Turning the other cheek to reach for a weapon
Mark Steyn ponders whether England will now "go back to the Bob Geldof agenda or avenge her dead?" [HT: Hugh Hewitt]
I overheard from one co-worker yesterday these words in response to yesterday's bombing in London, "The Lord taught us to turn the other cheek." I gritted my teeth and let the comment pass as it was not directed toward me and its speaker was already halfway down the hall before I could compose myself.
I'm a Catholic. To the uninitiated that makes me a Christian. When Christ spoke of "turning the other cheek", he meant it, as he did with many of his words, metaphorically. A slap on the cheek is an insult. It is disrespectful and rude. And it hurts a little. To offer one's other cheek in response to that means to rise above pettiness and keep one's own petty reactions in check. It is a lesson in composure in the face of an insult. It is not a lesson in pacifism in the face of a loved one's body parts plastered to a wall.
If you still believe Christ was a pacifist, see his reaction in the Temple when he was confronted by more than an insult but rather complete moral degradation in the house of God. In short, he kicked a** and took names.
"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven...A time of war, And a time of peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:1,8)
Alas, it is a time of war.
I overheard from one co-worker yesterday these words in response to yesterday's bombing in London, "The Lord taught us to turn the other cheek." I gritted my teeth and let the comment pass as it was not directed toward me and its speaker was already halfway down the hall before I could compose myself.
I'm a Catholic. To the uninitiated that makes me a Christian. When Christ spoke of "turning the other cheek", he meant it, as he did with many of his words, metaphorically. A slap on the cheek is an insult. It is disrespectful and rude. And it hurts a little. To offer one's other cheek in response to that means to rise above pettiness and keep one's own petty reactions in check. It is a lesson in composure in the face of an insult. It is not a lesson in pacifism in the face of a loved one's body parts plastered to a wall.
If you still believe Christ was a pacifist, see his reaction in the Temple when he was confronted by more than an insult but rather complete moral degradation in the house of God. In short, he kicked a** and took names.
"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven...A time of war, And a time of peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:1,8)
Alas, it is a time of war.
posted by Wonderdog | 8:34 AM | Permalink
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2 comments
2 Comments:
I think it is fine to turn the other cheek, as long as the turner of the cheek is the only one that's going to get slapped and doesn't mind it. But we can't turn the other cheek (i.e., turn away) when someone else is about to get slapped (or bombed or beheaded). Then we have a duty to defend the innocent.
BTW, Wonderdog, were you tempted to slap the co-worker upside the head and then wait for the cheek turning to smack the other side? How many swats does it take to turn a pacifist?
LOL, CIV!
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