Violence Journal 03: Abram

Genesis 14:10-15:1

A handful of generations our last documented violence, we reach a brief story about Abram going on a rescue mission. We are told this takes place shortly after Lot and Abram go their separate ways and shortly before God makes a covenant with him.

Anyway, Lot gets caught up in some tribes doing some moving and shaking around his turf. Next thing you know, his family and possessions are taken hostage and it’s up to Abram to rescue him. So, Abram gathers up “his 318 trained men” and attacks the enemy at night, giving them a good chase and getting Lot, his stuff, and all the bad guys’ stuff.

Now, notice that God hasn’t shown up yet. As far as we know, God didn’t command Abram to take up arms and Abram didn’t ask God for help. But at the post-fight party, this king named Melchizedek (one of God’s priests, we’re told) grants God the credit for Abram’s victory.

This is the most crucial part of the story to me. It’s what I think we’ll see over and over again in the Old Testament: God is attributed with the victory. These events were all written down after they happened. If the Israelites win a battle, big or small, thanks will be given to God.

We thank God for everything. People thank God for rain, parking spots, safety, food. People give God credit for Tim Tebow’s ability to throw a chunk of leather. People pray that God will help them win a battle, while the other side prays the same thing to the same God.

And what’s funny, is that just after all this goes down with Abram, God shows up in a vision and says, “I am your shield.”

Not the sword, but the shield. Not the gun, but the kevlar vest. Not the fist, but the embrace.

In a time when kings took what they wanted and warred for possessions, God insists that Abram rely on him alone for prosperity. Abram was to be an essential part of the foundation of what God was about to build. But God was not to be a sword to wield, a name under which to plunder the surrounding tribes. God was shield, shelter, and protection from that kind of world.

And, unless it isn’t written, that was the last time Abram took up arms against anybody.

Violence Journal 02: Noah

Genesis 6-9

My mom used to collect Noah’s ark stuff. Like most collections, you usually don’t realize you have one until people start giving you additions to it. It wasn’t a huge accumulation, just a dozen or so trinkets of ceramic, wood, or glass that depicted the ark in an colorful, friendly fashion. There was always a giraffe.

It’s funny now to think back to those trinkets and realize they represent a dark and disturbing narrative that holds tremendous weight in the issue of whether or not the Old Testament God is good...and, for our purposes here, non-violent.

I don’t want to bring up the issue of the factuality of this story or whether is describes a global or local flood. There’s way too much to talk about there. However, it’s difficult to discuss the non-violent aspect of God without taking a stance on such things. If there ever was a global flood or a massive migration of every species of animal to one place (and the resulting diaspora), science would know about it.

That being said, there are tons and tons of ancient flood myths, most of them with a lot of similarities to the Hebrew one. One could propose that the author of this story took oral traditions (or an actual flood) and ascribed them to Yahweh. If one did that, then God could still be seen as non-violent and simply taking blame for the flood, which is essentially what Jesus did on the cross for us.

Frankly, if you look at the spectrum of research and essays on the flood narrative, it’s pretty clear nobody’s figured this one out. Here’s my swing at it...

This passage tells us much more about the nature and condition of humans than God. Still young in our history and we fall into utter chaos, our thoughts nothing but evil. We face destruction and do not desire repentance. A righteous remnant is preserved, a new covenant made, and we waste no time turning away from righteousness again.

Is that a new story? Is it unique to scripture? No and no. If anything, it’s the only story we know.

But what does it tell us about God? Well, if we understand that this story does not literally depict a global flood, we can still pull truths about God’s nature. God allows us to become wicked or righteous. God also desires to purge wickedness and violence and protect the righteous. God also makes a covenant with all of creation after the flood, depicting how God truly cares for the welfare of animals (and we should, as well).

Maybe I’ve only chosen to highlight the positive aspects of this story. Maybe I’m ignoring some of the tough questions. I hope not. But I think we all do that to an extent with the flood narrative. That’s why we end up with ceramic trinkets of a big boat full of animals, sans thousands of men, women, children, and animals drowning in its wake.

And maybe that’s because we know, deep in our hearts, that God wouldn’t do this. Maybe ancient people were trying their best to understand events and stories and thus ascribed these things to God and maybe part of why Jesus came was to show us where we got it wrong.


-Who is initiating this violence?
Humanity. Despite the degree of God’s involvement in the flood, the cause was still the violence and wickedness of humanity.

-Who are the combatants?
Humans vs. humans, then God/flood vs. the earth.

-Why are they fighting?
Humans are fighting each other because creation has fallen into corruption, chaos, and violence. The flood comes to end this violence and wipe the slate clean.

-What are the results?
An earth reborn with a family of about eight and a promise from God to never do it again.

-How do we read this?
By starting with the lens of Jesus, discerning how the story reflects him, and moving from there.

