1. There is no assurance that use of force would save my life or the life of my family if confronted by an attacker.
2. We could recall many accounts of unhoped for deliverances, whether by mediation, nature, or divine Providence, when Christians refused to use force when confronted by an attacker.
3. If the result is death at the hands of the attacker, so be it; death is not threatening to us as Christians. Hopefully the attacker will have at least had a glimpse of the love of Christ in our nonviolent response.
4. The Christian does not choose a nonviolent approach to conflict because of assurance it will always work; rather the Christian chooses this approach because of his/her commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord.
The above was quoted from another thread as an Amish response to violence from a bad guy.
This thread is primarily geared to devouted Christians who own firearms and believe in just warfare and defense of self, home, family and property.
What responses do you have to the above said comments?
I won't go into all the Biblical passages and evidences, we all know them. I will just say this, We are commanded to love honor and protect our family and loved ones and to not do so in the name of "showing love to the attacker" is backward. He who does not take care of his own family is worse than a non-believer.
Even many modern non-Amish effeminant Christians wince at carrying a gun claiming "if God wants me to die, then I am going to die." While that is true, you still have an obligation and a duty to care for yourself and those around you within the realm of Providence. That's almost like saying, "I shouldn't work to eat, because if God wants me to die, then I am going to die, the Lord will provide and let food fall on my plate." or "If I am in an car accident I shouldn't try to get medical attention because if God wants me to die then I am going to die." Bottom line, we have a responsibility to preserve life, including our own, just not at the cost of our souls. Putting your own life on the line in defense of your kith and kin shows more love and sacrifice than timidly submitting to a bullet in the head when the means to do something to stop it is available.
Your faith is NOT in the sword/gun, your faith is in God and He can deliever you gun or no gun. That doesn't mean that you throw away the gun. (that's not what Christ told Peter. "PUT away your sword" not "THROW away your sword." We don't live by weapons, but we use them as tools.
None of this is to say that the Amish are evil, bad or non-Christian. They are, without a doubt, very good and gentle people who have many fine qualities of agrarianism, non-materialism and strong ties of local community
PLEASE DON"T LET THIS DEGENERATE INTO AN ARGUMENT OVER WHETHER THERE IS A GOD OR WHY YOU HATE GOD OR CHRISTIANS. If you don't like Christians, then start your own thread or move on to the next thread. Lets keep this a civil discussion about the use of arms/guns within that faith.
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