http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/ the publisher of Next-Wave Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:34:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-21 Leon Hebrink Sun, 03 Jun 2007 18:29:34 +0000 http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-21 Whew! I read the title and began to bristle; so much for pacifism, eh? I couldn't agree more; a Jesus following orientation of nonviolence in relationships and world view, which I believe is really a foundational component of discipleship, cannot be allowed to morph into a pacifistic posture concerning spiritual warfare. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but we are in a battle none the less. The flip side of spiritual warfare is also a "violence" of sorts as Jesus said that the Kingdom comes violently. When the Spirit confronts our own personal and corporate areas of unlikeness to Christ the process of repentance can be violent on many levels as we're torn away from chunks of flesh we've grown to love so much and depend upon. The irony being that this tearing in turn forms us into less violent individuals. hmmmmm Shalom, Leon Whew! I read the title and began to bristle; so much for pacifism, eh?
I couldn’t agree more; a Jesus following orientation of nonviolence in relationships and world view, which I believe is really a foundational component of discipleship, cannot be allowed to morph into a pacifistic posture concerning spiritual warfare. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but we are in a battle none the less.
The flip side of spiritual warfare is also a “violence” of sorts as Jesus said that the Kingdom comes violently. When the Spirit confronts our own personal and corporate areas of unlikeness to Christ the process of repentance can be violent on many levels as we’re torn away from chunks of flesh we’ve grown to love so much and depend upon.
The irony being that this tearing in turn forms us into less violent individuals. hmmmmm
Shalom,
Leon

]]> http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-18 Mike Lowe Thu, 03 May 2007 12:11:04 +0000 http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-18 I hear what you are saying Charlie, and sense the passionate love for God and His creation that lies behind it. Probably it is that as a non-American I am hypersensitive to the militaristic crusading language that comes from the US and is, I believe, unwittingly contributing to a lot of the evils you describe. I wish you all the best in your struggle to rid the world of these evils. I hear what you are saying Charlie, and sense the passionate love for God and His creation that lies behind it. Probably it is that as a non-American I am hypersensitive to the militaristic crusading language that comes from the US and is, I believe, unwittingly contributing to a lot of the evils you describe. I wish you all the best in your struggle to rid the world of these evils.

]]> http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-17 Charlie Wear Thu, 03 May 2007 11:58:57 +0000 http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-17 Sorry Mike, but I think that is what I am proposing. That we be looking for the enemy all the time. Not in other people, but in the results of spiritual darkness, poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, hopelessness. If we can't see these results and if we are not engaged in tactics designed to combat these evils, then we have given up, something I am afraid that the church has done some time ago. Sorry Mike, but I think that is what I am proposing. That we be looking for the enemy all the time. Not in other people, but in the results of spiritual darkness, poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, hopelessness. If we can’t see these results and if we are not engaged in tactics designed to combat these evils, then we have given up, something I am afraid that the church has done some time ago.

]]> http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-16 Mike Lowe Thu, 03 May 2007 11:32:19 +0000 http://charleswear.com/2007/05/02/the-dangers-of-pacificism/#comment-16 The trouble with the war metaphor, even when we are aware that it is a metaphor, is that it encourages us to look for the enemy all the time. As a wise person once said, the difference between the righteous and the self-righteous is that the self-righteous see what is wrong whereas the righteous see what is right. And when we are always on the look out for spiritual evils, the metaphor of spiritual war tends to morph into non-metaphorical war. After all, Jihad was primarily meant as a metaphor. The trouble with the war metaphor, even when we are aware that it is a metaphor, is that it encourages us to look for the enemy all the time. As a wise person once said, the difference between the righteous and the self-righteous is that the self-righteous see what is wrong whereas the righteous see what is right. And when we are always on the look out for spiritual evils, the metaphor of spiritual war tends to morph into non-metaphorical war. After all, Jihad was primarily meant as a metaphor.

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