Self-Defense against the Bible!?

[ryo dokomi]

now here is a question that i recently posed my Senior and Youth Pastor. i asked if fighting for the reason of self-defense. they had somewhat clashing answers, however what i gathered was that it is okay to fight only if i am first attacked, i cant go too far, meaning that i can only go as far as to stop the fight, and that fighting is OUT OF THE QUESTION if it is because someone is wanting to beat me up because i am a Christian. now i am a martial artist and have studied for many years prior to my conversion, however i cant say anymore on that subject, but i have always said that i will not fight unless attacked first. what does the Bible say about fighting in self-defence???

[LittleShepherd]

This looks sticky at first, but let's look at the facts.

God forbid murder, but allowed killing in self-defense and in defense of others, most notably when someone was trespassing. He also allows killing under some other specific circumstances that don't come up much nowadays unless you're in the military.

"Turn the other cheek" was a call for Christians not to return evil for evil, not for them to be pacificts. Jesus Himself picked up a whip and used it to drive thieves out of the temple, so obviously there is a time and a place to participate in physical conflict. A time when fighting is not returning evil for evil.

From a proper understanding of these, it's pretty obvious that fighting in self-defense or in defense of others is okay. There are some other situations that aren't so cut-and-dry, but it's doubtful you'll run across them in your everyday life.

Whoever came up with the image of the "good buddy Jesus" needs to be smacked. I think that would be one of those times fighting is okay, too.

[ryo dokomi]

thank you for that...i had just about the same mindset..but i just needed some comformation...you know.. i needed to know if my thinking was right. so again thank you for your response.