Violence Journal 01: Cain/Abel, Lamech

Genesis 4
It takes a few stories in Genesis before we reach one on violence. This is particularly unique, because if you take a look at creation myths from history, they nearly all involve the world’s foundation being rooted in violence. Many even explain the earth to be the carcass of a dead god.

So, we get to Cain and Abel, the first and second sons of Adam and Eve, respectively. The second generation of mankind in the Genesis narrative. Cain and Abel bring sacrificial portions of their work to God, who approves of Abel’s and disapproves of Cain’s.

Cain gets mad, takes Abel out to a field and kills him. God asked Cain where Abel is, and Cain lies, claiming to not know. Of course, God knows, as usual...

“Then he said, ‘What have you done? Your brother’s blood cried out to me from the ground! So now you are cursed from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed. If you work the land, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.’”

God is clearly not happy with Cain’s actions. The consequences are ejection from his land and a stripping of his abilities. Cain’s work, it was mentioned, was to tend land. Farming was his trade and now it has been rendered useless. Cain, who claimed power and authority over his brother to the point of taking his life, will now depend on other the rest of his days. His life will be at the hands of others forever.

Cain claims that this is too harsh, that he will be killed. So God in response to his plea offers a mark that would protect him and curse anyone who would kill him.

We get a short story toward the end of this passage telling how Lamech kills a man for wounding him. He claims the vengeance curse that was upon his ancestor, Cain, and multiplies it. Lamech has twisted the meaning of the first murder, seeing the vengeance curse as a reward for killing, not as an act of mercy. God is not mentioned in this anecdote and Lamech is never murdered, so we don’t know whether or not he intended to honor Lamech’s claim.

-Who is initiating this violence?
-Cain

-Who are the combatants?
Cain (oppressor) and Abel (victim)

-Why are they fighting?
Anger and resentment within Cain

-What are the results?
The death of Abel, disapproval from God, and the banishment-and-yet-protection of Cain

-How do we read this?
Murder is as old as mankind and God wasn’t cool with it. In the case of Lamech, rationalizing murder by the means of scripture (or, at the time, oral tradition) is nothing new, either.

Violence Journal 00: Introduction

The past fews years of my spiritual journey have transformed me into a pacifist.

I generally shy away from the ‘ists’ and ‘isms’ of our world because they do something I never liked: draw arbitrary boundaries and create models that don’t quite fit reality. Pacifism is an easy one to cling to, though. It seeks to do no harm to anyone, no matter who they are.

Now, there are a number of factors that played into what brought me to this point. Of all I could mention, I will simply point to Jesus, who tells to not resist the evildoer, the Greek word for ‘resist’ here meaning in an combative manner. He told Peter to put away his sword. He rebuked the disciples for seeking violent vengeance. He died for us, when his followers expected him to overthrow the government by force. In Revelation we are told that Jesus will return, soaked in the sacrificial blood of the Lamb--his own blood--and wield a sword, a sword we understand to be none other than his truthful words.

I understand that there are various arguments against pacifism, unfortunately concocted by other Christians, and I could address all of them here. Again, I only want to focus on one: violence in the Old Testament.

Does the Bible truly teach pacifism? If we take isolated verses from scripture, we can justify essentially any action. Christians and critics alike point to the contrast of the Old Testament and New Testament and ponder whether they are addressing two different Gods: the ancient god of jealousy, wrath, and warfare vs. the redeeming, sacrificial god of love.

My goal over the next few months is to address violence in its every occasion in the Bible. My wife and I are reading through the Bible chronologically this year, so if all goes as planned, I’ll have covered everything in a year and put such occurrences through this litmus test...
-Who is initiating this violence?
-Who are the combatants?
-Why are they fighting?
-What are the results?
-How do we read this?

My purpose in all of this is to discover for myself whether this is truly the path of Jesus and, if so, how I can help others follow the same path. Of course, I’m biased at this point. But I’m also the minority. That’s what makes it interesting.

If you’d like resources on a Biblical view of pacifism, I recommend checking out...

Pacifist Fight Club
A slipshod but regularly-updated blog with a wide variety of resources.

Greg Boyd
He has a lot of great essays on the subject and other theological tidbits.

Wrath & Love
Greg Boyd hosts this Q&A at his church on a nonviolent view of God in the OT. This is what started it all for me.

Finally, if you would like to discuss any of the posts I'll be writing in the months to come, feel free to email me or get together with me to do so. I'm not a big fan of extended public comments sections so I have them disabled.

My Theology vs. Eating Animals

I’ve been on a trajectory towards a vegetarian diet for the last two years, roughly. When people discover this part of my lifestyle, I am nearly always immediately asked why I do it.

Typically, I answer by explaining that I believe American factory farming is brutal and unethical. That alone is reason enough for me to not support it. I believe the same thing about violence, sex trade, slavery, and war. These are basic ethical stances for me.

But how does my diet function in my life theologically? That’s what I want to discuss here.

Quick Background
I read a Michael Pollan essay my senior year at TCU. It talked about the horrific ways we get our meat today. He specifically pointed out that we often know there’s a problem with stuff like this, but we don’t look it in the eye and deal with it; we ignore it and keep on eating/driving/buying/disregarding.

I decided I could no longer live a life where I put off the problems that surround me. If I don’t think factory farming is good, I need to stop being a part of that problem and be part of the solution, as it is said. I gradually moved into eating only naturally raised meat, something you can find at Whole Foods, Central Market, farmers markets, and Chipotle. And that’s it.

I also did research. I still do. The absolutely biggest mistake anybody makes with a lifestyle change (be it diet, religion, career) is not educating themselves enough throughout their transition. Don’t listen to people. Do some research and look at multiple, reliable sources.

Eventually I lost an appetite for meat. I eat naturally raised meat about once every two months, typically at Chipotle.

Theology
I’ll start out with a basic tenant of what I believe to be true. Then I will use that as a foundation for how I use that to shape my lifestyle.

My identity is founded in Christ.
I start with this one because I don’t like saying “I am a vegetarian.” Often, people can get caught up in their personal labels and let them affect their identities. I am first a follower and emulator of Christ. After that, I think of things in terms of action. I am not a vegetarian, I have a vegetarian diet. I am not a Moderate, but I tend to have a moderate stance politically. Try this out yourself and I think you’ll find walls around you falling.

God created the world.
And yes, I am certain that it was a long process of evolution and chaos that got us to the present day. I understand that animals ate each other and humans hunted animals. Humans still hunt humans. But if we think of life as having trajectory, I can see us moving toward a peaceful existence. The Bible speaks prophetic words of peace and harmony in our future and I don’t believe that is something that will just happen. We must pursue it. Refusing to harm and hunt other humans and animals is a way to pursue that.

Also, God entrusts us with the responsibility to tend to the created world. It is a gift, and we are to take care of it. Factory farming does the opposite; it trashes its surroundings, causes more damage to the environment than all transportation put together, and creates horrifying conditions for creatures.

Jesus ate some fish.
Yes. He wasn’t raping the ocean in the process, which is what’s happening now. Also, consider this: when a fish is caught, it is immediately brought out of the water, thus “drowning.” If it’s not bludgeoned, sliced, or what have you, it drowns to death. Fish indeed feel pain, and they have perhaps the worst deaths of all hunted animals.

We choose heaven or hell.
Watch a video about factory farming or read a book about it. Just one. If you’re afraid to expose yourself, that’s a red flag already. When you’re finished, ask yourself this question: Does this remind me more of how I imagine heaven, or how I imagine hell?

Now, which one of these world do you prefer to exist on our earth? What are you going to do about it?

What’s neat about looking at all of this theologically is that it doesn’t require an immense exegetical study or philosophical treatise. It requires very basic Biblical ideas. The point is not whether the Bible permits eating meat: it does. But I don’t believe God is delighted with how we are harvesting and processing meat.

Christians are in a kingdom.
Dallas Willard proposes in The Divine Conspiracy that an essential part of living in God’s kingdom is using our personal mini-kingdoms for righteousness. Instead of controlling people and waging war over territory, we should take responsibility for that which was given to us in an ethical and progressive manner. Animals are part of our personal kingdoms. In the same way that slavery is a corruption of governing people, factory farming is a corruption of taking care of animals.

Responses to responses.
I’ve posted these before. I just want to keep other perspectives in mind and show how I think of them.

I just couldn’t give up ______.
Bacon? Steak? Chick-Fil-A? Interesting. Probably the number one response I hear and the most depressing. I’m surrounded by people ruled by their taste buds and stomachs, not by their hearts and brains. I mean, if you can thoroughly expose yourself to the realities of factory farming and make a conscious, ethical decision to promote it and show me how you reasonably come to that conclusion, then do so. I just don’t think it can be done by a follower of Christ.

I don’t care/I don’t want to think about it.
That’s called gluttony. And apathy. And sloth, a bit.

It’s not that big of a deal, I have more important issues at hand.
Everything is spiritual. You eat multiple times a day. Food is essential to survival. It’s definitely a big deal. Expanding a bit: America is the forerunner in factory farming. If we don’t fight this and create change now, then it’s only a matter of time until this is the norm all over the world.

Check Out...
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Dominion by Matthew Scully
Food, Inc. (Film)
And Greg Boyd has said pretty much the same stuff as me in his blogs, but more articulately.

Conclusion
It amazes me how many people don’t want to have this conversation with me, not that I’m ever overbearing or cruel about it. I don’t even tell people unless they ask or insist on me eating something with meat. It’s even crazier how Christians won’t hear me out, and yet they expect someone else to hear them out when they talk about Jesus.

This is one of the easiest, most practical way to live in God’s kingdom: loving and caring for his creation.