Watch Aaron in the film Holy Wars

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Verse of the day. Mark 9:23

If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes--Jesus.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting interview Aaron. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and pondering some of the points you made. All indications are that the early church was pacifist. Once they became a major political force, things certainly changed. I agree that power is inherently corrupting. Should power NEVER be used? What is the appropriate response to genocide and ethnic cleansing that is so rampant in our world? - ReginaM

Aaron D. Taylor said...

Hi Regina,

It's a little after 1:00 a.m. I just saw your question. I won't be able to give a thorough answer now, but I will tell you that I think your question is an excellent one, and I deal with it in more detail in chapter 7 and in the appendix of my book.

But to give you a short answer, I believe Christians can and should play a positive role in exposing the evils that go on in the world, in particular when it comes to ethnic cleansing and genocide. As you may know, I've been active in writing editorials in newspapers and high traffic websites exposing the plight of the Karen people in Burma. That is one proper Christian response. Other responses include prayer, preaching the gospel, humanitarian work,speaking with government officials informing them of the situation, and when appropriate (and only if one is highly knowledgeable of the particular situation), propose a course of action (giving preference to a non-violent course of action, if possible).

I would stop short of a Christian actively participating in a violent intervention (aka...pulling the trigger), though I wouldn't actively oppose a violent intervention in an extreme situation if a legitimate authority deemed that as the correct course of action.

That's my short answer. Unfortunately I don't have the time or space to give you the reasoning behind my answer at this time. It is a very good question though, and one that deserves careful consideration.