A Christian Case for Self-Defense
“You have heard it said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
“But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
“Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.”
You might think that I will try to make those passages say something they do not, but I refuse to. If you are a Christian who does not believe in taking another life, I have no intention of changing your mind. Non-violence is woven into the faith of the New Testament and the Early Church.
I am writing for American Christians raised in a gun-loving environment who are thinking about owning or already own a firearm to defend themselves and others. This is for those, like me, who either consciously or subconsciously feel unsure about how this potential use of violence can be reconciled with their Christian faith.
It is easier to comprehend and justify Christians using violence to defend the lives of others. Martin Luther interprets the commandment, “you shall not murder” to mean:
We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need [in every need and danger of life and body].
St. Cyril (missionary to the Slavs) spoke on this in even greater depth which you can read for yourself.
So Christians may use violence to defend each other and those in need. Both Traditional and Protestant Christianity can attest to this. But we are still left without a way to think about Christian self-defense. I believe we can begin to reconcile self-defense with the Christian faith by turning to the Apostle Paul. He writes in Romans chapter 13,
“…but if you do wrong, be afraid, for [the ruler] does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
In a broken and sinful world, where sin has snowballed from the fall of Adam to the present, nations cannot afford to stick flowers into gun barrels and hope for the best. That is why God gives the sword to governments so they can exercise counter-violence to maintain order and peace.
Since many conservative legislators interpret the 2nd Amendment broadly, most Americans have the right to share in this responsibility of counter-violence. However, just as our military and police forces ought to practice discipline, so too should firearm owners.
Discipline begins before you ever draw your gun. It begins at the range when you increase your proficiency with your carry gun. It begins when you think through how you will engage or not engage a target. It begins with awareness of your surroundings.
Most importantly, good discipline is giving yourself options before you need to use potentially lethal force. Kimber makes a pepper spray gun that will likely incapacitate an attacker. Martial arts are also an excellent way to force a threat into submission without ending their life.
These extra steps will all cost time, money, and attention, but if they can help you defend yourself and others without ending a life, then it is more than worthwhile. Even if someone means to end your life, even if he or she has never done a good deed in their life, that person is still created in the image of God. that person is still someone Jesus died for. So that person is worth trying to save.
And there is a good chance that even if you end up throwing lead, that you will not end someone’s life because 80% of handgun injuries are non-lethal. Another discipline Christian gun carriers can learn is first aid and how to treat a gun shot wound. That isn’t only so you can patch yourself or a loved one up if they are injured, but so you can show love to your enemy and help your attacker.
But there is still a 20% chance that you will end a life. There is a solid probability that you will have to kill in order to not be killed. That is a no-win situation. If you do not kill your attacker, your attacker will kill you. One way or another, someone will commit murder. Only in a broken and sinful world can such impossible options exist. But thanks be to God that Christianity is more than discipline and virtue, but also about forgiveness.
Whether it is Martin Luther, suggesting to “sin boldly, but believe more boldly still” when faced with a no-win (or rather no-sin) situation or St. Basil the Great, instructing those who have taken a life in war to refrain from the Eucharist for a short time, the Church has thought of ways to deal with the messiness of life that is neither black nor white, but rather grey of varying shades.
So if you do not choose to defend yourself or others with deadly force, commend your life to Christ and trust in His mercy. In a similar vein, if you do choose to use a gun to defend yourself and others, do the same.
~Charles P.
