6/26/2023 0 Comments Dr james karlson![]() This is exactly the kind of defense being given to the one who killed Jordan Neely those who do so ignore the fact that he was not an immediate threat to anyone, and that he could easily have been engaged without being put into a deadly choke hold.Įxcessive force, extreme violence, is not proportionate force and cannot be justified by those who are truly seeking to defend and promote the value of life. Indeed, they often justify such death-giving by dehumanizing the victim, saying that because of something they had done long ago, something their killer could not even have known, alone justified their execution. And they often do this after the fact, as can be seen in the way they try to find excuses to justify someone killing their neighbor, claiming it was self-defense despite the way other means could have and should have been used to deescalate the situation, leading to no one being killed. They dehumanize the other in order to ignore their human dignity so that they can easily abuse if not kill those they deem unworthy of respect. They have become so bloodthirsty, they regularly threaten anyone they do not like, thinking that alone justifies executing someone if they do not comply to their unjust demands. Similarly, way too many Christians are interested in arming themselves and using those arms to kill those they deem a threat, even if there is no proportionate reason to do so. They are among the first to reject refugees seeking to save their lives, and in doing so, end up sending them to their death. So many of them readily embrace the way of violence to make the world conform to their will. Without question, I see far too many Christians, Christians who call themselves pro-life, reject the dignity of their fellow human beings, and in doing so, find excuses to justify their exploitation and death. Instead, they are told that they should: “Rescue those who are being taken away to death hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter” (Prov. Similarly, they should not be looking for reasons to have people killed, let alone rejoice in their untimely death. Christians should be looking for all the ways they can help those who are needy, but what we see is that they find all kind of ideological excuses to not only ignore their plight, but to make things worse for them. Such Christians ignore Scripture, where it is clear that the poor, the needy, the foreigner, indeed, the refugee should be welcomed with mercy because of the way they have received God’s mercy (cf. This is especially true in the United States, for in it, many whom Christ would have lifted up and affirmed, such as migrants, are dehumanized by Christians. While they might, in some cases, promote life, in many other cases, they are so quick to embrace the way of death, they glorify it, justifying themselves by finding ways to dehumanize those who are recklessly killed. Sadly, the way many Christians act, they seem to do the exact opposite of what Christ intended. Likewise, Jesus is the prince of peace, which means Christians should be servants of peace (cf. Seeing the way he promotes and affirms the value of all life, including and especially those who are treated as outcasts and less than human by society, Christians should promote the dignity of all human life, making sure everyone can attain and experience abundant life (cf. No photographer listed: Sculpture Against Gun Violence / pxhere
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