I never imagined that I would be writing, for the third consecutive month, about biblical nonresistance. But I have stirred up some discussion among sincere people with my previous two e-teachings on the subject.

I love my Christian pacifist friends, but a few have recently “un-friended” me on Facebook. When I see how some of them struggle with “turning the other cheek” in regard to a minor doctrinal disagreement, I have to wonder how well they would do if they faced much more challenging situations in which they claim they would not resist. In their case, the popular proverb of Jesus’ day has application: “Physician, heal yourself!” (Luke 4:23).

Image courtesy of Journeys with the Messiah Collection, https://journeyswiththemessiah.org.

I knew last month’s e-teaching would be controversial, because many good folks who love Jesus hold different views on the subject of nonresistance, war, and Christian participation in the military. Not everyone agreed with my teaching. (Surprise!) I received comments on both sides of the issue, and some that were in the middle. In light of those comments, I decided to write a follow-up, but first wanted to get some additional feedback. So I posed the following questions on my Facebook page, requesting response from pacifist friends:

Three questions for my pacifist friends: The original apostles are all at a church gathering along with their wives and children. A lone gunman enters and begins shooting everyone, starting with the children. What is (1) the application of Jesus’ commandment to “not resist an evil person,” (2) the application of His commandment to give the offender an opportunity to do twice the harm intended (as that IS what Jesus commanded….”turn the other cheek, go the second mile, give him your coat”), and (3) the application of His commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself?