Sorry that I’ve been offline a bit longer than expected. After the reports broke on the attack against Paul Pelosi, I intended to lay out a Christian perspective which I will now attempt to do. Unfortunately, reports broke as I was heading to the US to visit family. Time has been at a bit of a premium as a result.
It was not just the Paul Pelosi attack, however. A recent article in Christianity Today offering views from pastors globally on gun laws seemed pretty weak overall. It wasn’t that anything wrong was said, more that there was really little scriptural justification provided. So, I thought some additional scriptural basis would be in order. The combination of the two motivated this post.
A Nation Increasingly Turning to Violence
Our nation is becoming increasingly violent and little proof is needed, especially given the prevalent political narrative that crime is sweeping our country. Many live in fear daily. There are neighborhoods where few would want to find themselves. Our homes are increasingly becoming fortresses with surveillance cameras and automatic police dialing systems. Even our cars automatically lock all doors for security, turning on the headlights for safety as one initiates keyless entry.
But beyond these obvious measures that give a good read on our fear index, there are violent gangs on many of our streets, neighborhoods awash with guns and too often, fatal confrontations between friends or acquaintances.
All of this is bad enough. Yet a recent article in Christianity Today makes clear that in our current political environment of confrontation and demonizing, increasingly Christians are uncertain when violence is acceptable and when not. Yet how seldom one hears sermons about violence. It’s not like the Bible has little of consequence to say.
A Scriptural Warning Regarding Blood-Violence
Cain’s Blood-Violence Against Abel
One does not need to read very far into biblical history to see the problem of blood violence. It is striking that the first mention of it is found in Genesis chapter 4 with Cain’s fratricide of Abel. With only four people on earth, Cain murdered his brother, leaving only three. It’s a shocking inversion of God’s creation-blessing that each species would bring forth life!
Cain’s sin was so serious that he was cursed (Genesis 4:11) and driven from the ground (vs 12) which would no longer be fruitful for him. God’s judgment is one of talion: Cain’s murder was anti-fruitful, and he who loved to grow things from the ground, was thus cursed with unfruitfulness.
Cain’s sin was then elevated in his progeny. The seventh generation from Adam through Cain was Lameck, a bloodthirsty, merciless man who killed a man who had only injured him. His action was disproportionate and thus cruel. The law of talion did not allow him to exact murder for an injury. Far worse, he celebrated the murder, bragging about it to his wives (vss 23-24).
Cain’s Blood-Violence Unleashed a Flood of Blood Violence
Cain’s sin not only experienced elevation in his progeny, but it unleashed a torrent of blood-violence that then defined the entire age! Note Genesis 6:11, 13 in which God complained that the entire earth had become full of violence, with humankind having corrupted its way.
This complaint has not received enough attention. Violence was a form of corruption. How so? God had intended that all species would freely bring forth life abundantly, meaning without restriction. But mankind had corrupted God’s way by filling the earth with violence, meaning blood-violence and murder.
Note the irony: God intended mankind to fill the earth with life. But mankind had corrupted its ways and was filling the earth with violence and death. It is impossible to try to weasel around this indictment. It makes abundantly clear that God’s purpose for us was life-giving, not violence, which is death-bringing.
God’s determination to end the violence brought a judgment upon the world that wiped every human from the face of the earth other than Noah and his family. Why was Noah spared? Because he was righteous, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God (6:9). His righteousness saved himself and his family.
God’s Indisputable Opposition to Blood-Violence
There is no clearer example to guide our thinking about blood-violence than Noah. For those Christians who might ask when violence is acceptable, the answer is irrefutable: Never! Many Christians are not ready to accept this outcome.
But before you dismiss the argument, note that blood-violence was the first sin post-Fall, a sin that was like a highly contagious, deadly virus, spreading throughout the earth in a very short period of time. Most important is God’s answer: Apart from Noah, no mercy, no exceptions. Death to the entire species that was committed to the death of its members.
There should be no doubt, but somehow, God knew we would be reluctant to obey. So note His extra emphasis post-Flood. Noah is the new Adam that God brought safely into a new earth, giving him the same creation-blessing “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (9:1). God is starting creation all over again, but this time, He wants mankind to know that blood-violence will carry deadly talionic consequences.
A Covenant Forbidding Blood-Violence to Govern Our Relationship with God
He made a covenant with Noah and his family, the terms of which are found in Genesis 9:6: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind”.
Putting this requirement in a covenant means that our relationship with God is governed by these terms. We cannot shed blood. Period. When we do, we violate His covenant and are cut off from Him. Worse, He will assure our blood is shed.
To strengthen this requirement, God prohibits man from eating meat with blood in it (9:4). God states He will demand an accounting, even from animals. The blood is described as “lifeblood”, emphasizing “life”, which is to be preserved.
By adding this prohibition, it’s like God is saying, ” Listen! This time get it right. Don’t shed blood! Don’t even dare to eat blood in meat.” It is further emphasized in his closing repetition of the blessing to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth (9:7). The double occurrence brings additional emphasis to the importance of respecting life.
Please don’t be fooled into thinking this only applies to bloodshed of the “innocent”. One has to read that into the text. It’s not there. Further, prohibition on eating meat with blood in it seems to contradict such a claim as animals would be innocent lifeforms we hunted and killed. Such claims just don’t cut it.
