As one who teaches that Christians are under Christ’s command to love their enemies and refrain from violence against them (Luke 6:27-36, Matthew 5:38-48), I have heard every counter-argument in the book. The paradigm of nonviolent enemy love does not align with with the type of Christianity many of us are born into, and out of that tension we’re often forced to try to explain away what Jesus taught on the matter.
It is impossible to justify violence against enemies using the teachings of Jesus (though there’s a frequent attempt to misuse Luke 22:26, which I’ve dealt with here). Since one cannot justify being a pistol-packer from Jesus himself, many turn to the Old Testament for validation. However, even grossly misapplying the stories of the Old Testament, one still cannot arrive at a solid argument for individual Christians being armed to the teeth with guns. The closest one can get is an argument for jihad– because religious war is really the bulk of what we see in the OT.
However, folks certainly do try to justify Christians and guns from the OT, and they’ll often turn to Exodus 22:2 to do so. Let me quickly explain why this simply doesn’t work.
First, as Christians we do not turn to the Law of Moses to find our ethical standards for living– we are under the Law of Christ, not Moses. Furthermore, the works of Jesus brought a complete end to the law and all of its regulations. Even Paul himself called out followers of Jesus who still taught we were to follow the Law of Moses, and said either every regulation is still in full effect, or none of it is (Gal 5:3). Thus, when someone appeals to the OT to skirt around something Jesus said, they’re not only wrong but it shows they’ve missed the entire point of Scripture itself (John 5:39).
However, even if appealing to the Law of Moses were a valid argument, Exodus 22:2 still doesn’t work to justify American style armed self defense. Let’s look at the verse:
“If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed” Ex 22:2
At face value, that certainly seems to justify lethal violence in self defense– but it just so happens that Exodus 22:2 is only part of that law, which is precisely why those who misuse it do not continue the full quote. The second half, found in the next verse says:
“But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder.” (v3)
This verse was written to ancient nomads living in tents in the desert, and covers two scenarios: one where you’re startled by an intruder in your tent when it is complete darkness, and one where you can fully see them in daylight. The concession of verse 22 is clearly pointing to being startled in the darkness by an intruder, and the intruder accidentally ends up dead.
When people are scared in the dark and try to get away, bad things can happen even though the individual doesn’t intend it. For example, if you’re grabbed while walking on a dark path and shove the attacker to get away, but the attacker falls and dies, it would be disingenuous to say that lethality was an actual intent. This verse made room for those kinds of incidents when lethality was clearly not the intention.
However, the verse then switched to daylight– when you can actually see the intruder in your home. In this scenario, any kind of violent response that would lead to death is not only condemned, but considered murder. In these cases, the one who used lethal violence against a day-time intruder would themselves be put to death.
While often used by gun-slingers to justify shooting a home intruder, verse 3 actually backfires (see what I did there?) on the one making the argument.
If we were to apply verse 3 to the modern world (which we’re not supposed to) we’d see that for guns to be used properly they must be precisely aimed. One can only aim at a target if there is enough light to actually see the target. If there were enough light to see the target and formulate the intent to kill the intruder, such scenarios would be considered murder and punishable by death if we were to actually apply the full passage.
Here’s the score card:
Trying to get away from someone who attacks you in the dark, and they accidentally get killed? Understandable.
You draw a gun, aim at an intruder and pull the trigger? That’s murder.
Thus, appealing to Exodus 22 not only fails to win the theological argument, but actually shows that Christians who’d use a gun to kill an intruder would suffer death by stoning under the Law of Moses.
27 Responses
Dacă preferați să jucați Lucky Jet pe computer, descărcați aplicația desktop din Lucky oficial Jet site-ul web. La tragedia dell’ Heysel: cosa è successo in Juventus-Liverpool il 29 maggio 1985 – VIDEO Un aspect cheie care diferențiază 1win de multe alte platforme de jocuri este concentrarea pe securitate și practici corecte de joc. Licențiată oficial, compania respectă cele mai înalte standarde ale industriei în ceea ce privește protecția datelor utilizatorilor și asigurarea unor condiții echitabile pentru toți jucătorii. Algoritmii utilizați pentru generarea numerelor aleatorii sunt auditați regulat de firme independente, iar toate tranzacțiile financiare sunt criptate folosind tehnologii de ultimă generație. În ceea ce privește aplicațiile de curse de cai pentru Android și iOS go, dacă accesați lansarea ReelPlay a rolelor Odin Infinity. În plus, atunci veți vedea că aceasta încorporează și funcția BTG Megaways alături. Cazinourile live: experiențe autentice și senzații tari.
https://dados.unifei.edu.br/user/batquinore1970
Ce strategii și sfaturi pentru gambling pro folosesc jucătorii în JetX: Produits disponibles : 6042 JUCAȚI RESPONSABIL: jetxgame este un site independent care nu are nicio legătură cu site-urile pe care le promovăm. Înainte de a merge la un cazinou sau de a face un pariu, trebuie să vă asigurați că îndepliniți toate condițiile de vârstă și alte criterii legale. Scopul jetxgame este de a oferi materiale informative și distractive. Acesta este oferit doar în scop informativ educativ. Dacă faceți clic pe aceste linkuri, veți părăsi acest site. Lucky Jet este un alt joc crash popular care urmează conceptul lui Aviator. Acesta include eroul principal cu un rucsac cu reacție. Aici, rucsac cu reacție-ul jucătorului zboară spre cer, fiecare secundă adăugându-se la multiplicatorul pariului. Scopul este să îl oprești înainte să se prăbușească. Datorită celor 2 pariuri pe rundă și a istoriei jocurilor anterioare, există multe oportunități pentru jocul strategic.
