A Responsibility to Protect Others

In Defense of Christian Nonviolence - Part 2

One objection I hear to Christian nonviolence is that husbands, fathers, and even neighbors are neglecting their responsibility to protect the weak and vulnerable when they commit themselves to nonviolence. I have been asked many times if I would simply let someone murder my family and do nothing to protect them. As I said in my first post, “Why I Believe in Nonviolence,” I understand where this question is coming from, but I want to share why it is an unconvincing argument for me.

What Did Jesus Do?

After my previous post, I received a comment from a reader that said, “The article made me a little sick, to tell you the truth. Any man who will not defend his family is a disgrace.” Many people have been taught that it is a man’s God-given responsibility to protect his family…at any cost. If a man will not do anything and everything within his power to protect others—including killing—he is seen as weak, cowardly, or disobedient to God.

The first thing I would ask people to consider is this, was Jesus neglecting his responsibility when his family was murdered and he did not kill anyone in order to protect them? John the Baptizer was a family member, co-worker, and friend of Jesus.¹ John was arrested, and later beheaded, by Herod.² Jesus was aware of John’s imprisonment, aware of Herod’s potential for violence, and had the power to save him. However, Jesus did not do everything within his power to save his family member from murder.

Is the character of Jesus being unintentionally impugned when we say it is cowardly, disgraceful, or wrong not to do everything within our power to protect family from violence? I believe so. John was family, was innocent, and was helpless to protect himself. Jesus had the power to keep John from being murdered, even if it meant taking a life, but Jesus did not exercise his power in this way.

I am not using this example to prove it is wrong to use violence. However, Jesus’ example proves we do not have a responsibility to use violence to protect our families. If we did have that responsibility, Jesus neglected it.

Nonviolence is Not Passivity

Another reader asked me last week, “So is it your position that a Christian should never defend himself or his family against someone who is a threat to their life?” Unfortunately, that is a very common misunderstanding. People seem to assume nonviolence means a person is resigned to passively allow themselves and others to be harmed.

I am not against defending myself or my family. Let me say that one more time, so no one misses it: I am NOT against defending myself or my family. I am simply against using lethal force to do so. Hiding and/or running away from violent people are also forms of defense. Consider the examples we have in the New Testament:

• “Jesus hid himself” (John 8:59).

• They tried to seize Jesus, “but he escaped from their hands” (John 10:39).

• Jesus “departed and hid himself” (John 12:36).

• Jesus said to his followers, “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next” (Matthew 10:23).

• When Paul learned people were conspiring to kill him, he “was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped” (Acts 9:23-25; 2 Corinthians 11:33).

I realize, in our culture, running away and hiding sound cowardly, but this is what Jesus and his followers did on many occasions. If we say this is a cowardly choice, again, we need to realize what we are unintentionally saying about Jesus. Fleeing, rather than standing your ground and fighting, is a Christ-like thing to do. More importantly, we can also defend the innocent and helpless by hiding them from those who want to hurt them.

So, when I say I am committed to nonviolence, I am not saying I would passively sit by and allow my wife and children to be harmed. That is an accusation I would rather not hear from my brothers and sisters in Christ. I defend my family every day. I actively put a roof over their heads, walls around them, and a locked door between them and the outside world. Of course, these are not the only ways I protect them, but they are a primary means of defense.

Plan to Stop Them, Not Kill Them

Furthermore, I believe there are countless ways a violent person might be stopped or subdued without using lethal force. Subduing someone, who is trying to do harm, is not only loving innocent people; it is also a way of loving our enemy. If we can prevent a violent crime for occurring or continuing, while also preserving lives, we are doing good on multiple levels.

Loving our enemies, as Jesus told us to do, is not something we simply do in our hearts or minds. We must love in our works, not just our words.³ Love means actively doing what is in someone else’s best interest. Simply wishing someone well—wishing you didn’t “have to kill” them—is not love. Love, as the Bible defines it, is actually doing good towards a person.

So, when we make plans about how to defend our families, neighbors, and churches, why not consider plans to stop or subdue attackers without using lethal force? I find it encouraging to know, when civilians stop attackers they typically do so without a gun. In one study of active shooter situations, 13.1% of attacks ended when the attackers were subdued by civilians. Only 3.1% of the attacks were stopped when attackers were shot by civilians.⁴

I simply do not accept the premise that I often hear, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Statistically, that is simply not true. There are other ways to stop bad guys.

Hypothetical Situations

Finally, I have also decided I will try not to build theological positions on hypothetical situations. Unfortunately, this is something we tend to do a lot. The first thing that comes to mind is the way I sometimes hear people dismiss the importance of baptism by saying, “What if someone is in a desert and there’s no water?” The fact that places exist with no water, or very little water, does not change what Scripture says about baptism.

Another example is what Scripture says about money and greed. When we read that wealth is deceitful and Christians should not desire to be rich,⁵ how quickly do we start thinking up “what if…” scenarios to justify our own desire to be rich? “What if I give half of my wealth to the church or to the poor?” we ask. “Surely, it’s not wrong to pursue wealth if it’s for a good purpose.”

These “what if…” scenarios are endless and—if we are honest—they can become excuses for disobedience. We are trying to find loopholes. I think often of the G.K. Chesterton quote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” When we hear difficult instructions from Jesus, our thoughts should be about how to obey (even when it’s hard), not when exceptions can be made.

Jesus knew it was going to be difficult for his followers when he told them to love their enemies and pray for those who persecuted them. He knew situations would arise in which loving their enemies would get them hurt, or even killed. It is a hard truth to accept, but sometimes obedience leads to suffering. When it does, we must commit ourselves to our faithful Creator and “continue to do good.”⁶

Conclusion

I am committed to nonviolence because I believe we must always obey Jesus’ command to love our enemies (doing what is in their best interest), even in situations where obedience leads to our own suffering. That said, I also believe there are plenty of faithful, loving, and obedient ways to defend myself and others against enemies. In other words, sometimes suffering is avoidable.

However, sometimes suffering is unavoidable. When it is, I pray I can remember there is a victory crown for those who are faithful “even to the point of death.”⁷

I love you and God loves you,

Wes McAdams

P.S. This is the second part of a series, “In Defense of Christian Nonviolence.” I will continue to answer objections and questions in subsequent posts. I hope you’ll stay tuned for more.

1. See Luke 1.

2. See Matthew 11:1-6; 14:1-12.

3. See 1 John 3:18; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; James 2:14-16.

4. Source: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-study-2000-2013-1.pdf

5. See Mark 4:19 and 1 Timothy 6:9.

6. 1 Peter 4:19

7. Revelation 2:10