John 18.10-11 will inevitably make people like me -- that is, Christian pacifists -- face a question that gets asked: What are we to do with "put your sword away" in a world where groups like ISIS
exist. Are we, or is a nation like the US, to put the sword away when
people are being beheaded, woman raped and girls taken as sex slaves?
I don't have answers to those questions. Because I think any answer I give to those questions will avoid the conversation that Christian pacifists have to have when we talk about violence.
We are -- all of us are, whether Christian, pacifist, or none of the above -- people who live within history and we have to appreciate the tragic nature of history.
If, for example, we bomb ISIS that's not something to cheer about. It's horribly tragic. Plus, that bombing will simply create more violence as those affected by the bombing will most likely become radicalized and come to hate the US. Bombing, even if you think it's "the right thing to do," is tragic and just leads to the next round of violence within history. Jesus was right: "Those who live by the sword, will die by the sword".
And if we don't bomb and ISIS goes into a village, beheading and raping, that's also tragic.
It's tragic all the way around. That's Jesus' point. Use the sword and it's tragic. Put your sword away, especially in a world of violent and evil men, and that's also tragic.
No matter how we as Christians might feel about the use of violence to restrain evil in the world, Jesus' command "put your sword away" forces us to accept all violence as tragic. We must lament violence, even violence we feel is "justified".
That's what upsets me about those who cheer and thrill when people talk about bombing ISIS. So-called Christians who see violence as triumph and never as tragedy.
Because Jesus said "put your sword away", Christians can never cheer violence. We must only grieve it.
And what if we take Jesus' command seriously and decide to "put the sword away", what if we renounce violence and embrace pacifism? How are we to view people like me?
I've come to believe that Christian pacifism is eschatological living in the present. The pacifist -- as sign, sacrament and foretaste of the coming Peaceful Kingdom -- is putting the sword away within history, in a world still full of evil and violent men.
Living an eschatological existence within history creates a radical rupture and break with the world. In the face of evil, the non-violence of Jesus' Kingdom appears naive, immoral and irresponsible. Within history the pacifist is outrageous. The pacifist only makes sense from an eschatological perspective.
Here's the thing: The anger that's directed at me as a pacifist isn't directed at me because I'm a pacifist. It's directed at the Kingdom I represent because the Kingdom is an indictment of the history in which we live. Christian pacifists are the sane ones. It's the world that's gone mad.
Americans misplace their anger when they rage against guys like me, guys who won't pick up the sword. It's not the Peaceful Kingdom to rage against -- it's the world that sees violence as the means toward peace.
Living as an eschatological person within history the pacifist deepens the contrast between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world. In this the pacifist is a prophetic witness, an indictment. But rather than repenting of our violence, we throw the stones at the pacifist, accusing him or her of madness, naivete and irresponsibility.
I get it: It seems insane to refuse to take up the sword. But that's not an indictment of the Kingdom. That's an indictment of the world. Of history.
And here's the thing: The argument about using violence to achieve just ends (the "just war" tradition comes to mind) is an important dialogue to have. Still: When Jesus said "put your sword away", he excluded the sword from the Kingdom. That is, we can never, ever, identify the sword with the Kingdom of God.
You might argue that violence is necessary -- many do make that argument for good and valid reasons ("just war", again) -- but violence can never be good or righteous. Or cheered.
You can never say violence is Christian. If the sword is out, the Kingdom is not there.
Violence is only -- ever! -- a failure, a loss, a lesser evil, an eclipse of the Kingdom of God.
Violence is tragedy.
I don't have answers to those questions. Because I think any answer I give to those questions will avoid the conversation that Christian pacifists have to have when we talk about violence.
We are -- all of us are, whether Christian, pacifist, or none of the above -- people who live within history and we have to appreciate the tragic nature of history.
If, for example, we bomb ISIS that's not something to cheer about. It's horribly tragic. Plus, that bombing will simply create more violence as those affected by the bombing will most likely become radicalized and come to hate the US. Bombing, even if you think it's "the right thing to do," is tragic and just leads to the next round of violence within history. Jesus was right: "Those who live by the sword, will die by the sword".
And if we don't bomb and ISIS goes into a village, beheading and raping, that's also tragic.
It's tragic all the way around. That's Jesus' point. Use the sword and it's tragic. Put your sword away, especially in a world of violent and evil men, and that's also tragic.
No matter how we as Christians might feel about the use of violence to restrain evil in the world, Jesus' command "put your sword away" forces us to accept all violence as tragic. We must lament violence, even violence we feel is "justified".
That's what upsets me about those who cheer and thrill when people talk about bombing ISIS. So-called Christians who see violence as triumph and never as tragedy.
Because Jesus said "put your sword away", Christians can never cheer violence. We must only grieve it.
And what if we take Jesus' command seriously and decide to "put the sword away", what if we renounce violence and embrace pacifism? How are we to view people like me?
I've come to believe that Christian pacifism is eschatological living in the present. The pacifist -- as sign, sacrament and foretaste of the coming Peaceful Kingdom -- is putting the sword away within history, in a world still full of evil and violent men.
Living an eschatological existence within history creates a radical rupture and break with the world. In the face of evil, the non-violence of Jesus' Kingdom appears naive, immoral and irresponsible. Within history the pacifist is outrageous. The pacifist only makes sense from an eschatological perspective.
Here's the thing: The anger that's directed at me as a pacifist isn't directed at me because I'm a pacifist. It's directed at the Kingdom I represent because the Kingdom is an indictment of the history in which we live. Christian pacifists are the sane ones. It's the world that's gone mad.
Americans misplace their anger when they rage against guys like me, guys who won't pick up the sword. It's not the Peaceful Kingdom to rage against -- it's the world that sees violence as the means toward peace.
Living as an eschatological person within history the pacifist deepens the contrast between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world. In this the pacifist is a prophetic witness, an indictment. But rather than repenting of our violence, we throw the stones at the pacifist, accusing him or her of madness, naivete and irresponsibility.
I get it: It seems insane to refuse to take up the sword. But that's not an indictment of the Kingdom. That's an indictment of the world. Of history.
And here's the thing: The argument about using violence to achieve just ends (the "just war" tradition comes to mind) is an important dialogue to have. Still: When Jesus said "put your sword away", he excluded the sword from the Kingdom. That is, we can never, ever, identify the sword with the Kingdom of God.
You might argue that violence is necessary -- many do make that argument for good and valid reasons ("just war", again) -- but violence can never be good or righteous. Or cheered.
You can never say violence is Christian. If the sword is out, the Kingdom is not there.
Violence is only -- ever! -- a failure, a loss, a lesser evil, an eclipse of the Kingdom of God.
Violence is tragedy.