Self-Defense

I was asked to express my belief on being a Quaker and self-defense.  We live in a world that is dangerous. We read in the papers, hear on the radio and see on the TV about attacks robberies, rapes and murders. What I share here is not to change your belief or suggest that this is the only way to address issues that may result in physical violence.  My advice is study the Scripture and apply it to your life and put your trust in the Lord.

On a Sunday morning the first shot from the .45 Glock semiautomatic pistol fired by the 27-year-old local gunman hit the veteran's preacher's Bible, causing "the Word of God" to explode in his hands. With no Bible left to defend him, the pastor recognized the peril he faced and tried to evade his attacker by jumping from the raised stage, only to be met by the shooter who fired three more shots. One of these shots crashed into the heart of the 45-year-old Senior Pastor, a married father of two, a devastating wound that would take the preacher's life. Meantime some of the 150 church members in the first service of the day fought the gunman when his pistol jammed, some sustaining stab wounds from the now killer's 4 inch knife that he used to cut himself and others. Had his pistol not jammed, the shooter had two other loaded magazines; a total of 30 possible shots to be fired that morning.  The question I would ask is what would you do?  Turn the other cheek?  Pray for the shooter as he shoots 30 others?  Or would you do like some of the members of this church---stop the shooter?

Churches are simply a ripe target for those who choose to act out in a violent manner. In 2009 churches in 39 states reported over 141 incidents, including shots fired, robberies, burglaries and bomb threats. Some shooters are liberals, some conservatives, some act under the belief that God ordered them to do so while others do not believe in God or organized religion. And some are just plain nuts.  As Christians we know that the source of all this evil is sin. Man has a sinful heart which causes him to do sinful things. We read this in Romans 3:15  "they are swift to shed blood". So what are we to do? There are two views to this issue—passive or active response.

Before I state my position let’s first look at the example of Jesus Christ.

Jesus taught love, forgiveness, and "turning the other cheek."  Jesus also taught self-defense by advising the disciples to buy a sword in Luke 22:36: "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one." Did Jesus in this verse advocate the use of a sword for self-defense purposes or was this just an accessory to their garments? Jesus revealed to His disciples the future hostility they would face. Here the "sword" (Greek: maxairan) is a dagger or short sword that belonged to the Jewish traveler's equipment as protection against robbers and wild animals. A plain reading of the passage indicates that Jesus approved of self-defense.  In his teaching on love Jesus stated one of the greatest examples of human love come from self-defense, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:14). When protecting one's family or neighbor, a Christian is unselfishly risking his or her life for the sake of others.

If we see someone being attacked are we just to yell for help and do nothing to rescue the victim? Would it be sin to intervene if it meant attacking the attacker? These are important questions. One of the reasons this is important to think about now is because if we are ever in that type of situation we won't have much time to think. Either you act or you don't.

So do I feel it is correct to defend oneself? Yes! Having spent 28 years teaching some students with questionable backgrounds and some just plain criminal, I have been put in situations to protect my students and myself from violent actions of others.  I have been threatened with guns, knives and physical violence.  Twice I have had students who threatened to take my life.  In every case I did not need to respond in a violent manner. But, I was ready to defend myself.  I was asked by one student if he hit me would I hit him back?  I answered him, No, I would not hit him but, I would sue his family for everything they have and that he would live under a bridge the rest of his life.  He agreed it would be better not to hit me.

Again, we live in a dangerous and sinful evil world. We as believers are called to stand up for what is right and against evil.  There are those who feel we must be passive at all times.  That means we cannot have soldiers who are Christians and we cannot have Christian police officers--- we may not be of the world but we still live in the world. There may be a time when you have to step up. What if you or a loved one is attacked would you be able to defend yourself or protect a loved one? Will you be ready? This is a thorny issue, but don't let that keep you from searching the scripture, your heart and God. I do believe that the scripture does teach that we can defend ourselves and others from evil.

It should be noted that the Bible records many accounts of fighting and warfare. The providence of God in war is exemplified by His name YHWH Sabaoth ("The LORD of hosts"--Exodus 12:41). God is portrayed as the omnipotent Warrior-Leader of the Israelites. God, the LORD of hosts, raised up warriors among the Israelites called the shophetim (savior-deliverers). Samson, Deborah, Gideon, and others were anointed by the Spirit of God to conduct war. The New Testament commends Old Testament warriors for their military acts of faith (Hebrews 11:30-40). Moreover, it is significant that although given the opportunity to do so, none of the New Testament saints--nor even Jesus--are ever seen informing a military convert that he needed to resign from his line of work (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 3:14).  

I should add that self-defense does not mean you must take another life; you are defending yourself or others from evil to the point of subduing the evildoer.  My family has been trained in self-defense.  I have encouraged all my grandchildren to take self-defense training for their own personal protection.  I have been referred to as a “fighting Quaker” on many occasions, yet I have never needed to defend myself or family with violence, but I am prepared.  I am thankful that the Lord has been my defender and my faith remains in Him, but I have also taken his advice (buy a sword) or be prepared for evil.