Athiest Bertrand Russell on Christian Pacifism
On The Character Of Christ
"I do not know that I could go with Christ all the way,
but I could go with Christ much further than most professing Christians can.
Christ said:
That is not a new precept.
It was used by Lao-Tse and Buddha 600 years before Christ, but it is not a principle which Christians accept.
The present Prime Minister, for instance, is a most sincere Christian, but smite him on one cheek.
You might find that he thought this text was intended in a figurative sense.
REGARDING JUDGING
Christ said,
You would not find that principle popular in the law courts of Christian countries.
I have known quite a number of judges who were very earnest Christians.
None of them felt that they were acting contrary to Christian principles in [judging.]
REGARDING GENEROSITY
Then Christ says,
This is a very good principle.
Christ says,
That is a very excellent maxim, but, as I say, it is not much practiced.
All these, I think, are good maxims, although they are a little difficult to live up to.
I do not profess to live up to them myself; but then, after all, I am not Christian."
- Bertrand Russell
Hebrew Peacemaker commented:
It's amazing how an atheist can read the words of Yahshua and understand them when Christians cannot.
That's why I am convinced we are dealing with a seducing spirit and not just ignorance.
I had an uncle who was a lawyer and he was offered a judgeship by appointment but he refused based on that scripture.
The uncle had many flaws in his Christian life but he did take Yahshua's words to heart on that point.
It has to be a seducing spirit, otherwise how can you explain that the most vocal supporters of illegal, immoral war in Iraq are the 'Christians?'
Bertrand Russell saw what many churchgoers can't see:
Peacemaking is a central issue as to whether one is following Yahshua or just following Tammuz or Mars, the God of War, dressed up in Jesus' clothes.
------------
Note: The rest of Bertrand Russell's essay, "Why I Am Not A Christian", is not bulletproof; it is in fact quite full of holes, particularly in regard to his facile "defects in Christ's teachings" paragraph, but in the above excerpt Bertrand poses soul-searching questions for supposedly "Christian" people, countries and churches.
