What Would You Do? Quick Make a Decision

Remember those types of questions? The, what would you do questions? You know, "What would you do if you were driving and the brakes went out and if you swerved to the left, you'd kill a bunch infants who escaped from daycare but if you swerve to the right you die?"

Remember those?

The question is supposed to be a playful scenario to imagine what you would do given a certain situation. There's a TV show based on the same premise. It's called "What Would You Do?" Appropriate, isn't it? I'm not a fan of the show, though I think this Friday's episode is actually worth a look regarding underage drinking and adults buying kids alcohol. There's also a book by John Howard Yoder titled, What Would You Do? It's a collection of essays of examples where nonviolent acts worked in the face of being attacked. It's a good book. Short and worth the read.

We read it for Christian Ethics while I was in seminary. Of course then, I only read certain pieces. It was a good book and I would have read more but that required more work than I cared to do. It's easier to make it look like I did a difficult job getting a B than an easier job of getting an A. Surpringly, I got an A. Must of not tried hard enough.

I was rereading the book today while I prepared a dramatic reading of Matthew 5:38-48. I struggled trying to find a way to explain the scriptures in dramatic form. Nonresistance and loving enemies is a hard topic to write or preach on in an American church. The book helped with the stories of people who, when faced with a violent act, found a nonviolent response.

I've never admitted outloud or in public that I have converted to nonviolence. It's difficult to stand up in front of people or to write in a public space, "I'm a Christian and I am choosing the path of nonviolence." It's difficult because people begin to ask that stupid question, "What would you do?" I remember making the statement that I could not ever take another human life. Immediately the scenerios came shooting out of people's mouths, "What if someone had a gun to Connor's or Lacy's head? You wouldn't kill them to protect your family?"

It's saddens me that people resort to such an extreme scenerio. It saddens me that my only appropriate response in this culture is to kill. In order to be considered a good husband, a good father, I have to kill another human being. In fact, someone told me that was a commandment. Not sure where Jesus said that but apparently he did.

I believe it is easy to sit behind a computer or behind a pulpit and say, "Jesus says love your enemies; therefore never take a life." I believe it is easy to come up with a scenerio in which your only logically conclusion is to take someone's life. I'm tired of the easy. I'm tired of the 'either ors' so I have made a decision. After two years of wrestling with this (you can read about here and here).

I, Joe Kendrick, am a pacifist.

I'll let you let that sink in.

What does that mean? For now it means that I will love everyone whole heartedly, never belittling them in my mind, rather build them up. Because there can be no distinction between my being and theirs; creatively contend with my enemies, showing mercy when needed, never compromising on issues of justice, and above all never take a life or violently harm another being. For the God who lives in me, lives in them as well and they are my brother and sister.

I am not sure what that fully means but I know that when Jesus says, "Do not resist an evildoer and love your enemies," he is asking me to sacrifice something so I'm sacrificing myself.

The Punisher and Jesus (Updated)

 If you are one of the 662 friends on Facebook, then you probably know that I am beyond obsessed with comics and superhereos. I absolutely love them, so much that I've had some tattooed onto my body. A few years ago I went to see the new Punisher movie, Punisher: War Zone. Honestly, it was a waste of my time and I sat through it wishing Thomas Jane was still The Punisher (apparently my wish might be fulfilled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWpK0wsnitc). I did enjoy some of the movie and thought Ray Stevenson was pretty decent as the Punisher, specifically fit this version of him. Sadly though the movie lost touch with the concept of the Punisher.

In the Warzone version, Frank Castle (The Punisher) has taken a darker turn down the killing road. He no longer justly kills, he just kills and ends up killing an FBI agent who was undercover. This is where I lost interest. Castle always justly killed and knew who he was killing. He knew what they had done and knew that the system would not properly punish them and therefore needed to be justly dealt with. An itchy trigger finger is not what the Punisher is about and unfortunatley the film lost that concept.

The Punisher understands that he can do what the law or no other superhero can do and that is kill. If you've had a chance to play the new Mortal Kombat vs. DC game, you would see that every superhero's finisher only wounded the other competitor because heroes don't kill. It's what seperates them from the villians. It's the line the Joker continually tried to get Batman to cross in The Dark Knight. The Punisher, however, can cross that line because he has chosen to be willing to kill his enemies. Batman, Superman, Green Lantern (until recently), and the Flash are not willing to kill. They believe that line is something that should never be crossed. Especially Batman and Superman. Surprisingly a majority of Marvel's characters do not have the same code.

In the Warzone Castle meets with a priest in the church before the climatic scene and the priest says, "Frank, for with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get." Frank replies quietly, "Matthew 7:2. I'm okay with that." First, kudos to Castle to know his Bible verses. Second, Castle has come to terms with his fate and his choice. He is willing to cast judgment and punishment onto others knowing that he will receive just judgment for it. And the superhero world needs him for it.

 Almost 4 years ago my Christian Ethics class in seminary discussed several extreme issues: Abortion, Euthanasia, Mental Health, Pacifism, and Just War. The first three were pretty tame discussions and honestly the easier ones to deal with, in my opinion. The final two are a bit more extreme and harder to discuss. Many people get defensive or angry if you say that Christians particular should be pacifist and that no war is just. And of course, that is where the conversation ended up going at times in class.

One person asked if, after all peaceful options have been explored, do we still not go to war? If not what do we do with countries or people who act unjust and violently towards others?" In short, call The Punisher. All joking aside, these issues are lead us back to The Punisher and other superheroes. When dealing with Just War and Pacifism it is not about what the nation should do but what the Church should do.

Should the Church participate in violence? Should Christians justly kill? I would say no to the first. Superman would never condone or support The Punisher. That's probably why one exists in the DC Universe and the other in Marvel's universe. The Church should never participate in violence or support violent acts. They should not ever support acts of killing that include innocent civilians and solidiers because the Church is the bridesmaid of Christ who valued human life and never took it, even if it meant losing his.

I know I am probably going to receive backlash over that statement above. That is fine and it is expected. But it is the truth. And you can use Scriptures to support war but you cannot use Scriptures to argue that the Church should.

Now, the second question is difficult to answer. Most people fall on the far end of the spectrum regarding "Should Christians justly kill?" Some are adamantly against that idea, others strongly say yes. I fall right into the middle. I fall into the middle because I have friends who have taken lives, some justly, some unjustly. Some have killed because they were high or robbing a place. Some probably took lives in the line of duty as service men and women. Some have lost loved ones to the act of violence.

What The Punisher teaches is that if the Church starts down the path of violence, if Christians chose to participate in violence and the act of killing, justly or not, the road only gets darker. While I believe The Punisher: Warzone lost sight of what The Punisher really is about, the movie does show what can happen when you choose to go down the road of death and destruction. The Warzone Punisher is not the same Punisher who first appeared in Spider-Man. He has become a darker, more violent version of himself. As Castle says, "You do not to go down this road."

But if Christians choose to participate in violence we need to be willing to give up everything. That is something we often forget. We forget when choose to live within the extremes of either life or death, we give up something. Until Christians learn to trust in creative responses to violence and death, until we learn to act creatively and live outside of extremes, we will always need The Punisher.