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Brinkley Colquitt III's avatar

“The primary mission of the Church is and will always be the salvation of souls, and it must and will always be evangelizing” well said 👏🏻

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jesse porter's avatar

There is nothing in the teachings of Christ or the Apostles to guide us in national or international politics. The teachings regarding peace are centered in interpersonal relations. Christ did not teach about Rome, Roman law, nor Roman military affairs. He healed a Roman officer's child. He encouraged his followers to not only obey when they were ordered accompany a soldier for a mile, something that apparently was common. If fact, he said to go beyond duty and accompany for two miles.

Blessed are the peacemakers is somewhat vague. His followers were for the most part lowly subjects of an invading army, and were in no position to make peace between their nation and the Roman empire. The turning the other cheek when struck can only be seen as avoiding losing their temper when attacked by another person. It might not be applicable to just or unjust abuse of a soldier, magistrate, or other official. He did not put up any resistance when he was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death, so it might apply to us as well.

Often fighting back escalates beyond a scuffle between two people, especially when people are aggrieved in general, as in cases of oppression. We have seen it flare up between blacks and police. Riots have broken out nearly nationwide, sometimes abetted by the police, whose job it is to keep or restore the peace.

Group action in protest of official acts often served to escalate, and rarely serve to rectify bad situations. "Peaceful protests" are rarely peaceful. Mass movements have resulted in changes in legislation, but it should be obvious to everyone that bad actions come from bad motives, and legislation has little or no affect on bad behavior. Prohibition was less than ineffective, it made matters worse. The war of drugs is having even worse effects on society. The war on racism has not slowed hatred. The war on poverty is likewise creating more harm, without making a dent in poverty. The so-called safety-net of social security has destroyed personal responsibility for financial financial planning.

Government is not the solution. Government is the problem. Collective action is only efficient in enabling harm.

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