Christians and Self-Defense

A few years ago I decided to purchase a handgun to have as protection in the home. Before doing so I looked up information in the publications and found the 1983 Watchtower 7/15. Notice a few of the comments it makes in the article “Seek Peace and Persue It”

Page 24 paragraph 12 “But even if he finds it necessary to defend himself or his loved ones by whatever is at hand, he should not use firearms.”

Paragraph 13 “Surely, those who trust in Jehovah would not turn to the martial arts for defense.”

Paragraph 16 “Anyone who thus continues to carry personal arms or otherwise equips himself to become a ‘smiter’ would cease to qualify for special privileges in the congregation.”

At the time I was still convinced that only the JWs taught truth, but even then I thought this viewpoint was ridiculous and bought the firearm. We live in the mountains and we like to camp so I used the excuse that it was for protection against bears.

This is just another example of the Society taking principles (Jehovah hates those who love violence) and turning them into a law. Would it be showing love to your own family if a group of men were trying to break into your house to kill you and rape your wife, to not defend your family with any means possible, including firearms? Would this mean you are a lover of violence? I think by making these rules the Society could become bloodguilty. To tell the publishers that they can only defend themselves with sticks and stones against an armed intruder is ludicrous. I believe common sense tells us that is up to each Christian to do what he feels he needs to in these circumstances. And if a Christian chooses to have a firearm in the house for protection that is his decision.

What about war? Does the bible strictly prohibit a Christian from participating in a war? Some may point to Jesus’ rebuke of Peter in the garden at the time of his arrest as prohibiting war. War of course is not ideal. As Christians we should seek to be peaceable with all men. We want to show love even to our enemies.

Let us pose a hypothetical but possible situation. In the next few years law and order in this country break down, perhaps something on the order of New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina but nationwide. Soon there are roving gangs seeking to rob, rape, and pillage. Naturally people come together in groups, which makes self defense easier against these gangs. What would a Christian do? Would God require him to not take up arms to defend himself and those whom he loves? If a group of JWs were in this situation and if they obeyed this Watchtower, they would soon be killed and violated. Is this what God would want? Let us say 100 Christians gathered together for self preservation and defended themselves with guns. Would this be war? What if it were a 1000? 100000? Would they be condemned by God because they participated in a war?

This is why I believe the bible does not clearly prohibit war. Cornelius was a soldier when he gained God’s approval and he was still one when anointed with holy spirit. There were no requirements that he stop being a soldier in order to be baptized. When war is a matter of self-defense and defense of one’s family, many Christians can maintain a good conscience and fight. However if war is an act of aggression or if a Christian uses violence to settle personal disputes this would obviously be contrary to bible principles.

The problem of being a regular soldier in a standing army for a Christian is obvious. Many wars are wars of aggression or over natural resources and a soldier does not have the option to fight or not. This is why many honest hearted Christians are not soldiers and refuse to fight in wars of aggression. However, should religious leaders prohibit their flocks from effectively defending themselves and their families? Many have seen the writing on the wall for this nation’s and the world’s economy and have come to the conclusion that a breakdown of law and order is only a question of time. Should we criticize Christians who feel the need to take precautions to be able to protect their families?

This is another matter where Christians should have freedom of conscience. We will not stand before Christ as an organization or as a church or even as a family. We will stand before him as individuals. Each of us will respond to him as to what decisions we made and why we made them. Therefore, there is no need for us as Christians to judge our brothers on the decisions that they make on conscientious matters.