Kimi zaman sweet bonanza dice slot oyununda ana oyun kazançlarına göre bonus turlarında elde edilen kazançlar daha yüksek oranlarda olabiliyor. Tabi ki bu aşamada şans faktörünün önemi de oldukça büyük. Slot oyunu esnasında bonus turlar ağırlıklı olarak ücretsiz dönüşler ile tetiklenmesi sonrasında kullanılır. Yapılan ücretsiz dönüşler esnasında da özel özellikler devreye girer. Her geçen gün çok fazla insan tarafından tercih ediliyor olsa da bu slot oyununun oynanış mantığı ile alakalı tam olarak bilgi sahibi olamıyorlar. Bunun sonucunda da aslında eğlenceli şekilde zaman geçirecekleri zamanlarda farklı oyunları tercih etmek zorunda kalabiliyorlardı. Günümüze bakıldığında ise sweet bonanza dice demo alternatiflerinin ciddi anlamda ön plana çıkmaya başlaması ile beraber insanlar hem eğlenmek hem de oyunu çok daha iyi şekilde kavramak adına oyunun demo versiyonunu tercih ediyorlar.
https://lifeinsys.com/user/beisorvitou1986
Bu oyun, renkli empieza eğlenceli tasarımı, basit oyun dinamikleri empieza çekici bonus özellikleri ile tanınır. “Sweet Bonanza” slot oyununu bedava oynamak istiyorsanız, bu oyunun trial versiyonunu arayabilirsiniz. Eğlenceli ve renkli dünyasıyla Sweet Bonanza, slot machine oyunları arasında öne çıkan bir klasik. Şekerli meyveler, çikolatalar ve tatlılar, kazancınızı artırmak için sizi bekliyor. рџЋ– Türkiye’deki en güvenilir casino siteleri 2025 рџЋ– Türkiye’deki en güvenilir casino siteleri 2025 Bir sonraki güncel adresimiz : privebet665 olacaktır, lütfen dikkat ediniz.
Os especialistas afirmam que esse caça-níqueis é caracterizado por uma volatilidade média. Para aqueles que não sabem o que isso significa, é importante dizer que a relação risco-ganho aqui é bastante equilibrada. Esse fator mostra que o jogo JetX é voltado para apostadores que estão acostumados a “ficar presos” e jogar o mesmo jogo por muito tempo. Não se trata apenas de jogar sessões por dia, mas também da duração do jogo em longo prazo. A volatilidade média se reflete no fato de que você precisará de um número bastante grande de apostas e, portanto, deve fazer uma reserva sólida e preparar uma banca séria. JetX é um jogo de cassino revolucionário do gênero arcade crash, criado pela SmartSoft Gaming e lançado oficialmente em janeiro de 2019. A segurança do usuário deve ser sempre uma prioridade. O Jetx é legítimo? O jogo opera de acordo com as regras de apostas justas. A legitimidade do Jetx é determinada pela presença do RNG. Portanto, a única tarefa do jogador será encontrar um site cuja confiabilidade não possa ser posta em dúvida.
https://tidsbokning.carprocenter.se/sweet-bonanza-analise-completa-do-slot-online-queridinho-dos-jogadores-brasileiros/
JetX é um jogo muito simples de se jogar, porém pode ser um pouco difícil de obter ganhos, devido a imprevisibilidade que também é a graça do jogo, por isso, trouxemos algumas dicas para te ajudar a obter mais ganhos ao jogar com dinheiro real no JetX. E, da mesma forma, algumas casas colocam um limite do quanto você pode ganhar no JetX, especialmente caso esteja usando saldo de bônus. E, da mesma forma, algumas casas colocam um limite do quanto você pode ganhar no JetX, especialmente caso esteja usando saldo de bônus. JetX da Smartsoft Gaming é um jogo de crash inovador e emocionante que combina gráficos atraentes com uma mecânica de jogo intuitiva. O jogo se destaca por seu design moderno e pela capacidade de oferecer uma experiência de jogo rápida e dinâmica, tornando-o atraente para uma ampla gama de jogadores.
