(part 6) F.A.Q on "The use of force or violence against Enemies"
by Kirsten

[If you have not read part 5, I suggest you do so before you read this]

This is what the Bible has to say on war, persecution, and retaliation:

On the issue of War:

Both 2 Corinthians 10 and Ephesians 6:11 (see part 5) both make it clear that as Christians, our place in battle is not in the natural against humans, but rather in the spiritual realm aginst the evil spirits and demonic powers.

No where in the New T. does it say we are to use physical weapons or swords to go into battle.

Retaliation/Revenge/Persecution:

Romans 12: 14-19, 1 Peter 2:21, and Matthew 5: 38-47 unanimously agree that when persecuted, we are to bless our persecutors. Christians are to never repay evil with evil.

Jesus commands us to love our enemies. 1 Corinthians 13 states that love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast. Love is NOT proud, rude, self-seeking, or is easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs…Love endures all things.

The command Jesus gave goes against human nature itself! Who wouldn’t have the impulse to protect their life and the lives of their friends and family? But yet Jesus told us to love our enemies.

Wars were fought in the Old Testament, so it must be O.K in some situations.

Taking Hebrews 1 and Matthew 28:18 [Jesus said that all authority has been given to Him, and that the disciples must teach others to obey everything He said and commanded them to do] into account, if there is ever an apparent contradiction between the Old T. and what Jesus says, Jesus' words automatically overrule.

Although in the Old T. and with the Old Covenant, God commanded the Israelites to fight in some wars, with the New T. and New Covenant, with Jesus there came a new set of instructions. So if there is an apperent contradiction between the Old T. and New T., the newest set of instructions are to be obeyed: namely, the New T.

Could the Christian colonists have fought if it was a just war? What if there is a just war?

The idea of a “just war” theory came about in Carthage in A.D 404 at the Council of Churches by "Saint"Augustine. Augustine was an instigator of the persecution of non-Catholic Christians. His reasoning was that in torturing them in this life, it could be viewed as an act of mercy, because if they repented, it would be to their eternal good. This act of war and persecution on the non-catholic Christians began the idea that fighting and killing in God’s name was somehow justified. (Although it was rather one-sided, since the non-catholic Early Church took Jesus’ words of “Love your enemies, and bless them that persecute you” literally).

Also, with the rise of Constantine, the idea of conquering in God’s name re-enforced the idea of a “just war.”

What if everyone thought that there was no just war?

Then everyone’s belief on war would line up with what the Bible says.

What if someone’s attacking your family?

I have found that my family’s security is actually a matter of faith. If I really believe what Jesus says when He said “Love your enemies, and bless those who persecute you,” I can’t look for reasons to rationalize disobeying Him. My job is to obey Him. And in that situation, worst case scenario is: they get killed, so do I, and we all see each other in Heaven anyway.

In the temple Jesus used a whip to drive people out--isn’t that violent?

In the Bible it gives account of when Jesus cleared out the temple using a whip. I’d like to point out that does not say in the Bible that He actually whipped anyone.

Based on His emphatic instructions against the use of violence, it is safe to assume He did not strike anyone with it. If He did hit someone, He would be inconsistent and thereby make Himself a hypocrite; something the Pharisees would have lost no time in pointing out. Instead, the only offenses the Pharisees were ever able to bring against Jesus were blasphemy and healing on the Sabbath. Jesus did not use the whip as a weapon against people.

Jesus also did not release the doves from their cages in the temple. Cattle and sheep can be rounded up again, but if a bird is gone, it’s gone. It is an important point that Jesus did not do anything that would permanently damage anyone’s property.

But Jesus had his people carry swords.

In Luke 22 Jesus told his disciples to sell their stuff and buy a sword if they did not have one. At the time Jesus gave this instruction, Israel was an occupied country. It was illegal for civilians to carry swords. Within the context of the scripture, it mentions how it fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12 that He would be numbered among transgressors.

Later, when Peter sliced off the servant’s ear, Jesus scolded him and told him to "Put the sword away! For all who live by the sword will die by the sword.” Jesus would not contradict himself. He made it clear that He did not want his people to kill others or harm with it, so whatever use the swords had did not include killing with it.

It’s not fair to enjoy peace without “doing my part” to maintain it.

Origen, an early church theologian, was faced with the question of “Is it fair to enjoy peace when he’s not doing anything to maintain it?”

His answer was, “We [Christians] do give help to kings when needed. But we give Divine help. For our prayers defeat all the demons who stir up war. This is greater help than what is given by soldiers who go forth and fight and kill as many of the enemy as they can [because our prayers stop war at its roots].”

If someone believes that prayer does not do much, then I can see why they would think that they need to do something such as kill their enemies. But I believe, just as Jesus said, that prayer and faith can move mountains. God is fully capable of defeating the enemy without my disobeying His Son and killing my enemy.

