While I don't think I land fully at your position, I think these posts are an incredibly important conversation as the church has in recent years taken these queations for granted. We jump to the conclusion without wrestling with the scripture.
You pull parts of your argument in previous posts from the Sermon on the Mount, and I wonder if we can treat this similarly to some of the other topics in there, particularly divorce. The Jews had taken God's tolerance of divorce as a license to divorce, and Christ clarifies that there is an extremely narrow definition of what justifies divorce. Divorce should never be taken lightly, it is not how we resolve marital disputes, and it is never good. It is only justifiable when the covenant has been broken with adultery, and it is still not a good thing. Divorce would also not be obligated.
Perhaps we should think about self-defense in the same manner. While God tolerates it, it is not something that can be taken lightly, and we do not have a broad license to commit violence against every threat. Violence is not how we resolve conflict, and it is never good. It would only be justifiable, I believe, when innocent life is under imminent threat, and nonviolent resolution is impossible, and even then to take another life is not a good thing. And as you pointed out, it would not be obligated.
Still something I'm pondering, I'm sure my thoughts will continue to evolve.
While I don't think I land fully at your position, I think these posts are an incredibly important conversation as the church has in recent years taken these queations for granted. We jump to the conclusion without wrestling with the scripture.
You pull parts of your argument in previous posts from the Sermon on the Mount, and I wonder if we can treat this similarly to some of the other topics in there, particularly divorce. The Jews had taken God's tolerance of divorce as a license to divorce, and Christ clarifies that there is an extremely narrow definition of what justifies divorce. Divorce should never be taken lightly, it is not how we resolve marital disputes, and it is never good. It is only justifiable when the covenant has been broken with adultery, and it is still not a good thing. Divorce would also not be obligated.
Perhaps we should think about self-defense in the same manner. While God tolerates it, it is not something that can be taken lightly, and we do not have a broad license to commit violence against every threat. Violence is not how we resolve conflict, and it is never good. It would only be justifiable, I believe, when innocent life is under imminent threat, and nonviolent resolution is impossible, and even then to take another life is not a good thing. And as you pointed out, it would not be obligated.
Still something I'm pondering, I'm sure my thoughts will continue to evolve.
Rick Atchley gave a series of sermons on Marriage and Divorce:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8pvs-VWd0T4hQyEdKqfWutIIhMq7vF8v&si=tvpkRYYU4z-GnY7F
His summary was, in short, “God loves marriage and hates divorce”. This bypasses absolutes and debates of “sin” by focusing on the core principle.
Likewise, we might possibly say “God loves peace, and hates violence.”