Barbarian observes:
Defending yourself is not a sin.
And presumably you would accept also that defending yourself is not hatred and not violence?
Doesn't have to be either. I try not to hate anyone. And often, when threatened, I've managed to defend myself without violence. But not always.
And does this mean that you are distancing yourself from what Purex stated, in response to which you only a short while ago said 'Purex nailed it'? This seems a very quick change of mind on your part. Is that all it takes?
You seem to be confused over the fact that we don't always manage to follow Jesus and His advice, with the fact that He told us to love our enemies.
Barbarian observes:
It's just that there's a better way. And no, I'm not good enough to do that, much of the time.
Few of us are that Christlike.
Are you making a general point here?
Yes.
It sounds rather that you cannot make a general point because there is no justification for it. But you still want to wash your dirty linen and flagellate yourself.
Jesus clearly told us what to do. You're dismayed, because it could cost you your pride, you property, even your life. And I get that. But even if it's got all those consequences, it's still what He told us to do.
It sounds like you are saying that other people should be better but so long as you admit that you aren't then you don't have to be.
Not being perfect is a humbling experience, no? We aren't as good as we are called to be. None of us is. But we can try. So, I don't hate, and I try to love my enemies and care about them. And I avoid violence, even when I could make it work for me.
A bit like people who park in prohibited places and think that by putting on their warning lights it gives them a valid excuse?
If you think being weak excuses sin, you're still not getting it. And even then, it's not always a sin to fall short of what we are called to be.
Barbarian observes:
We have a right to live, and if we have to resort to the sword to live, we aren't sinning.
But the cycle of violence goes on thereby.
But if you agree that self-defence is not being violent
Unfortunately, it often is. The point is what He made of it; live by the sword; die by the sword.
then the cycle of violence has indeed stopped. How can you say in the same post that self defence is not sin and then say that it is still violence???
Sin and violence are not synonyms.
Pardon me, I don't really know you.
To understand this, you'll have to know yourself, not me.
For neither of us, then.
I am just completely confused at how you can say this. It really makes me think that you are just plain lying.
Moral dilemmas often cause us to be angry with others.
And that you want to outwardly agree with me that self-defence is not sin
Normally it isnt.
Most often, it is. I've been able to talk my way out of a lot of situations, but sometimes, that fails, and I've been unwilling to turn the other cheek. That's my failing.
Often it is. Did we defend ourselves against the Japanese? Was there violence and hatred involved? Sure there was.
How about radical Muslims?