(part 2) Setting the Scene for Revolution
By Kirsten

The Boston Tea Party:

December of 1773:150 men went to the Boston Harbor and dumped 23,000 pounds of tea which did not belong to them. The colonists burned three of the ships when they were done. The day after, more colonists went out in small boats and beat the tea chests that were floating with oars and paddles so as to ensure each of its contents were rendered unsalvageable.

The Intolerable Acts

After the Boston Tea Party, England passed several laws labeled by the colonists as “The Intolerable Acts.” The purpose of which was to limit the colonies’ power, as well as give consequences for their behavior.

1) The Impartial Administration Justice Act allowed the governor of a colony to move a trial elsewhere if he knew the jury would be biased.

2) The Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act banned all town meetings that did not have approval of the governor (because far too many times these so-called “meetings” turned into violent mobs).

3) The Boston Port Act closed the port of Boston until the price of the twelve tons of dumped tea was paid back in full to the independent company who owned it.


4) The Quartering Act, allowed troops to stay in civilian houses or empty buildings if bare-icks were not available to them. (After hundreds of colonists ravaged homes, burned customs ships, and rioted the cities; England sent several thousand troops to control the mobs. There were not enough barracks for everyone, so some had to stay in civilian homes. They were only there until order was restored, and until Boston paid for the merchandise the mobs destroyed).


5) The final act in this group of “intolerable acts” was the Quebec Act, which guaranteed religious freedom to Catholics living in Quebec.

Other taxes included the Stamp Act, in which all official documents had to have the royal seal; and the Townshend Acts, which taxed imported items. When the colonists refused to pay these taxes, England repealed all of them except the tea tax.


Olive Branch Petition

May of 1775, John Dickenson and other delegates in the Continental Congress decided they wanted to reconcile with England. The Olive Branch Petition was drafted to convince King George to re-negotiate restrictions on taxes and trading brought on by the disciplining of the colonists.


According to Weldon Brown, who wrote a book on the subject, this may have worked, had a confiscated letter written by John Adams not arrived approx. the same time as the Petition. This confiscated letter candidly stated that Adams thought that the Petition was essentially pointless because war was inevitable, and that they were better off forming a Navy and kidnapping British officials.

Needless to say, for obvious reasons the petition was rejected.

Boston Massacre


The incident regarded as the Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. A mob was harassing a sentry standing guard at a customs house on a dark, snowy, winter night. Other soldiers heard the noise and came to help, and the crowd became more aggressive. The crowd then started throwing snow and ice-balls and clubs at the soldiers. A few frightened soldiers shot into the crowd, after misshearing their commander say "Don't fire, don't fire!" (all that registered in the soldiers' minds was "fire, fire!"). Fred Cook, (who wrote the American Heritage Book of the Revolution) reported that this incident would have been soon forgotten, had it not been for Samuel Adams (a well-known seditionist), who essentially blew the entire thing out of proportion in an attempt to help convince the colonies that they should rebel against England. In Adam’s many speeches, the angry mobs became noble martyrs, deliberately struck down in cold blood by foreign troops.

(part 3) Submission to Authority
by Kirsten

In Romans 13 it states that: Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. He who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves…….Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, pay revenue; if honor, give honor.

1 Peter 3:13-17...Be submissive to every human institution and authority for the sake of the Lord, whether it be to the emperor, king or to the governors. For it is God's will and intention that by doing right, you would silence the ignorant charges and criticisms of foolish people. Live as free people, without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness. Live at all times as servants of God. Show respect for all men. Revere God. Honor the emperor [king].

Galatians 5:19-21. The works of the flesh are clear, which are these; fornication, witchcraft, hatred, murder, heresies, etc., etc., etc., and sedition. I, Paul, warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

We are to obey the earthly authorities. If we are told to disobey God, then we are given grounds (a loophole, if you will) to disobey the authority. We are not, however given grounds to rebel.


The difference between rebellion and disobeying is this: disobedience is not obeying, and willingly taking the consequences given. Rebellion is disobedience using violence, and a refusal to accept consequences for behavior; and attempting to overthrow the government in an area and establish their own.

(part 4) Justification and payment of taxes
By Kirsten

Matt 22…The Pharisees made plans to trap him with words. They said, “We know you are a man of integrity and you teach the way of God. Tell us then, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ ” Jesus told them to show Him the coin, and when they did, he asked whose picture was on it, and whose name was inscribed. They stated that it was Caesar’s. To that, Jesus said to "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

Rom.13… Let every person be subject to the governing authorities…For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad, for they are ministers of God. Because of this you also pay taxes. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, and honor to whom honor is due.


On the issue of Taxes in the Revolutionary War:


Thomas Fleming (author, historian) states that, “Due to the French and Indian War that had taken place, records show that England’s resources were drained and the nation was £150,000,000 in debt.” England was nearly bankrupt because they spent almost all of their money protecting the colonists from the French and Indians.