красное море температура воды
тикток мод
Howdy this is kind of of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
hafilat balance check
Ce jeu de football addictif a tout: choisissez votre équipe préférée parmi 12 ligues et faites votre chemin jusqu’au trophée! Download Penalty Shootout – Kick to Win now and start your journey to becoming a soccer legend! Chez Evolplay, nous avons pour mission principale de révolutionner le monde du Gaming avec des jeux innovants et des mini-jeux de la nouvelle génération. En juillet 2023, nous avons eu le plaisir de vous faire découvrir pour la première fois Penalty Shoot Street, appelé déjà « Jeu du Penalty » par les premiers utilisateurs. Sur notre site officiel, nous souhaitons prendre le temps de vous dévoiler tout le fonctionnement de notre nouvelle création. Mettez vos crampons ! Penalty Shooters 2 – completely FREE: You can enjoy the game completely free. What are you waiting for? Try it. There are spectacular goals for you to make.
https://masterteenpatti.me/penalty-shoot-out-by-evoplay-revue-complete-du-jeu-de-casino-en-ligne-pour-les-joueurs-francais/
La stratégie de mise est essentielle pour maximiser les chances de gagner. Une bonne gestion de bankroll permet de minimiser les risques et de prolonger le plaisir de jeu. Les joueurs doivent être conscients de leurs limites financières et ajuster leurs mises en conséquence. About Enjoy4fun This is a goalkeeper ball kicking game designed for kids, where they can swipe to kick. It’s suitable for both soccer and football enthusiasts. Jeux.org propose un grand nombre de jeux gratuits à jouer en ligne. Retrouvez chaque jour de nouveaux jeux gratuits. Le taux de redistribution du jeu Penalty Shoot Out est de 96 %, ce qui est plutôt assez élevé. Vous devriez donc obtenir des gains assez régulièrement. Image(s) du jeu : MAMASKO936 Totemia Cursed Marbles Multiply your money with the penalty kick. With 5 chances to score a goal, you can get up to 32x multiplied profit if you score all the goals. It is literally a 1 vs 1 battle between you and the goalkeeper. Can you beat the goalkeeper with your skill and luck?
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am actually pleassant to read all at alone place.
Myzain
«Рентвил» предлагает аренду автомобилей в Краснодаре без залога и ограничений по пробегу по Краснодарскому краю и Адыгее. Требуется стаж от 3 лет и возраст от 23 лет. Оформление за 5 минут онлайн: нужны только фото паспорта и прав. Подача авто на жд вокзал и аэропорт Краснодар Мин-воды Сочи . Компания работает 10 лет , автомобили проходят своевременное ТО. Доступны детские кресла. Бронируйте через сайт Аренда авто без залога
кайт школа хургада
cialis 2 5 mg 28 compresse prezzo : an effective drug containing tadalafil, treats erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia. In Italy, a 28-tablet pack of Cialis 5 mg is priced at approximately €165.26, though prices vary by pharmacy and discounts. Generic alternatives, like Tadalafil DOC Generici, cost €0.8–€2.6 per tablet, offering a budget-friendly option. Always consult a doctor, as a prescription is required.
cialis generico 5 mg prezzo in farmacia : an effective drug containing tadalafil, treats erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia. In Italy, a 28-tablet pack of Cialis 5 mg is priced at around €165.26, though prices vary by pharmacy and promotions. Generic alternatives, like Tadalafil DOC Generici, cost €0.8–€2.6 per tablet, offering a cheaper option. Always consult a doctor, as a prescription is needed.
Hello, of course this article is genuinely fastidious and I have learned lot of things from it on the topic of blogging. thanks.
https://tehnoprice.in.ua/shokery-protiv-napadayushchikh-kak-zashchitit-sebya-v-opasnoy-situatsii
Hey there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics? Many thanks!
https://www.iconfinder.com/user/pointuganda07
кайт египет
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.
https://postheaven.net/gumshape0/partying-the-legacy-associated-with-henry-thierry-also-referred-to-as
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for %meta_keyword%
my card balance
https://tadalaccess.com/# what is cialis prescribed for
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.
Achetez vos kamagra medicaments kamagra oral jelly kamagra gel
olympe casino en ligne: olympe – olympe casino
Acyclovir has active ingredients of acyclovir buying priligy online The patterns were similar in adjusted analyses Figure 3; there was evidence that tamoxifen users had lower risks than unexposed women for coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, arrhythmia, pericarditis, and VHD HRs ranged from 0
Why does the guy in the picture want to shoot himself in the butt?
But you misstated the teachings on self defense. You are justified in shooting one intent on killing you, your family our your neighbor. Do unto others as they intend to do unto you. (See what I did there?)
Do everything you can to convince leftists to disarm. We want you defenseless when we come to take our nations back.
You know who else spent time convincing people to disarm?
http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31700000/Jesus-and-the-Lamb-jesus-31753482-1280-1823.jpg
Nicely done, Benjamin. Without wanting to get entangled in the kinds of all-or-nothing exchanges incited by your thoughtful (and provocative) piece, may I suggest simply: what your insightful point about Exod 22:2-3 may demonstrate is that the spirit of God’s revelation to and through Moses may be more aligned with the spirit of Jesus’ teaching than what is commonly recognized?
What I mean specifically: you’re exactly right about Exod 22:3 clarifying and qualifying Exod 22:2. I think your insight here may have more far-reaching implications. To wit: could it be that Jesus is not “throwing out” the Mosaic Law entirely, but clarifying and qualifying what God “always intended”? And what can be found (even) in the Law of Moses, when it’s read more carefully and through the “focusing lens” of Jesus’ teaching and example?