Table of Contents (C) Copyright 1998 By Massimo Franceschini all the rights reserved.
TURN THE OTHER CHEEK
I would like to share with my readers a small part of a correspondence I had with a man
named Chip, probably a Jehovah's witnesses
He wrote,
And one other thing I thought I understood from history that would
create a great difference between Smith and Jesus,
Smith died with a gun in his hand and from what I understood people died from both sides
to create this "martyrdom". Again I
should say I certainly mean no disrespect to your beliefs but I am interested in hearing
and understanding your thoughts on these
matters. Hope to hear back from you. >> Chip Kempston
My reply: First, I need to affirm that we don't compare Joseph Smith with Jesus
Christ. Secondly, Joseph Smith had gun because
one of the guards gave it to him to defend himself from the mob. There was a conspiracy to
kill Joseph and many of his guards were in
on it. They deliberately left the jail unattended to make it easier for the mob to carry
out their plans. However, a few of the guards
didnt agree with this but knew that Joseph had no chance of surviving unarmed, so
they allowed him to have *A* (only ONE) gun.
Its only logical to realized that the prisoners couldnt even have had this gun
in their possession unless the guards allowed it.
What I find interesting is that the mob was comprised mostly of Protestants
Christians. This is a strange way of showing love towards
their enemies as Christ taught His disciples. For you to say that Joseph Smith was not
martyred is very unusual because every
encyclopedia that I know of agrees with that conclusion. And for you to say that he was
killed according to the law, we would have to
pervert the constitution of the United States, which allows for freedom of religion. The
very reason Joseph Smith was killed was
because he believed in something different than what his Protestant attackers did.
Its strange to me that people forget or pass over the fact that these
Christians not only killed Joseph Smith, but they also attacked his
followers, driving them by force out of their homes and lands. Not only that but they
raped some of the Mormon women and
murdered other followers of Joseph Smith. What Id like to know is, how could these
good Christians justify these actions of theirs
by the scriptures? If you could explain these things to me I really would appreciate it
because I am very confused at this kind of
behavior by so-called Christians.
His reply: Hello, I appreciate your quick reply. I was not sure even if I should
expect one at all. So thank you for that. I can surely
explain why those things happened, the fact of the matter is as you said, they are
so-called Christians, which would mean they were
not Christians at all. But just because a man does something wrong, does not mean that the
standard changes (The Word). One thing I
would encourage you to do though is, if you would judge, judge by the same standard,
Joseph Smith. He was just as wrong as those
who killed him for even accepting a weapon of violence. That does not justify death in any
case. You can see that Jesus could have
called on 12 legions of angels if he wanted but chose not to. And I do think that you
should compare Joseph Smith to Jesus, because
He is the standard for living. And if someone does not live up to that standard then he
cannot be a Christian. I apologize if I seem
harsh. I am not trying to be, I am just a bit skeptical because of the historical facts
behind Mormonism. Like the validity of many of
the writings, which have been proven not to be authentic by Egyptologists. On the other
hand the Bible is supported both by history
and science. I would think that another "testament of Jesus" would be the same.
I would encourage you to look at some things the
critics are saying and examine the facts. Thanks for your response again. Best
wishes.
My last reply: Dear friend, if we are to compare Joseph Smith to Jesus Christ, then
I think we should do that for everybody else. Do
you know somebody in your faith whose behavior could be compared to Jesus? If you do,
please let me know because I'd like to meet
him or get to know him better. As for Joseph Smith having a gun, people have the right to
defend themselves. Peter had a sword and
used it to defend Jesus. The fact that Peter even had a sword clearly means that Jesus
allowed him to carry it with him, does it not?
Although its true that a Christian shouldn't attack anyone, it also doesnt
deny them the right to defend themselves. Nevertheless, I
respect your opinion, and hope that you will do the same for me. Sincerely, Massimo
The reason I share this correspondence is because it seems to me that there are many
people like Chip who misunderstand what Jesus
meant when He said we should turn the other check. There are some cases when that is not
appropriate or wise behavior, especially
when other people are involved. For example, if somebody was trying to harm your family
would you say Please help yourself?
