Response with Force

[thana_anthony]

Is it wrong for Catholics to bear arms to defend oneself or one’s Faith.
In Malaysia, some muslims have threaten to burn the Holy Bible containing the word “ALLAH”,
In the local malay language, the word “TUHAN” means GOD, and the world Allah, which has it’s origin in the Mid-East, has been used by the local states Sabah and Sarawak Catholic’s from the beginning of Christianity in Borneo and Malaysia.
If they really burn the Holy Bible, is it wrong to take up arms, to defend one’s Faith.
Angry, even after going for confession.
thana anthony.

 

[devoutchristian]

It is right to defend one self with force, if need be. It would be right for legitimate political to use force to prevent such a blasphemy. It would also be right to use reasonable force to protect one’s property, which would include a bible that one owned, however if they legitimately own the bible in question then no, a private person could not use force to prevent such an action, it’s not like their desecrating the Eucharist or anything like that.

 

[Carolus_Martell]

It is always righteous to stand up against an injustice…

…not so if you hunt down the other guy for revenge purposes.

 

[ricofall]

Keep in mind that the Bible is not considered the same as the Koran in terms of holiness. In other words, the Church has no rules how to treat a regular Bible (please correct me if I am wrong). The Church holds the deposit of faith, the Bible is a copy of that deposit. If a buch of radicals wants to burn my Bibles…fine with me. I need new ones anyways. Of course the Kindle edition Bibles would be harder to burn though. Brings a new meaning to having a Kindle Fire huh?

 

[JRKH]

In my view it would be wrong to take up arms in this case. In fact it violates the fundamentals of our faith…
Consider…
The Bible is the written word of God, but Jesus is the WORD of God.
Jesus - the WORD - was nailed to a cross and killed.
He said, from the cross, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

So - should you kill to defend the word - when the WORD - accepted death and offered forgiveness???

Love your enemy. Pray for the persecutor. Do not meet hate with hate for just like the blind leading the blind…both will fall…

Peace
James

 

[devoutchristian]

the Church has no rules how to treat a regular Bible (please correct me if I am wrong).

There are the general norms of respectful treatment, however it would not be proper for private individuals to enforce them.

 

[Spider42]

Is it wrong for Catholics to bear arms to defend oneself or one’s Faith.

Generally yes. Armed defense against unjust aggression is a right limited to rightful civil authority, not individuals. CCC 2263-64 give the conditions for legitimate self defense, which can involve the death of an attacker, but defense must be in moderation. CCC 2265 grants the further right of armed defense to proper representatives of civil authority.

I’ve seen people argue for different interpretations of the paragraphs above, but the wording of CCC 2265 was specifically changed in 1997 and cross linked to 2440 for clarity. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has also issued clarification that armed defense is for nations, not individuals, and only licit until true peace can be obtained. This is why Rome’s and the USCCB’s calls for disarmament of civilian populations is wholly compatible with Church doctrine (CCC 2316).

Armed resistance to political oppression is only licit when a very high standard is met (CCC 2243) and even when nations are involved, war must meet a number of criteria to be just (CCC 2307-14). The last two Vicars of Christ have expressed their opinion that Just War is almost impossible in the modern age.

But think of it in simplest terms. The simplest formulation for the entire Catholic faith is the two commandments of love (Compendium to the Catechism, appendix B). Jesus expressly taught that “neighbor” includes our most feared and hated enemies. Are we honoring the foundation of the moral law if we want to kill people for burning a book?

 

[PeterGStanley]

So are you saying we should become like some Muslims and start killing people for burning the bible?We can print new bibles no one need s to die for burning a bible they are easy to replace. I would be horrified by Christians who would do this. They have not taken Gods word from you they have simply burned a book.Its Gods word that is sacred not the book.

 

[grotto]

Keep in mind that the Bible is not considered the same as the Koran in terms of holiness. In other words, the Church has no rules how to treat a regular Bible (please correct me if I am wrong). The Church holds the deposit of faith, the Bible is a copy of that deposit. If a buch of radicals wants to burn my Bibles…fine with me. I need new ones anyways. Of course the Kindle edition Bibles would be harder to burn though. Brings a new meaning to having a Kindle Fire huh?

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If a bunch of radicals wanted to burn anything I’d watch them carefully! About that Bible for the Kindle: I bought the Douay-Rheims Version (very low cost). I do not find an Imprimatur page and wonder if it is authentic - it says “Church Authorized”. Would you have an opinion?

 

[Spider42]

About that Bible for the Kindle: I bought the Douay-Rheims Version (very low cost). I do not find an Imprimatur page and wonder if it is authentic - it says “Church Authorized”. Would you have an opinion?

In this case, it is probably more like an old album cover that read “pete BEST of THE BEATLES”…

It’s important to understand that there are more than one version of the Douay-Rheims Bible. If you don’t know exactly what you have, it isn’t clear if it is truly suitable or recommended for Catholic self study. I can’t really find anything about the publisher, but they don’t have a Catholic reference in their name.

Even if cost is a concern, the Kindle version of the NAB is still less than $5 and is from the USCCB. The NAB is not poetic, but it is a reasonable study Bible.

 

[grotto]

In this case, it is probably more like an old album cover that read “pete BEST of THE BEATLES”…

It’s important to understand that there are more than one version of the Douay-Rheims Bible. If you don’t know exactly what you have, it isn’t clear if it is truly suitable or recommended for Catholic self study. I can’t really find anything about the publisher, but they don’t have a Catholic reference in their name.

Even if cost is a concern, the Kindle version of the NAB is still less than $5 and is from the USCCB. The NAB is not poetic, but it is a reasonable study Bible.

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Gee whiz! Guess I’m out my dollar ninety-nine! I did not know there were more versions of the Douay-Rheims Bible. Maybe I can find out more about it, or there is always the
delete option!