God. Real. Right.

This post is practical in nature. It is based on observation, not necessity. And its point is not that pacifism is wrong (although it is), but that pacifism’s critique of just violence is based on a confused response to emotion.
The international pressure on Israel to move toward a cease-fire with Hamas is a good example of a basic confusion which promotes pacifism over real peace. One of the reasons pacifists mis-characterize all violence as wrong—or as anti-Christian—is related to the reason much violence is wrong. That is, the empathy and altruism built into humanity produce uncomfortable emotions and a corresponding awareness of guilt when a person behaves cruelly. By human (and Humean) nature, people who experience the emotion (empathetic pain or grief) associate it with (more…)

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In the Fall 2008 CTR, Stanley Hauerwas defends his pacifism. The following is simply a section-by-section and sometimes paragraph-by-paragraph response as I read the work. His sections are on the idealism of realism, the nation (or war) as church, and pacifism as realism.

“The Idealism of Realism”
Paragraph 1: Hauerwas claims that critics of pacifism rely on realism to make their claim. But actually, what’s wrong with pacifism is not that it is not realistic, even though I agree that it is not. The fact that something doesn’t work means only that it doesn’t work, not that it is wrong. What’s wrong with Pacifism is (more…)

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This question is particularly addressed at kingdom-minded believers who claim that patriotism, military service, and government authority are the wrong places for Christians to live out their Christianity. It is a very simple question rooted in the golden rule (the universalization of ethical claims; what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.)
What do believers pray will come from government, from those in authority? Simply this: “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” 1 Timothy 2:2. How do “kings and all who are in authority” bring about such a condition? Although Romans 13 does make explicit that it is accomplished with the sword, that passage would not be necessary to figure it out. In all the affairs of men, it is the exercise of (more…)

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Some of those who acknowledge that violence might be virtuous at certain times and for certain people still hold that it is not right for Christians living out the kingdom in the world today.
There are several problems with that position. It misses the necessarily universal nature of moral judgments, for one (as always, a post for another day). But perhaps the most important problem with that position is that it hinges on a misinterpretation of the model of Christ.
A commendation for those who hold that view is that they have certainly chosen the right figure to follow. In the light of 1 Peter 2:21-24, believers must follow Christ’s example in order to be genuine disciples. (more…)

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A Jerry Johnson Live broadcast from July 2, 2008: A Pasadena man is no-billed for shooting neighbors’ burglars with his shotgun. Is such violence ever acceptable for Christians? One small part of my position on pacifism is here. Also, Cal Thomas discusses why the Dallas Morning News dropped his column, how Obama’s candidacy looks to him, and other issues from a Christian perspective.

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The objection to force and violence, whether entirely or only for Christians, is misguided. The nature of God, the role of believers, and the universal nature of ethics all attest to the same thing regarding violence. The argument of this post is one small step among many intended to make clear why pacifism is wrong.
There are some things people do solely for the benefit it brings. A man buys gasoline not because gasoline is good, but because getting where he wants to go really fast and without sweat is good. Gasoline is good only insofar as it is useful for accomplishing another good. That usefulness is called utility. The fact that gasoline is only valuable because of its utility is what makes transitioning to different sources of energy possible–what makes the prospect of non-gasoline-consuming cars which could run just as well as gasoline cars but without petroleum’s side-effects so appealing.
Also, there are some things which are what they are only because other things are what they are. If it is hot outside (more…)

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