You know, I'm talking about He-Man Jesus, not that namby-pamby liberal pacifist Jesus the wishy-washy hippy Christians and Episcopalians are so fond of. I mean, he was right there, telling his followers to cut down anyone who came to harm them (Luke 22:49-51, Matt. 26:47-53), to strike back at persecutors (Matt. 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-28), to fear those who come to kill you (Matt. 10:28), and to enjoy sweet vengeance if someone offers you violence (Matt. 5:38-39) because life and security in this world is the highest Christian virtue (John 18:36).
But, of course, I jest.
The question of Christian pacifism is a difficult one, debated by much more intelligent lights than Mr. Ramsey (or myself) for centuries. What seems pretty certain to me, though is there is no concerted mass wave of violence against American Christians. There has been one shooter who appeared to target Christians (and his argument seemed to be more against organized religion than Christian faith per se).
While there is a wing of Christians who seem bound and determined to portray themselves as Latter-Day Martyrs, there's as yet little foundation for such concern. (And, even if it were so, the Martyrs of Old were … Martyrs, not gunslingers fighting back against the sinister and superior forces of anti-Christian paganism. Until they were the ones in power, at least.)
My reading of the Gospels regarding violence and self-protection is that Jesus put such things in the hands of the authorities — the civil government and the military. There's ambiguity about personal self-defense — some passages where Jesus seems to be okay with people carrying weapons, but, as noted above, condemning their use. And while I am able to cite examples of Jesus suggesting that persecution and martyrdom and the attacks of enemies should be answered with love (and welcomed as signs of faith), I don't think I could be sanguine about an attack (religiously motivated or not) upon myself, let alone my family. Though I think that makes me less of a good Christian rather than rationalizing that Jesus is jiggy with Christians packing heat.
Ron Ramsey Calls On Christians To Arm Themselves Following Oregon Mass Shooting
Christians should consider arming themselves, Tennessee’s Senate Speaker says in response to Thursday’s shooting at a community college in Oregon. Ron
There is a pretty sizable portion of Christians who look for any evidence they can find that says Jesus would be okay with them doing whatever they want, rather than admitting that hey, following Christ is not supposed to be all that easy.