The Case for Biblical Self-Defense
New Booklet Explores Bible’s Inherent Support of Self-Defense in Light of God’s Love
Foundational for Church Security Teams
video 6/19/18 episode and podcast 6/19/18 episode
Grand Rapid, MI (April 22) – On the anniversary date of the US Congress authorizing the minting of coins bearing America’s motto “In God We Trust” (April 22, 1864), SemperVerus® published the pocket-sized booklet, The Case for Biblical Self-Defense (ISBN 978-0-692-08979-8; 26 pp.; $10; available by emailing staytrue@semperverus.com).
For those who consider the Bible to be their authoritative guide for life and personal behavior, the booklet answers in the affirmative the question, “Is it biblical and in accordance with Christian faith to be ready to employ defensive lethal force to protect your life from an imminent and wrongful life-threatening attack?”
Rather than merely quoting two or three common Bible verses that are routinely referenced when the subject is usually discussed, the author, Jonathan Petersen, says his objective is to consider the dualistic paradox presented in the Bible of God’s utmost love and the existence of violence. The booklet explains how the Bible declares love is God’s supreme command and the seeking of peace is to be prioritized while, at the same time, taking into account the legitimate realities and acceptable actions of conflict, violence, and self-defense.
“According to the Bible, our first priority is to love and seek peace. It also says there’s a right time and a right place for appropriate godly confrontation and conflict,” says Petersen. “The Bible shows that, at certain times and with prudent acumen, proper defensive violence is considered a necessity and God decrees it must be used within human free will to thwart evil.”
According to The Case for Biblical Self-Defense, the Bible offers more than 100 examples and passages that speak to the acceptability of self-defense in accordance with self-discipline and wise discernment.
Covering a broad scope that includes the issues of sin and free will, the booklet cites its case from both the Old and New Testaments, establishes the ideal biblical role of government in the enforcement of justice, offers biblical examples of individual self-defense in Its various forms of avoidance, escape, limited, and lethal exercises, and advances biblical guidelines for conducting self-defense, including the responsible training in, and carrying of, a legally concealed weapon.
Petersen says his passion for his Christian faith and his interest in the shooting arts led him to investigate the subject of this booklet for his own personal edification.
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