P
Pax
Guest
Robert Heibel:
There was a man who had great faith in God and believed that God would do whatever he asked. This man was then trapped in his home because of a severe flood. During the course of his ordeal the man prayed and prayed that God would save him. As the flood waters rose the man had to get on the roof of his house to stay dry. All this time he continued to implore the Lord to save him. At one point, two men in a boat happened by and asked him if he wanted to get in their boat, but he refused. Later a rescue helicopter flew over the man and dropped him a rope ladder, but he didn’t climb the ladder to get into the helicopter. Eventually, the man’s house was overcome and he drowned.
Upon reaching heaven he asked God why his prayers had not been answered. The man was greatly disturbed because he had placed all of his faith in God and implored God to save him. The Lord answered the man by saying. “How could you be so blind? I sent two men in a fishing boat to save you and then I sent a helicopter. You simply refused my help.”
Your last statement is not unlike that of the man in this story. God gives you the means to provide for your self defense, but you refuse to use them because you want God to rescue you in “your” way and not His.
We still want you to show us from scripture where self defense is condemned. None of the verses you have used so far address the issue at all. In the mean time, I will give you a couple of more verses to ponder as well. Acts 10:1 mentions Cornelius the Centurian. The passages describing Cornelius indicate that he was a devout man who feared God. We are then told that an angel appears to Cornelius and tells him that his prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Eventually, Cornelius becomes a baptized Christian. During the course of the narrative we are also told that Cornelius sends two servants and a “devout soldier” to Joppa to seek out the apostle Peter.
At no time during this narrative or anytime thereafter are we told anything negative about Cornelius or the “devout soldier” that he sent to Joppa. Both are men of the military. Clearly, their position is not condemned and neither is described as having abandoned their positions as soldiers. If “self defense” which extends to both the individual and the state were condemned by Jesus and were therefore not proper to Christianity, then scripture would have indicated this in the book of Acts in regards to Cornelius and the “devout soldier” under his command. This did not happen because self defense is legitimate.
Please carefully ponder this and the other passages given to you, and let us know what these things mean to you.
There is an old story that goes something like this:
There was a man who had great faith in God and believed that God would do whatever he asked. This man was then trapped in his home because of a severe flood. During the course of his ordeal the man prayed and prayed that God would save him. As the flood waters rose the man had to get on the roof of his house to stay dry. All this time he continued to implore the Lord to save him. At one point, two men in a boat happened by and asked him if he wanted to get in their boat, but he refused. Later a rescue helicopter flew over the man and dropped him a rope ladder, but he didn’t climb the ladder to get into the helicopter. Eventually, the man’s house was overcome and he drowned.
Upon reaching heaven he asked God why his prayers had not been answered. The man was greatly disturbed because he had placed all of his faith in God and implored God to save him. The Lord answered the man by saying. “How could you be so blind? I sent two men in a fishing boat to save you and then I sent a helicopter. You simply refused my help.”
Your last statement is not unlike that of the man in this story. God gives you the means to provide for your self defense, but you refuse to use them because you want God to rescue you in “your” way and not His.
We still want you to show us from scripture where self defense is condemned. None of the verses you have used so far address the issue at all. In the mean time, I will give you a couple of more verses to ponder as well. Acts 10:1 mentions Cornelius the Centurian. The passages describing Cornelius indicate that he was a devout man who feared God. We are then told that an angel appears to Cornelius and tells him that his prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Eventually, Cornelius becomes a baptized Christian. During the course of the narrative we are also told that Cornelius sends two servants and a “devout soldier” to Joppa to seek out the apostle Peter.
At no time during this narrative or anytime thereafter are we told anything negative about Cornelius or the “devout soldier” that he sent to Joppa. Both are men of the military. Clearly, their position is not condemned and neither is described as having abandoned their positions as soldiers. If “self defense” which extends to both the individual and the state were condemned by Jesus and were therefore not proper to Christianity, then scripture would have indicated this in the book of Acts in regards to Cornelius and the “devout soldier” under his command. This did not happen because self defense is legitimate.
Please carefully ponder this and the other passages given to you, and let us know what these things mean to you.
