The Quandary of Pacifism

The shoot went rather well, fewer came than I expected or had bought ammo for.  Family, extended family and one of "My Kids" made it though.  Mostly I spent my time instructing New Daughter in her first shooting lesson.  I think she did just fine.  Will there be others?  I think so, I got the impression from her that her interest at the beginning of the day was to try something new and different; by the end of the day her desire was in bonding identities.  Either way, I had fun.  And, if true I am very flattered.  I may never understand how God works things out....

About 25% of what we were blazing away with!

New Daughter asked an interesting question on the way home: "In light of your shooting abilities, where do you stand on persecution for your faith and the ability to respond in kind?"

That is a hard one to answer when you are an avowed pacifist.....  (And what an awesome question!  I have not told her of this blog, so I doubt she will ever know I was really impressed by that one!)

I believe in the right of self defense, preferably without deadly force.  I do not believe that purposefully putting oneself in harms way, so that you are forced to defend yourself - is self defense at all.  Nor do I believe that using my abilities to kill someone at extreme distance is self defense either.  Both are murder.

So, when ordered to kill, I have through tremendous prayer, managed to never have to pull the trigger to do so.  No one has ever even been wounded by a gun I possess.  Scared out of their minds, into surrender for arrest - hecka yeah as my oldest daughter says.  And think on the amount of finely placed rounds that takes!

When requested to go to Africa to "support" Christian missionaries, through the usage of my "God given" abilities - I politely told the mission board that I would not commit murder and perhaps those missionaries would best be placed where people would listen rather than kill and eat them.  (And they learned about me how?????)

Yet, would I go into harm's way to protect my children?  Yup.  My extended family such as Dutchman, Swede, Gaelic Girl and the real Dutch Girl?  Yup again, assuming they were not the aggressor.  "My Kids", those students whom have become special?  Oh yeah, several times over - especially to get them out of drug dens, sexual orgies and other problems they never saw coming.  Small towns make it easy to know exactly what is going on where, with whom.....  Sometimes the shepherd has to hunt down the wolf, in order to protect the flock.

So, would I use a fatal weapon ever on a human - to kill them?  I pray no event in my life will force that to happen.

As for being persecuted, isn't that one of badges of courage?  To take a stand for Christ, unarmed by the world's weapons, against the evil which has clouded the minds of the many?  I have lost friends and family to real martyrdom and I have no doubt they went down with a prayer for their executioners - not in a blaze of lead.  Would that should my life come to this, I too will have the strength to do as I perceive they did.

Character is everything in our Christian walk.