Since they were so in debt, England thought the colonists should chip in as well. They thought it was fair that the colonists should pay for 1/3 of the troops, while the English would pay for the other 2/3. Because of this agreement, Englishmen’s taxes were 25X higher than the colonists’. If anyone could have a legitimate reason to balk at taxes, it would have been the mainland Englishmen, as they were having to paying for the protection of the colonists.


The approximate total of taxes at the end of the year equaled about $1.20 for the colonists. (cited from the History Channel's 'Revolution' documentary)


The tea tax was rigged in such a way that even with tax it would still be cheaper to buy tea from the English company than it would have been from the smuggled tea from everywhere else! And since the price of the English tea was lower than the smugglers’, the British expected no difficulty from the colonists. They got what they wanted: cheaper tea. For that reason it was quite a shock when the colonists committed the crimes associated with the Boston Tea Party.


However, based on Matt 22 and Rom. 13, regardless of whether the taxes were too high, the colonists did not have a right to start a violent revolution against their king!

(part 5) The Use of Force or Violence against Enemies
By Kirsten


Heb.1 says, “God spoke long ago to our fathers by the prophets. In these last days he has spoken to us through His Son, to whom He has appointed all things, and through whom He made the world. For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”

2 Corinthians 10...Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Ephesians 6:11…Our battle is not with flesh and blood, but against the master spirits and [demonic] powers who are the rulers of this present darkness.

Rom. 12:14-19...Bless those who persecute you, and do not curse them. Live in peace with one another. Never repay evil with evil. “Never avenge yourselves, for vengeance is mine alone,” To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him drink. Overcome evil with good.

1 Peter 2:21…Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so you should follow in His footsteps. When He was abused and insulted, He did not abuse or offer insult in return; when He suffered, He made no threats of retaliation; instead He trusted in Him Who judges fairly.

Matt.5:38…Jesus said, “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury. But I say, ‘Do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on one side of your face, offer the other side as well. Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you! If you do that, you will be acting as true children of your Father in Heaven. If you love and are kind only to your friends, what reward is there for that? Even pagans do that!’ ”

Matthew 5:23...When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.

John 18:36. Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. For if my kingdom were of this world, My followers would fight to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews."

The early church took Jesus' words literally.

Athenagoras, an Athenian philosopher—turned—Christian c.175 said, “We have learned not to return blow for blow, nor to go to the law with those who plunder and rob us. Not only that, but those who strike us on one side of the face, we have learned to offer them the other side as well.”
Clement of Alexandria (student of Polycarp, student of John) c.195 declared that “Christians are never allowed to use violence to correct the unlawful behavior of sin.”

Tertullian c.200. “If someone attempts to provoke you by physical violence, the admonition of the Lord is, ‘To him who strikes you on the face, offer him the other side too.’ Let the outrageousness [of being struck] be worn out by your patience. Whatever those blows may be, joined with pain and scorn, it will receive a heavier one from the Lord.”

Tertullian. “The difference between provoker and provoked is this: one sins first, the other sins second. But both fall under the judgment of God.”

(Part 1) Revolutionary War discussion!
by Kirsten Gruber


Okay....Revolutionary War discussion! Everyone loves the Revolutionary War, right?



In this post, and several subsequent posts, I will be explaining why the Revolutionary War was Biblically unjustified (gasp!). Yes, you read correctly. I will show why the colonists who were Christians had no justification in calling for and participating in the American Revolution. I request that you keep an open mind and read carefully what I have to say.


To begin with, I have three posts to make. I have formatted them in such a way that they are posted backwards from regular blogging style. If you have no idea what I'm taking about, just look for the "(part 1,2,3,4...)".


Thank you and happy reading.

Anger Management Advice
posted by Kirsten



Once there were two flies sitting on the handle of a broomstick. There was a large piece of bologna on the floor near where they were sitting. The first fly said to the other, "I'm going to go down there and get myself some of that bologna." So he flew down and started eating. The second fly said, "Me too!" and also flew down and started eating.


They flew back to the broom handle and talked some more.


After about ten minutes the first fly said, "I'm still hungry. I'm going to go get some more bologna." The second fly said, "Me too!" So they flew down and ate some more bologna.


Once they were both full, they went back up to the broom handle and talked once again. About ten minutes later, the first fly said, "Hmmm. I'm very full, but that bologna tasted so good, I'm going to have just a little bit more." But the second fly said, "I'll pass; I'm already full." So the first fly flew down and started eating some more bologna.


A couple minutes into the first fly's third helping of bologna, the owner of the house the flies were living in walked into the room. The first fly saw him coming and started to try to fly away. But he was so heavy from eating so much bologna, he couldn't use his wings.


He was stepped on a moment later.


Moral of the story: Don't fly off the handle when you're full of balogna.