Is it ever ok to kill our enemies in the name of Jesus?

[brightlights]

As Christians is it ok to kill our enemies ? Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, what if we are called to war or someone is trying to hurt our families?

Nation states certainly have the God given right to declare just war. Individuals certainly have the right to use lethal force when it is necessary to defend themselves or their families from significant harm.

 

[Freedom~Sprite]

As Christians is it ok to kill our enemies ? Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, what if we are called to war or someone is trying to hurt our families?

If you have an enemy bent on killing you I would say it is better to kill them first in the name of surviving. Otherwise people will be invoking Jesus at your funeral and your murderer will likely be free to kill again.

Fight or flight responses are involuntary. It would be a real chore I imagine for someone to stand there while someone else is coming at them with murderous intent.
But I suppose there are people that do that.
When Jesus was the Father incarnate, I look to the old testament that tells me God never let his chosen people suffer the onslaught of murderers without defending themselves in his name.
Why would a Christian do any different?

 

[Original Happy Camper]

I personally would never go to war but prefer to trust in my faith like Muhammad' Ali

If someone came to my house at night with a weapon in his hand to hurt my family I would shoot him in the knee and not try to kill him....

You would be dead then, if you are that close to only hit his knee then he can shot you or stick you with a knife.

 

[Adstar]

As Christians is it ok to kill our enemies ? Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, what if we are called to war or someone is trying to hurt our families?

No.... Believe Jesus...

 

[Original Happy Camper]

For me, I'm not sure I could kill someone even in defense of my own life.

and leave your wife and children without a husband or a father. I take it that you are the bread winner in the family. What did you gain by not defending yourself? Your family loses.

 

[Monk Brendan]

As Christians is it ok to kill our enemies ? Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, what if we are called to war or someone is trying to hurt our families?

NO!

 

[dfw69]

You would be dead then, if you are that close to only hit his knee then he can shot you or stick you with a knife.

A shotgun will hit him from 50 feet away I doubt he will think of anything but the pain

 

[Original Happy Camper]

A shotgun will hit him from 50 feet away I doubt he will think of anything but the pain

Sorry but the shot pattern from a shot gun at 50 ft is going to hit more than the knee unless you are loaded with slugs. If it is a slug at 50 ft you had better be an expert with that shotgun to hit the knee.

 

[Der Alte]

Jesus says to love your enemies.
He has good reason to say this.
He did it first.

Very clever dodge avoiding the implications of my post. I don't think you are Jesus and I know I am not and I often fall short of His perfection. Once when I was serving in the military in a combat area I met a man from that country who was the same age as I was, 28, he told me he could not remember a time when his country was not at war.
If all of us "enlightened" westerners laid down our weapons and welcomed the rest of the world in peace with open arms I wonder how long it would be before we all spoke Arabic and lived under sharia law?

 

[Der Alte]

A shotgun will hit him from 50 feet away I doubt he will think of anything but the pain

People high on certain illicit drugs feel very little to no pain. Under certain circumstances people can be unaware of being injured. Once upon a time I was injured in combat, fracture of the lower spine, I was unaware of it for about 45 minutes.

 

[PastorFreud]

As Christians is it ok to kill our enemies ? Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, what if we are called to war or someone is trying to hurt our families?

I'm going to join those who say, "No." If God wants someone dead, let him do it himself. If someone was trying to hurt me or my family, then I would have to trust God to make a way to save us without taking another human's life. It would be a faithless act of disobedience to kill someone else to save myself. My wife would not want me to kill in her name either. Now I would use non-lethal defense, mind you.

 

[PastorFreud]

If all of us "enlightened" westerners laid down our weapons and welcomed the rest of the world in peace with open arms I wonder how long it would be before we all spoke Arabic and lived under sharia law?

Why is Arabic not ok as a language? Wouldn't it be better to live in peace and speak another language than be at war and speak English?

What is the problem with sharia law? (I honestly don't know. Haven't studied it. I hear it is like OT law.) I would probably be more concerned about that than by the language concern.

 

[Original Happy Camper]

Why is Arabic not ok as a language? Wouldn't it be better to live in peace and speak another language than be at war and speak English?

What is the problem with sharia law? (I honestly don't know. Haven't studied it. I hear it is like OT law.) I would probably be more concerned about that than by the language concern.

You hear wrong. Study it for yourself.

 

[Original Happy Camper]

Why is Arabic not ok as a language? Wouldn't it be better to live in peace and speak another language than be at war and speak English?

You would have to change your Faith from Protestant to Muslim in order to have another birthday party.

 

[ldibart]

In the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas brought a group of centurions to arrest Jesus. When they laid hands on Jesus, one of His disciple reacted in self defense. Jesus went on to say this.

Matthew 26:50-52 New King James Version (NKJV)
50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. 52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

Yes ALL there would have been killed thus ending the entire work Christ was starting even IF you think it was meant for all mankind like pacifism

Why would he have sword? Jesus knew they had them earlier on when he asked how many swords do you have? now some want to say he was reprimanding them but aaah why did they still have swords after all that time ..

they listened to him on other things just not the swords right? SO that makes no sense ..the swords were indeed used as protection is what makes the most sense in linking scriptures Jesus knew the apostles had a couple swords and never told them to NOT have a sword or they would not have continued to carry a sword.IE we can defend ourselves.

 

[PastorFreud]

You would have to change your Faith from Protestant to Muslim in order to have another birthday party.

I was hoping you would enlighten me since you think it is a bad thing. I wouldn't mind giving up birthday parties for world peace.

 

[PastorFreud]

Yes ALL there would have been killed thus ending the entire work Christ was starting even IF you think it was meant for all mankind like pacifism

I'm not following your point. How can you say all would have been killed when quite clearly this did not happen? It did not happen because Jesus had a better plan, one that did not rely on swords. And swords have multiple uses at the time of Christ. Defending oneself with a sword does not always require using the sword to attack or kill the other person. Why does self defense require killing? I don't think it does.

 

[PastorFreud]

You would have to change your Faith from Protestant to Muslim in order to have another birthday party.

My brief study suggested that Muslims are not on the same page about sharia law and how it would be implemented on a larger scale. There are, it seams, liberal and conservative Muslims.

But even so, we have examples in scripture of God's people enduring the reign of oppressors and winning them over through their witness. Daniel is one example. He did not fight his captors. He didn't defile himself either. Eventually he earned the trust of the leaders. Jesus' disciples are all reported to have died (except one) under an oppressive regime. If Jesus counseled them to fight, they must have missed it. I'm not seeing an oppressive government as a reason to justify killing others. How can they be saved if you shoot them?

 

[dfw69]

Sorry but the shot pattern from a shot gun at 50 ft is going to hit more than the knee unless you are loaded with slugs. If it is a slug at 50 ft you had better be an expert with that shotgun to hit the knee.

I pray I never have to deal with that situation

 

[Kevin Ambrose]

I was hoping you would enlighten me since you think it is a bad thing. I wouldn't mind giving up birthday parties for world peace.

Your ignorance is an insult to the all the Christians who are suffering under Sharia regimes. What you're advocating for are Apostasy laws which forbid the conversion to Christianity. Sharia turns women into second class citizens. It places crippling financial burdens on anyone who refuses to pay a non-believer tax. It advocates execution and brutal punishments for most crimes. There is nothing peaceful about it that brings peace. With the absence of Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus to persecute the Sunni turn on the Shia. It is a never ending cycle of war.

Islam is a heresy. It's law brings only death.