my wife and i decided to go to a fireworks show last night. unfortunately, after walking at least a mile to get to the St Louis Arch to watch the fireworks over the Mississippi River, we found our daughter didnt like fireworks. she started crying immediately when the started. and ironically, she was even crying while she was clapping. weird, huh?!
anyway, to the point of the post…
something my wife said last night was interesting. she asked me, “do you think celebrating the fourth of july is hypocritical for a pacifist?”
it was ironic, because i had been thinking of the same thing all day. can i, a pacifist, celebrate a date that led to violence and bloodshed over terms of disagreement between a few people? pretend for a moment that this has nothing to do with pacifism, but merely with being a follower of Christ. let us think about the reasons behind that famous date in 1776. it was a group of men who believed that the King of England had become tyrannical toward the British Colonies. therefore, because it is the inherent right of men to throw off heavy yokes, they decided to declare independence. the King (or really the Governor of the Colonies) took this as an act of treason and came with military force to put down the insurrection. a group of farmers decided to attack the British military forces at Lexington. thus began the Revolutionary War. we know the results, America was born and became a separate nation from England.
so are these actions (on the part of the “patriots”) to be lauded? for me, as a pacifist, i dont believe so.
i believe that we, as followers of Messiah, are to bring shalom, not war. we are to turn the other cheek. we are to submit ourselves to the governing authorities (of course, not if they command us to disobey God). but should we go to war-even if we are not of the pacifist tradition-over a heavy tax?
didnt Yeshua say, “render unto Caesar what is Caesars”?
so how can we condone actions of rebellion against the God-given ruler of our colonies when it was merely an issue of “taxation without representation.”?! the King had not commanded us to disobey God. he hadnt given us laws that required us to bow down to a golden image. so how can we rationalize the revolutionary decisions? i dont think there is rationale for beginning a war that led to many, many deaths over something like a tax.
hypothetically, what would have happened if we had remained under rule of the king? i am sure we would have turned out a lot like Canada. they gained independence, without bloodshed. they a democratic country. they are very westernized. although more socialized (and pacifist, if i may say so) than us, they are quite similar to our culture. why would this have been so bad?
so even without being a pacifist, should we celebrate a day that reminds us of our rebellion? should we remember a day that we chose not to love our enemies? should we remember a day that we chose not to turn the other cheek? should we remember a day when we decided to kill rather than to be burdened by taxation? should we remember a day that turned us against our brothers?
so i ask you, should we celebrate the fourth of july?
Filed under: Christianity, Politics, Religion | Tagged: 4th of july, pacifism | 15 Comments »