And from it, I have some questions.
- If you are like me and you have become convinced in the last couple of years that nonviolent resistance/pacifism is the intent that Jesus would have for his followers, how does the reality of this situation strike you? One thing that it made me wonder is how much easier is it for me to claim this as a lifestyle if my person or my family is not in constant danger of bodily harm? Basically, is it easier to support pacifism if you're really not in any danger of having to hurt someone?
- If you do not lean towards pacifism, how does the whole story strike you? What does seeing a practical application of nonviolent resistance do for your opinion of the philosophy as a whole? Were Shane and Cassim foolish, or even worse, stupid?
3 comments:
I posted recently from Claiborne's book one of his stories from when he was in Iraq. A man at a hospital said to him “Violence is for those who have lost their imagination. Has your country lost its imagination?”
I think too often a violent response seems the best in certain situations. We don't see it is possible to solve a problem any other way. We need more imagination.
This story is great. I don't know that I would have thought to say what Shane did to the other kids. But I think it shows that non-violent resistance is possible, if we are willing to use our imaginations.
Were they stupid or foolish? Perhaps from certain points of view. But truly living out Jesus' example is going to make us look foolish to many people a lot of the time.
Justin, I can drive over to Nashville and slap you.
:D
Gene Sharp has done some great work on creative alternatives to violence. Check his stuff out.
We were talking with Phil and Sheryl about this last night. Sheryl and I agreed that reacting non-violently when it's our own life being threatened is one thing but should anyone ever make a move against one of our kids, it would very likely be an entirely different story!
I also remember Laura Camp saying in a class one Sunday morning that when she first heard Lee talking about pacifism and non-violent resistance she wondered, aloud to him, if that meant were someone to come in and try to harm her (or the boys), what would he do? I believe his response was to the effect that he would try and protect them but not with means and to an end that would bring about the death of the attacker.
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