Maybe in the beginning you would try to use calm reason and logic to persuade them to
change their mind, but if that didnt work and
they were still intent on doing your family harm, would you just let them do it or would
you try to stop him? As Chip pointed out,
Jesus is our example of how we should behave. When the Pharisees attacked His character
and teachings, He certainly didnt remain
quiet. His answers were so stinging that they left his accusers unable to reply.
To address some of the points Chip made on this subject, let me start with his last one
that Jesus could have called on 12 legions of
angels if he wanted but chose not to" The answer to that is that Jesus HAD to die. If
He had defended Himself He would have
prevented the atonement from happening. This is clearly shown in Matthew 26:54 when Jesus
said, But how then shall the scriptures
be fulfilled, that thus it must be? The whole reason Jesus came to earth was to die
for our sins. Then why should he protect Himself
from being put to death?.
But how did Jesus behave before it was His time to die? In Luke 4:29-30 we read of an
incident where the people rose up, and thrust
him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built,
that they might cast him down headlong. But he
passing through the midst of them went his way, How did Jesus go passing
through the midst of them" when they were trying to
"cast him down headlong"? Did He say, Please let me go through"? I
doubt it! Yet, even though they were intent on taking His life,
they couldnt do it. And the reason is because the time was not right for Him to die.
Therefore, He defended Himself.
In John 8:59 we read of another time when the people took they up stones to cast at
him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of
the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. The Jews didnt
just try to stop Jesus, they wanted to stone Him to
death! I am pretty sure that He didn't say to these people: "Please be good and let
me go."
As I wrote before, Jesus allowed his disciples to wear a sword. Back then, a sword was a
weapon, just as a gun is today. Proof of this
can be found In Luke 22:35-38 where we read And he said unto them, When I sent you
without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye
any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse,
let him take it, and likewise his script: and
he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that
this that is written must yet be accomplished in
me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
And they said, Lord, behold, here are
two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.
I once had someone tell me that Jesus allowed His disciples to wear a sword to protect
themselves from lions. This may seem like a
reasonable answer to some, but it isnt supported by any scriptural evidence.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that anyone in biblical
times was ever attacked by wild lions roaming the countryside. On the other hand, the
Bible does give us an incident where Peter used
his sword to defend Jesus against other men. If the Bible is our guide, then my opinion
must be the more correct of the two.
Its true that Jesus was a man of peace, but in Matthew 21:12-13 we read of an
incident where Jesus went into the temple of God,
and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the
moneychangers, and the seats of them that
sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of
prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Notice that Jesus cast out the money changers from the temple. That
doesnt sound like He politely asked them to leave.
In the account of this incident as found John 2:13-22 we further learn And when he
had made a scourge of small cords, he drove
them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers
money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto
them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Fathers house an house of
merchandise. And his disciples remembered
that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
Jesus didn't just say, "Please, will you go?" Instead, He made a scourge
of small cords and then drove them all out of the temple.
And why did He do it? According to the scriptures, because "the zeal of thine house
hath eaten me up."
The gospel of Jesus Christ does teach us to be peace-makers and give no man offense. It
also teaches that we should be slow to anger
and deal patiently with all men. We should not be easily provoked or offended. But none of
these qualities can be interpreted to mean
that we should not defend ourselves when our life, or the lives of our loved ones are
endangered.
Regarding this topic the Jehovah's witnesses don't go in the army and they don't support political authority, I won't discuss these points here but I want just to put some verses find in the Bible, or better in the new testament to show what is the teachings of the scriptures about these ideas.
Luke 3:12-14
Deuteronomy 20
It is interesting that the first gentile to be converted was even a roman centurion: Cornelius!
God accepted his prayer
and
Acts 10
Paul acknowledged the roman authority (heathen)
Acts 25:11-12
Acts 25
Romans 13
for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. and
So they are ministers of God and they can have the sword!
There are many others but these are so clear for me that it would be useless to add any more on them.
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