On Loving Your Enemy
Always a fine topic to ponder when the people of earth are very busy blowing each other to pieces. I’d like to recommend a couple of DVD’s that should stir the Christian imagination a bit. Recently released, End of the Spear and (a few years older) To End All Wars. Both exceeded my expectations. If you’ve seen either or both, I’d like to hear your thoughts.
I would recommend “The Face of Evil”. Its in documentary form but it chronicles the fight against Communism, facism and Islamo-Nazism. A must-see for Reagan fans.
I think “To End all Wars” is one of the best Christian movies of all time.
I agree with Steve — “To End All Wars” is superb. Powerful stuff.
Have seen both and think both films are good not great. I recommend seeing the documentary about the missionaries and their deaths called “Beyond the gates of Splendor.” It shows actual footage of the men, their familes and even the contact made with the natives right before they were killed. The interviews with their widows and children as well as the regenerated natives are awesome. I think you can still rent it at many stores and probably order it on Netflix.
I do not think “just wars” are inconsistent with Christianity by any means. Jesus did teach his followers to love their enemies and turn the other cheek on a one-to-one basis. It was Paul, however, who directly addressed state policy when he, in Romans 13, advocated allegience to governments which were given “the sword” by God to punish evil and protect the innocent.
Interestingly, in Luke 3, John the Baptist, who was asked by solidiers “what should I do not now that I am a Christian?”, in effect, simply tells them to do their job well and honorably. He never advocates resigning their position or refusing to do their duties.
14Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
In other words, I do believe the Bible support pacifism. Normally you support your country and fight its wars until the point you are ordered to kill the innocent.
That next to last sentence should have read: “I do NOT believe the Bible supportS pacifism.”
Jut for the record.
I saw the End of the Spear as well. While I was amazed at the bravery of he missionaries, I thought that for the next group to bring children was irresponsible to the extreme.
Un-con,
I admit that I, too, had a negative reaction to the surviving spouses exposing their kids to possible shish kebab treatment by the Waodani. However, as a matter of faith and radical commitment, that move probably contributed greatly to winning the Waodani hearts. It would be a great question for Steve Saint.
I saw End of the Spear with my mother in law who was raised in the mission field in the jungles of Colombia. She knew some of the people involved. I could tell the film had a powerful impact on her. It’s quite good and I’m surprised it didn’t do a bit better at the box office than it did.
I asked her why they took the children when they went to live with the tribe and she said small children actually tended to smooth things out. Parenthood helps remind people of their commonality.
Proximo,
I’ll agree that the children probably learned and were able to teach. As I recall from the movie, the young boy was good with the Waodani language.
I might just be too sensitive to the issue. I do family law and see too many parents involving their kids in adult matters. It just seemed that although the wives most definitely had their hearts in the right place, they were risking those kids. Maybe the movie could have shown some debates about the issue, so it would not have seemed like such a cavalier decision.
And calling me Un-Con? A more sensitive soul could think you were impugning my conservatism with that abbreviation:)
Yeah, I’ll try something different next time. Un-Con sounds like some UN program.
Eegads! Not even I had thought of something so slanderous!