In Reply to: Re: LOL posted by susie on July 18, 2006 at 01:43:50:
You've asked a complex question to which there isn't a simple, one-size-fits-all answer. I PERSONALLY believe that following Jesus means following a personal path & lifestyle of nonviolence, but I also believe that this way of life does not allow acts of violence to go unchecked, unresisted, or unprotested.
If it comes down to "kill or be killed," then I might choose my own death over taking the life of another, more violent person. If it comes down to "kill or let an innocent bystander be killed," then I might choose to defend an innocent life against the aggressor. I'm not entirely sure why I feel this way. I don't see my own death as that big a deal, because it's something I actually look forward to. I see the death of innocents as a big deal, because this may not be something they have choosen to accept.
When I say I look foward to death, it's not because I think I'm getting pie in the sky when I die. If all I get is a cessation from the anguish of this mortal coil, that is sufficient for me. I guess I don't fear the pain of suffering in hell for all eternity because I've suffered a great deal already during my lifetime; if one's state of awareness can reach a place that is more anguished than what I already know as conscious human existence, then there truly is no justice and little reason to hope.
Something I'm also NOT saying is that I look forward to death because I'm depressed and think my life totally sucks. I have a very good life with many, many blessings. I want to be around to see my grandchildren grow up and pass through life's milestones, like going to school, falling in love, and finding a meaningful occupation. Yet I know that all the wonderful things that hold me to this beautiful world are passing, intransigent, just as I am.
I don't think it's necessary to be a Christian to believe and think as I do. I just know that when I think about Jesus' teachings and about the possible meanings of his life and death, I get this perspective that all is well and good, including the apparent injustice of death. The paradox of this perspective is that I do not understand what goes on inside of people who find it easy to justify taking a life.