Comments on: Torture and Paul http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/torture-and-paul/ Serving the joyful cultivation of the theological craft for the life of the church: inquiring honestly, deliberating wisely, acting faithfully Wed, 15 May 2013 06:00:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Nick http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/torture-and-paul/#comment-10952 Fri, 29 May 2009 14:50:22 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=2288#comment-10952 Kyle, thanks for posting this. I have been wrestling with my beliefs on this issue for a while. I am a student at Asbury Theological Seminary where I find a high percentage of pacifists. I grew up in a “just war”, self-defense, death penalty condoning home, but the more I study the NT less I am convinced. I feel that much of the Pro-war, Pro-torture ideology stems from Dispensational eschatology in which the blood soaked pages of Revelation are held up as a gold standard for dealing with evil. God’s wrath is highlighted as vindictive and retributive, so we follow suit. I do not believe that Christ had violence in mind for His church. However, I still struggle with self-defense in instances where religious persecution is not a factor. The NT doesn’t give many examples of this, but the Sermon on the Mount may present a fairly strong case. I am still searching with an open mind. Ultimately, I think that Evangelicalism’s Pro-war, Pro-death penalty, Pro-torture stance is problematic in evangelism where many people find it inconsistent with a message of love and sacrifice.

]]> By: Kyle Strobel http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/torture-and-paul/#comment-10909 Tue, 26 May 2009 13:28:28 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=2288#comment-10909 Henry, I was hoping you would show up. Thanks for your comments. By the way, I’m teaching at Talbot right now for a Summer class, we should grab coffee.

]]> By: VHT Nguyen http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/torture-and-paul/#comment-10902 Tue, 26 May 2009 03:35:58 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=2288#comment-10902 Kyle,

I like your friend!

Here is the actual link (rather than the facebook link):
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religionandtheology/1452/st._paul_the_pacifist%3A_a_christian_response_to_torture/

And I also gave a few comments on my blog here:
http://vhtnguyen.com/2009/05/st-paul-the-pacifist-a-christian-response-to-torture.html

Gal 6.17 and other texts do suggest that the marks of oppression and violence (torture) that Christ experienced are from the world that opposes the way of Jesus and those endured by Paul himself. We often see that these acts of violence and torture are ENDURED, and not EMPLOYED, by Paul and Jesus.

I have been contemplating with, as you asked, how this affects Christian living and a posture towards this pressing issue today.

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