D
The other thing I think about when I read arguments that Christians are not allowed to defend themselves ("Turn the other cheek!") is that I always wonder, if this is going to be the rule we should follow, how far and to what age does this extend?
* What if your child is walking home from school and someone drives by and tries to toss him or her into their vehicle and drive off?
* What if someone approaches your child in an inappropriate manner, whether a teacher, student, friend, neighbor, etc?
What will you teach your child to do? React passively and allow themselves to be kidnapped or a victim of abuse?
I know I for one would teach my child what my parents taught me: SCREAM, RUN, HIT, BITE, KICK, CLAW them with your nails if you have to, use anything you can as a weapon, and ANY MEANS NECESSARY to get yourself out of that situation and find help.
If a Christian adheres to the "turn the other cheek" philosophy 100%, they will be required to teach their child to do nothing. And if they DO teach their children to fight back and defend themselves, at what age will you then tell them that they have to start passively turning the other cheek?
Where would the dividing line be when we would then say, "Ok, now when someone tries to harm you or molest you or kidnap you, you have to turn the other cheek and just let it happen because Jesus doesn't believe in using violence to defend yourself"?
I honestly believe that God would endorse common sense... and I would hope that self-defense in such situations would be a no-brainer.
* What if your child is walking home from school and someone drives by and tries to toss him or her into their vehicle and drive off?
* What if someone approaches your child in an inappropriate manner, whether a teacher, student, friend, neighbor, etc?
What will you teach your child to do? React passively and allow themselves to be kidnapped or a victim of abuse?
I know I for one would teach my child what my parents taught me: SCREAM, RUN, HIT, BITE, KICK, CLAW them with your nails if you have to, use anything you can as a weapon, and ANY MEANS NECESSARY to get yourself out of that situation and find help.
If a Christian adheres to the "turn the other cheek" philosophy 100%, they will be required to teach their child to do nothing. And if they DO teach their children to fight back and defend themselves, at what age will you then tell them that they have to start passively turning the other cheek?
Where would the dividing line be when we would then say, "Ok, now when someone tries to harm you or molest you or kidnap you, you have to turn the other cheek and just let it happen because Jesus doesn't believe in using violence to defend yourself"?
I honestly believe that God would endorse common sense... and I would hope that self-defense in such situations would be a no-brainer.
If you were out preaching the gospel tommorrow and had people threatening you over it, it is obvious to me this is a turn the other cheek situation if they want to get violent over it. However, if you are walking down the street tommorrow and see a rapist trying to harm a child.....no one on God's green Earth thinks stepping in to stop something like that is uncalled for.
You just have people on both extremes running around trying to justify their own behavior most of the time, when in reality.....there is a good middleground that you can find with the discernment that God gave you that is Spiritually accurate.