“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

-Nehemiah the Prophet

Grey is the color that cloaks many of The Way. Where do we go? What do we say? What can we do? One seeks what is or is not permissible. Some assume that silence is Divine permission by omission. Some assume that it is Divine condemnation. Either way they are guilty of putting words into the mouth of The Father. But one issue that shows its face is explicit, not implicit. Confusion is the child of a desire for personal wanting of opinion. It is the antithesis to absolute truth. Many debate where we should stand. 

Enter… Self Defense.

I have a dear beloved friend. Seldom seen is our relationship. Often we joke about moving closer to each other. I imagine if we did then we both would be razor sharp (Proverbs 27:17). But we are not of like mind in everything. Unlike myself, he is of the Mennonite persuasion. I’m not saying that he is one, however it is what he is likened to the most. If you are familiar with this ideology, then you would know that they are devout pacifists.

The discussion came across our dining room table during one visit. The topic? Self defense. In particular the use of firearms. I am at one end of the spectrum. He is at the other. He proceeded to tell me two stories defending the pacifist view. Of Believers standing down in the face of the violent threat.

The first was a tale about a man and his family that left for a trip. They had an older daughter that was a college student. She decided to come home. Early? An unexpected surprise? Who knows? For whatever reason, she decided to hide in her parents bedroom closet as they returned home. Evidently the plan was to jump out and surprise her father. As he entered the room, he heard a noise from the closet. He grabbed his firearm and stood there, aiming at the door. As soon as his daughter jumped out, he opened fire. Her last words were “Daddy, I love you!”. This story caused my friend to unravel.

The next story I call into question its validity because of its widespread use. Not just did my friend share this, but I have heard it told repeatedly throughout the Mennonite community. It is their go to defense of laying down arms in the self preservation of life. There was once a man. A fugitive. I am uncertain if he was running from an initial capture, or had escaped custody. But murder was the name of his guilt. He was proclaimed armed and dangerous. In his pursuit of freedom, he found a farm. Christians! Mennonites I believe (although fuzzy are those little details). He happened upon the porch and they showed compassion. Days went by as he rested his heavy head on their pillows. As he filled his belly with their biscuits and milk. As he washed his flesh in their bath. Even though his game was to watch the blood of the innocent flow as they begged for life, he not once touched a hair on the head of this couple. What became of him I am uncertain. However, the moral of the story is this- God will protect the righteous in the face of danger. He will plant hedges of protection. There is no need for bullets outside of striking the deer.

In truth what do these two stories really tell us? The first one may appear as an argument to not defend oneself or property. Especially by lethal force. However it defeats its purpose because it is truly a story about using wisdom with firearms and self defense. Foolish was the girl to hide in the closet if she knew that her father believed in self defense. But what if in the emotion of surprise this thought slipped her mind? Or what if after she left home he bought his first gun and she had no knowledge? Then the burden of blame rests on the shoulders of the father. Foolish was he to silently stand, pointing his weapon with his finger on the trigger. No knowledge as to what was on the other side, assuming automatically that it was Evil with violent intent. Wisdom would have guided him to the side of the door and had him announce that he was armed and for “Evil” to step out. Either way they both acted foolish.

The intent of the second story is to assure Believers that there is no reason for self defense. That Our Father will protect you from Violence if you strictly obey. But, from a theological view, this story has major fallacies. Does this mean that everyone that has ever fallen victim to Violence and Death by the hands of Evil were outside of the grace of God? This would mean that only Unbelievers fall victim and that Believers have never been murdered or attacked. Ridiculous is the assumption! But, because this story is shared within the Mennonite (and possibly the Amish) communities, then we have to understand that their argument rests on their theology. That is, that God’s blessing and grace rests on our works. That only the Mennonite and Amish can receive the hedge of protection. If there is sin in our life then that hedge of protection is removed. If we cling close to strict and devout obedience, then Our Father will allow no Evil and Violence upon us. But what would their argument be when we discuss the execution killing of the Amish school girls by Evil and Violence many years back? Are we to say that those girls had a deep festering sin lurking in the shadows? One would have a hard time grasping the concept that ten girls, with youthful innocence, from the strict and devout Amish community, would harbor such vile sin that God allowed them to die. So where was their hedge of protection? Is it possible that we are never promised such a thing no matter where our hearts are in our walk? Do we ever achieve a point of perfection within our faith that we can have such a thing? Maybe the reason why our Evil refugee did not murder his hosts wasn’t because of the hedge. But because he was using their generosity to his advantage.

Do these stories justify pacifism? Do they justify the need to not defend oneself? Their flaws indict them. Above all, however, we need to look at the greater argument.

What does The Word say?