The Reason Blood-Violence is Forbidden
It’s easy to miss the reason why God forbid blood-violence. But the inclusion of “for in the image of God has God made mankind” is intended to show that each human is made in the image of God. That means when someone commits blood-violence against another person, it is a direct attack on God.
Each man has the purpose to “image” God. Attacking God’s image is thus, attacking God. Not where any of us want to find ourselves! It reveals the gravity of this sin. It is not only anti-human but truly anti-God.
What About Other Forms of Violence
No discussion of violence would be complete without inclusion of non-blood related violence, a much broader subject and one that is much more insidious. Christ gave an important answer when He said, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22).
In our hyper-partisan world, Christians need to step back from the ledge of “in your face” confrontation. Let the world use these demeaning methods, but not us. We don’t need to be framing our beliefs as an “us” vs “them” fight, nor do we need to be criticizing or demonizing those whose beliefs are different from ours. It’s especially true of those in the world, who are incapable of understanding the wisdom of the Spirit imparted to us.
This is a much more insidious sin among Christians. Most Christians would never participate in blood violence, but character assassination is no problem! Christ, however, clarifies that character assassination is no different from murder. Assassination is assassination. Killing the spirit could well be a more serious crime than killing the flesh.
But rather than arguing it, note Christ’s intent is consistent with the Father’s. We are to bring forth life, not death – whether death to body or spirit. Viewed this way, destruction of one’s spirit is the more serious crime.
The Insidiousness of this Sin
Because it is so easy to dismiss or minimize this type of sin, we would again urge a return to Scripture to assure we grasp in context the seriousness of this sin. Consider the next narrative following the covenant with Noah.
Immediately following the covenantal prohibition on blood-violence is the episode of Noah’s drunkenness and Canaan’s cursing. Noah drinks wine he made from his vineyard and inadvertently laid uncovered in his tent (9:20-21). Ham saw his father’s nakedness and reported it to his brothers, who covered their father without allowing themselves to see his nakedness.
The passage is a bit nuanced so it’s easy to miss that Ham “uncovered” his father’s indiscretion while Shem and Japheth discretely “covered” their father’s indiscretion. They were thus blessed and unfortunately, Ham’s son Canaan was cursed.
It’s a puzzling passage with far more than we can unpack in this short post. Suffice it to say, Ham, in uncovering his father’s indiscretion, demeaned his father. It was a form of criticism and humiliation. The curse was talionic. As one of Noah’s sons humiliated his father, one of Ham’s sons would humiliate him.
How? First, Canaan would be slave to Shem and Japheth, and that’s certainly humiliating for Canaan and Ham. Second, Canaan’s progeny would be shameful idolators guilty of sacrificing their infants to the Baals, a reprehensible form of blood-violence, again bringing great shame to their father. Third, Canaan’s progeny would oppose Israel’s entry into the land and for that sin, they would be driven out of the land forever – shown no mercy.
Relevance for Christians Today
The symbolism is easy to miss. Ancient Jewish sages considered the promised land to be an interim Eden between the first and final Eden. It means that some of Ham’s children – the Canaanites, in being driven from the land, would be excluded from God’s presence forever. They would be irredeemable.
We shouldn’t over-literalize. It’s not that none of Canaan’s progeny make heaven. We know this to be untrue. Rahab was Canaanite, but her faith saved her. But don’t miss the point. Ham’s action was a form of character assassination, and this sin happened immediately after prohibition on blood-violence.
It’s as if God was showing us that the prohibition on blood-violence wouldn’t be enough. We’d find another way to commit violence – using the tongue! And that’s what the Canaanites did, even praising idols with their tongues while demeaning their own children by sacrificing them to idols.
Worst of all, Moses was clear that if Israel did not dispossess the land of the Canaanites, they would “infect” Israel with their detestable practices and in the end, Israel would be worse than them! And consider what happened. The Israelites failed to drive out the Canaanites and it had disastrous effects on the Israelites. Just read the book of Judges.
The Canaanite Connection of Christ’s Ministry
But it gets worse. At Christ’s coming, He made an invitation for Israel to be gathered to His new heavenly land that they rejected (Matthew 243:37). His biggest opponents were the Jewish religious leadership who conspired to put Him to death, and together with the people, murdered Him.
In the new creation Christ inaugurated, who are the new Canaanites who oppose entry into God’s heavenly land of promise? It’s the Jewish people themselves! Prophecy fulfilled. Israel had become just as detestable as the Canaanites, if not more so.
But that’s still not the end of the story. Examine the words of the Pharisees and criticisms of the religious leaders and lawyers. Christ had no harsher critics than the religious leaders who claimed His miracles came from Satan, asked for real signs from heaven – as if what Christ had done was inconsequential, even claiming Christ broke the Law by healing people on the Sabbath.
As Ham belittled his father and his son was cursed, the religious leaders of Israel belittled Christ and so God’s firstborn son Israel, was cursed, that generation barred from the land to die in a spiritual wilderness outside God’s new heavenly land. Note what happens if sin is not dealt with. It infects the righteous like a plague and can damn an entire generation to judgment in hell.
Warnings Against Opposing God
Biblically, blood-violence is never acceptable. For further arguments, see my earlier post. But don’t think that demonizing and criticizing your political opponents isn’t a form of character assassination. Be careful what you say and how you say it.
God is not honored, nor Christ’s name uplifted when we attack our political foes, failing to see that this is an attack on God as they are also made in God’s image. Vicious attacks are violence that God won’t condone. Its impact to the church and future generations is too great. Just consider the counsel of James:
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. James 3