priest, school teacher, nurse etc might have, and well God does put different callings on all of us.

I guess if one is married the spouse should also be able to give her point of view.

In the end whenever any of us leave our home we do not know if we are going to return, boy I sound glum don’t I, but we never know the time or circumstances of anything really.
A surgeon can slip up, a nurse can, even a driver can make an error and cause harm to someone not intentionally.

Oh I rambled sorry, God Bless and hope you can decide what is best, keep praying over it.

I would like to add, murder and kill are two different things. A man in battle who kills the enemy is not commiting sin.(although most have quilt and nightmares over it).

 

[po18guy]

I was a police officer for 31 years and thankfully, never had to take a life in the line of duty. However, regarding your question: that Orthodox person seemed to assume that the attacker’s soul would somehow be placed in jeopardy - not by his own action, but by yours! This is illogical. We have no way of knowing the attacker;s heart - but a lot is made perfectly clear based on their actions. In many such cases, an innocent life is being threatened (or will be), and we, out of charity, have a moral obligation to defend that life. The threat is intentional, but our response does not intend death - rather the protection of life with the knowledge that using lethal force may unintentionally result in the attacker’s death. As well, only a small portion of those against whom deadly force is used actually succumb to the force. And, isn’t your own innocent life worth defending, as well? Many officers have died as a result of their hesitance to use deadly force in times that it was clearly warranted. Even though it is a very difficult decision for us to make, the assailant has no such compunction against using deadly force or even intentionally killing. This is something to discuss (possibly again) with your Priest, if you still have a problem with it. If you are not prepared to make such a grave decision almost instantly, under dynamic and far from perfect conditions, this may not be the line of work for you. Years, even decades may pass with no problem, but in an instant, your life, or that of others may be either saved or lost through your decision-making process.

 

[jonbhorton]

In the course of defending the population, invariably there will be those who decry any actual defense, including of self.

Those people are ignorant. They don’t understand that life is not unicorn dreams and pixie dust. They are the people who need protection from themselves, as they are more dangerous in the grand scheme of things than the men who would otherwise seek to harm them.

The only other option is someone who is not ignorant, but knows they cannot bring themselves to doing the (necessary) deed. I wonder sometimes if those people realize what is actually on the table, for they let others die so that they don’t have to work through the appearance of guilt and falsely claim innocence in the deaths they facilitated through inaction.

DexUK’s answer was spot on- the bad guy escalates to a level of commensurate response. Sometimes this escalation can skip all other steps. That is his fault and his decision. Not yours.

It is those times you must shoot without hesitation and be able to articulate your reasoning in a legally acceptable manner.

 

[lucky4075]

Thanks for the replies.

What you all have posted so far makes sense to me. Questions like these just bug from time to time, I think its just me learning to live with and deal with the little bit of ocd/scruples that I have.

There is just one other question I had- would a killing in self defense whether it be a soldier/cop/homeowner/who ever require a sacramental confession? From what I understand some Orthodox/early church required a barring from communion for a period of time since the act itself was considered ‘unclean’ and sinful even though it was not morally wrong?

Peace all.

 

[jonbhorton]

Thanks for the replies.

What you all have posted so far makes sense to me. Questions like these just bug from time to time, I think its just me learning to live with and deal with the little bit of ocd/scruples that I have.

There is just one other question I had- would a killing in self defense whether it be a soldier/cop/homeowner/who ever require a sacramental confession? From what I understand some Orthodox/early church required a barring from communion for a period of time since the act itself was considered ‘unclean’ and sinful even though it was not morally wrong?

Peace all.

I would see no harm in bringing it up at confession. I’d probably even go so far as to offer a Mass intention for the person.

Depending on the situation, I might even seek to help his family in whatever way I could.

Not as a penance, but, more along the lines of showing mercy and love to the victims of their family member’s stupidity. Who knows what I or you might feel led to do if we legally kill a person.