Non-violence
Now finished the book on Gandhi and one of his main points, but not the whole thing, was based around the idea of non-violence no matter what the situation and in protest against violence. ' Non- violence is the child not of the cowardly but of the brave.'
Great idea- wouldn't it be nice if all humans could live like that- but when it comes to the crunch how would we go. Can't say that I've every really been the victim of violence- but if someone was bashing me up wouldn't I at least try to defend myself. Think Gandhi had a broader picture and confidence of life after death.
But is non-violence always pratical? Anyone who eats meat cannot completely submit to a non-violent life.
But was this what Jesus was talking about in Matt 5:39 'Do not risist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other one'. A passage that we so often decide that it's not meant to be taken liturally.... but maybe Gandhi understood and tryed to live it out better than most.
Great idea- wouldn't it be nice if all humans could live like that- but when it comes to the crunch how would we go. Can't say that I've every really been the victim of violence- but if someone was bashing me up wouldn't I at least try to defend myself. Think Gandhi had a broader picture and confidence of life after death.
But is non-violence always pratical? Anyone who eats meat cannot completely submit to a non-violent life.
But was this what Jesus was talking about in Matt 5:39 'Do not risist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other one'. A passage that we so often decide that it's not meant to be taken liturally.... but maybe Gandhi understood and tryed to live it out better than most.
posted by Mim @ 2:31 PM
2 Comments:
At 4:37 PM,
waynemus said…
The challenge of Non-violence is a very confronting one, and as you said isn't always practical.
Ghandi would of being speaking about "Ahimsa", one of the Hindu religious ethics. It speaks of non-violence to all living concious things. For this reason many pious Hindus maintain a life of Vegetarianism, as they see the animal as being equal in rights to what they are.
The quote you gave from the gospel of Matthew is said to tap into transformative resolution of a situation, rather than acting against something with as much violence as one is confronted with.
I attended a workshop hosted by Urban Seed on this topic. They discussed what is the commonly accepted interpretation of the passage. Apparently there was a common practice to always use your right hand to strike a blow (as left was considered unclean as it was used for other things). So to strike a left cheek you would have to use the back of your right hand, something reserved for lowly people. Given this background, Christ is apparently saying that if someone is to backhand you, turn them your other cheek, defining yourself as an equal, hence transform the attack. My personal thoughts is that this is also transformative as it respects the attacker's right not to face violence (hence loving your enemy), and prevents using such "evil" tactics.
Everyone who has embraced non-violence has aimed to transform the society around them. Is our own society open to such a transformation?
At 8:20 PM,
Mim said…
but maybe it's more practical than we think or would like to admit!?
Think Ghandi had his own word for it- but prob very related. Jesus seemed to be very non-violent anyway though with many examples where he respond violently to violence.
As for society being open to it....wouldn't it be nice!?!
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