Turn The Other...Gas Chamber?

Jesus is said to have encouraged his followers to ‘turn the other cheek’ and this exhortation has been taken to mean (by many) that there is never a place for force to be used when dealing with an aggressor. But did Jesus really mean that we should, in effect ‘turn the other gas chamber’, ‘turn the other Killing Fields’ or ‘turn the other World Trade Centre’? I don’t think he did.

As a Brit I hold our national her oes like Churchill, Montgomery, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough and Drake in high esteem. I understand that if they’d not used force to protect our nation then evil would have been allowed to run unchecked against us. Were they disobeying Jesus by using force to overcome an aggressor? I don’t think so. Let me explain. During World War II Hitler nearly wiped my family out. My Dad, along with my grandparents, aunt and uncles were all together at home when it was bombed during a bombing raid over Southampton. Should Churchill, along with all of the British people, in all of the towns and cities that were feeling the wrath of Hitler’s Luftwaffe just have ‘turned the other burning building’ in the hope that he (Hitler) would repent and adopt a strategy of compassion and kindness? Should we have not responded in the hope that the driving force behind ‘the final solution’ would re-adopt his Chamberlain-agreed ‘peace for our time’ position (if it ever really existed!) trusting that he would say ‘sorry for the misunderstanding’? Of course we shouldn’t - because we know he wouldn’t. And we would be naïve to think that tyrants like Hitler would ever a ct in such humanitarian ways. They don’t. They kill instead. And they enjoy it.

But let’s get back to Jesus. Let me share something with you that’s worth remembering: context is everything. There are many scholars who research the life and sayings of Jesus and, for those who care to learn something about it, this includes the oft-quoted ‘turn the other cheek’ saying, who claim that when placed in their correct context are not always teaching what they first appear to mean.

Let’s look (briefly) at the context. Jesus lived in the Middle East in a land that was under Roman occupation. In this climate if you acted against Rome you were likely to end up being crucified (many thousands were). Therefore, if a Roman slapped you in the face and you retaliated you’d end up in hot water (maybe literally). Consequently (in brief), so an argument goes, it was better to turn the other cheek and let the matter go, than retaliate and suffer greatly for doing so. (Notice the context specifically, for instance in Matthew 5:39, where Jesus tells his listeners to 'turn the other cheek' and then how in verse 41 he continues by addressing the issue of Jews (those whom Jesus was addressing) being compelled to 'go one mile', which was referring to a Roman custom in which people could be compelled by a Centrion to carry his burden for a mile, by law.) Now, it’s true that it’s recorded that Jesus said that the ‘peace makers’ are ‘blessed’ and that living the way of peace by ‘loving thy neighbour’ is the ideal way to live and that such an ideal will be the hallmark of the Kingdom of God on Earth. But we’re not yet living in a world where the golden rule of the Kingdom of God is followed by all (just look at how much crime there is – thank God we have police). So, in essence, there is a good argument to say that Jesus taught that peace is the ideal, and that when the greater part of humanity truly embraces this golden ideal (rather than just giving lip service to it as often happens) then the Kingdom of God that is within us will manifest around us, and like a grain of yeast it will spread throughout the entire world, ushering in a better, non violent way of life.

Some situations do however require intervention of one kind or another. Jesus himself is on record as having used whips to remove ‘money changers’ (traders) from a temple and to have encouraged his disciples to buy swords. Therefore, likewise, sometimes, by implication, because in our current world from time to time there exist Nazis, terrorists and various kinds of psychopaths they too require similar treatment in order that they should be removed from power. Which means that if everyone instead turned the other cheek (rather than collectively removing them from power), in every situation, all of the time, through a very literal ‘process of elimination’, over time all of the psychopaths would eventually reach a position whereby they would control (and be able to do what they liked to) all of the seemingly ‘docile’ people around them. Therefore, it’s only when, for the cause of peace, we emulate Jesus’ example of the removal of the traders from the temple by proverbially 'picking up our whips' (in this case meaning to act through the auspices of decent, measured, checked, accountable and balanced laws and, when necessary, with additional power through the police and the armed forces, governed tightly by the aforementioned laws) to strip the various miscreants (local, national and international) that exist of their power that they can be stopped from committing more wrongs and we can truly ensure peace. Of course, human nature being what it is this can sometimes mean that the wronged person, group or nation might respond with force over and above what is appropriate. And sometimes (which is extremely sad) a wronged person, group or nation can look for reasons to act with aggression because they’re not really seeking peace at all, just an excuse to commit violence in return. This is when the victim becomes the aggressor and the cycle of violence just escalates. How can we stop this?

