Before our main topic today, we would like to draw your attention to an article ICR recently published about Leviathan. This is timely, considering our Leviathan Story Writing Contest.

If you read some Bible verses, in isolation, you might come to the conclusion that self defense is not a godly objective. If you read all of the Bible, you will see the whole picture.

When Jesus said that each of His apostles should sell their garment and buy a sword, if they didn’t already have one (Luke 22:36), what was the purpose of the sword? Some say that this was in fulfilment of prophecy. OK, that is interesting. We won’t ignore Christ’s command, just because it was foretold. So, again, what was the purpose of this sword that each of the apostles were instructed, by our Lord Jesus Christ, to purchase?

We know that this sword was not meant to be used to fight off those who came to arrest Jesus, some minutes later, since Jesus told Peter so (John 18:10-11). For this required purchase, the context Jesus mentioned was when He sent them on their missionary journeys. Before, when He sent them, He told them not to take any money, nor an extra staff, nor spare clothing, nor even food. Now, He is saying, things will be different. Now, among other changes, He says to sell your overcoat, if necessary, to buy a sword. That is a big difference. So, it would not be good to live your life using the out-of-date instructions.

God gave honey bees a gift. Each of them has a stinger to ward off attackers. Do we say that God’s protection is not needed for bees, since they have a stinger? No, we say that a stinger is one way that God provides protection for bees. What do humans have for such defense? In the first century they had a sword.

In this fallen world, we see many examples of defense mechanisms that are clearly designed by God. In paradise, no such defense is needed.

If you want to see my earthly sword of choice, see the following external link.

Historically, martial arts have often been tied to mysticism. This is another reason Christians are suspicious of pursuing this area of study. However, we can learn from the history of alchemy; when you throw out the mysticism, what remains can be quite beneficial. That is one of the reasons the above link is my choice for learning self defense. They have no basis, connection, or allusion to mysticism, and they stand for good ethics in practice.

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