[QUOTE=peekercpa]
When the Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus in Gesthemane Peter hacked off one of their ears.
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And Jesus rebuked him for it.
[QUOTE=Fear Itself]
And Jesus rebuked him for it.
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Jesus rebuked Peter for hacking off the soldier’s ear, but not for carrying a sword.
Jesus had no objection to packing heat. He merely objected to Peter’s use of force in that particular situation.
[QUOTE=DanBlather]
But why aren’t Christians ™ upset with the administration and it’s stance on healthcare, welfare, guns, war, and the environment?
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We are, mostly.
Some Christians are not white. Some Christians are not Protestant. Some Christians are not even American. (A majority in all three cases, as a matter of fact.)
While I am a Democrat personally, I understand why some Christians would support Bushco. The reason being that some elements on the left have been savagely attacking Christianity for the last few decades.
[QUOTE=JThunder]
Jesus rebuked Peter for hacking off the soldier’s ear, but not for carrying a sword.
Jesus had no objection to packing heat. He merely objected to Peter’s use of force in that particular situation.
[/QUOTE]
I agree, I never maintained biblical support for disarming people. However, there is ample support for Jesus’s pacifism, and for his commandment to not resist an evil person. You can pack heat, but you may not use it. Make of that what you will.
[QUOTE=Fear Itself]
I agree, I never maintained biblical support for disarming people. However, there is ample support for Jesus’s pacifism, and for his commandment to not resist an evil person. You can pack heat, but you may not use it. Make of that what you will.
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Ah. Not gun control. Bullet control.
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99]
Ah. Not gun control. Bullet control.
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Well, impulse control, anyway.
[QUOTE=Fear Itself]
Could you cite the portion of FriarTed’s post that says the government should not? I was responding to his post about the responsibilities of Christians, not that of government.
[/QUOTE]
Ok, I thought you were saying that one could only support forcible redistribution of wealth by ignoring lots of Jesus’ teaching, and I was wondering which teaching you meant.
But that may be part of the problem. The distinction between what is moral for governments and what is moral for individuals is not unique to Christianity. Most would agree that the state can do things (imprisonment, taxation) that would be wrong if done by an individual. So it makes sense to vote for people who want the government to do things that would be wrong if I did them myself. I can vote for raising taxes, but I can’t take other people’s money at gunpoint, even if I hand it over to the poor.
Perhaps that answers the question of the title. We may have a different understanding of what the role of government officials are, and don’t apply to them the teachings that Jesus intended (we think) to apply to individuals.
Plus we are not supposed to judge others, so we should not be calling people “the devil” or any of that. Certainly not a rule that is obeyed nearly as often as it should, but there you are.
Regards,
Shodan
[QUOTE=Weirddave]
The only one that pops to mind is “Render unto Caesar..”, but that doesn’t really apply in this case, as it was an admonishment to pay your taxes, not an endorsement of how the tax money is spent . . .
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I don’t think Jesus cared much if people paid their taxes. His statement was a response to people (Pharisees?) who were trying to trick him into implicating himself with either the secular or religious authorities of the day. Say “you should pay taxes”, and you’re a Rome-lover; say “you shouldn’t pay taxes”, and you’re subject to punishment by the Romans. It’s a lose-lose situation for him.
He turned the question on its side, in effect telling them that their focus on the political situation between the Jews and the Romans was aiming too low. The coin God cares about doesn’t have anyone’s face stamped on it. The most significant part of his statement is not “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”, but what follows.
Can I back any of this up? Nope. I’m not a Biblical scholar. It’s entirely possible that I’m wrong.