Sunday, November 09, 2008

Brawling Christian Monks

So much for Christian love of neighbor, much less for love of the brethren in Christ. However, I was happy to see that unlike when Buddhist monks get torqued at each other, these Christian monks did not know how to fight. It was more like a scuffle with a few kick techniques from elementary school thrown in for purely defensive purposes. I think a case for pacifism can be made on Christian grounds, but it's just not clear enough to convince me that Christianity must commit one to pacifism. After all, as early as the fourth century, there were increasing numbers of Christians among the Roman soldiers, so that seems to preclude that Christianity was understood as essentially a pacifist religion, even if many early Christians did often maintain a pacifist stance.

[1] "Monks brawl at Jerusalem shrine [article and video]" BBC News November 9, 2008.

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