Hello OBOB,
I am currently waiting for my parish priest to return in about a week so that I can begin my instruction to be able to join the Catholic Church. I have settled every issue I had with it (mostly my pride in rejecting teachings I didn't like, as if I were God), although I do have one issue that I can not find an answer to, and I have asked many Catholics, but none can give a definitive answer. So I thought maybe to ask here.
Paragraph 2306 of the CCC states: "Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death." My question is about the meaning of "in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest." To my knowledge, under certain circumstances someone can have an obligation to defend someone else, does this mean that I would have to use violence in some cases, or can I use non-violent means alone always to fulfill this? The reason I ask is because I do not ever want to do a violent thing (this lifestyle, called non-resistance, forbids self-defense, calling the police, harming another in defense of anything, etc, though you can resist things and defend them non-violently, no matter if it fails or not). So if I can fulfill this without being violent, then I'll be fine for this issue. I would think that you could, as it says "those who renounce violence" at the beginning, but many have told me in certain cases you can have an obligation to do something violent in order to defend someone.
Another question that immediately follows is, do I have an obligation to defend myself violently ever? If I have to use violence in the first question (for others), I'd think I would for myself. Not sure.
A third question, is in paragraph 2240 of the Catechism, it says: "Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country." How authoritative is this statement? I have heard that you do not have to vote in a system that you feel is entirely immoral and corrupt (I don't wish to vote for my reasons of not wanting to do violence, non-resistance forbids voting and petitioning the government, also "this is America" and corrupt is a given). And if I do have to vote, do I fulfill this right no matter who I vote for (specifically I would always vote for my neighbor "Bob the Baptist")? And does this mean I have to vote every single time there is an election, or primary? Local, state, and federal?
A fourth bonus question, that is infinitely less important to me than the above three, other than the Haydock commentary, what are some really good and complete Catholic commentaries on the Bible? I'd like to get one for studying better.
Thank you for your time.
(Note: I know self-defense is a right, and I can not say it is a sin, this is just for me and my lifestyle. Also, though rarely, some take non-resistance as somehow being like anarcho-capitalism, which it is not. It does not follow a "non-aggression principle" (NAP), it simply does not resist evil by force. Which is not at all like the NAP, which specifically allows resisting things by force, and is based around that. Radically different.)
I am currently waiting for my parish priest to return in about a week so that I can begin my instruction to be able to join the Catholic Church. I have settled every issue I had with it (mostly my pride in rejecting teachings I didn't like, as if I were God), although I do have one issue that I can not find an answer to, and I have asked many Catholics, but none can give a definitive answer. So I thought maybe to ask here.
Paragraph 2306 of the CCC states: "Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death." My question is about the meaning of "in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest." To my knowledge, under certain circumstances someone can have an obligation to defend someone else, does this mean that I would have to use violence in some cases, or can I use non-violent means alone always to fulfill this? The reason I ask is because I do not ever want to do a violent thing (this lifestyle, called non-resistance, forbids self-defense, calling the police, harming another in defense of anything, etc, though you can resist things and defend them non-violently, no matter if it fails or not). So if I can fulfill this without being violent, then I'll be fine for this issue. I would think that you could, as it says "those who renounce violence" at the beginning, but many have told me in certain cases you can have an obligation to do something violent in order to defend someone.
Another question that immediately follows is, do I have an obligation to defend myself violently ever? If I have to use violence in the first question (for others), I'd think I would for myself. Not sure.
A third question, is in paragraph 2240 of the Catechism, it says: "Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country." How authoritative is this statement? I have heard that you do not have to vote in a system that you feel is entirely immoral and corrupt (I don't wish to vote for my reasons of not wanting to do violence, non-resistance forbids voting and petitioning the government, also "this is America" and corrupt is a given). And if I do have to vote, do I fulfill this right no matter who I vote for (specifically I would always vote for my neighbor "Bob the Baptist")? And does this mean I have to vote every single time there is an election, or primary? Local, state, and federal?
A fourth bonus question, that is infinitely less important to me than the above three, other than the Haydock commentary, what are some really good and complete Catholic commentaries on the Bible? I'd like to get one for studying better.
Thank you for your time.
(Note: I know self-defense is a right, and I can not say it is a sin, this is just for me and my lifestyle. Also, though rarely, some take non-resistance as somehow being like anarcho-capitalism, which it is not. It does not follow a "non-aggression principle" (NAP), it simply does not resist evil by force. Which is not at all like the NAP, which specifically allows resisting things by force, and is based around that. Radically different.)