I believe that all of our ‘leaders’ should be more answerable to the ‘will of the people’, which when you get right down to the nitty gritty is filled with the desire to live in peace. Sure, at the current moment, as you read this there are groups of people who hate other groups of people (maybe because of a difference in religious belief, ideology or ethnicity) and who, as a result, wish harm on each other. However, no one wishes that harm will come upon themselves and those they care about (!), which means that, when you get right down to it, everyone wants peace for themselves. And the only way to ultimately achieve this is to be peaceful to others. I believe Nietzsche once warned that people who fight monsters must be careful that they don’t become monsters themselves in the process. It’s all to do with focus; is the focus on killing - or on peace? A terrorist is dedicated and focussed on killing. We therefore (the rest of us) need to focus with equal and greater dedication on promoting peace. Otherwise things will continue as they have done throughout human history to date.

In my opinion then, Jesus did not mean we should ‘turn the other truck bomb’, so to speak, thereby allowing ever more people to be massacred at the hands of power-hungry sadists (terrorists and war mongers are clearly greedy for the power and notoriety they gain through their actions – they love to be in the news) he meant that we should all aim to be peaceful, but that, sadly, until everyone learns the bitter lesson of hatred and war (everyone loses and it hurts a lot) there will be times when we need to pick up a ‘whip’ to deal with injustice. But the mark of how just a people is, when faced with terrorism or a war monger is, in my opinion, whether they use their ‘whip’ with great restraint or whether they use it wantonly. Whether they seek to avoid using their whip at all reasonable costs, and only do so when faced with a situation against which there is (genuinely) no alternative. And then, as soon as the malefactor has been disempowered desisting with the whip and insisting on peace.

I love what’s become known as The Lord’s Prayer. Particularly the phrase ‘Thy Kingdom come’. Let's together become active participants in making such a Kingdom of Peace manifest! War is horrible. No one wants to be warred upon. It's axiomatic then that in order to avoid war we all need to start livi ng peacefully. I believe the only way this will happen is when the people of the world unite and force our ‘leaders’ to listen to us (‘leaders’ usually send people to war these days, they don’t go to war themselves) so that they know that if they want to remain in their jobs they’d better get their acts together (whoever they are). The people of Iran and North Korea want peace just as much as the people of Britain. Don’t let anyone kid you otherwise. Remember: blessed are the peace makers for they shall inherit the earth. Let’s then do all we can to ensure that together, as people of the world, we extol and promote peace. The more more of us do this, the more likely it will be that war and terrorism will end and quarrels (which have in some cases lasted for centuries) will be put aside. When forgiveness exists, or at the very least when the desire to end bloodshed overtakes the desire for bloodshed, then we will have peace. And what a better world this will be! But it’s up to the people to bring this about. Governments never will. And terrorist leaders certainly won’t. So, let’s send those in power a big message. Let’s tell them to invest more in ploughshares (promoting peace) because we’re all fed up with living by the sword. And if after hearing from the people of the world they still really want to fight from time to time maybe they should slug it out between themselves, because if they did (and knew they’d have to in advance) it would save the rest of us a lot of grief (and I suspect many conflicts would never get beyond the bluster stage). And without the support of the people around him even the terrorist leader’s power will wane.

Let's now together act in concert to take back control by holding our leaders to account, united as people of the world rather than reacting (to what we're told by those in power, sometimes responding quite malleably) as people of this or that group, state or nation (as we often have been up until now). Because when we act as an interrelated united global community rather than as disunited separate individuals and states, all of the 'world leaders' will have to sit up and take notice of the overwhelming power of the united Voice of humanity.

Remember then: blessed are the peacemakers. Let’s all become peacemakers.

(c) Kerin Webb 2006.

Kerin Webb: psychic medium, clairvoyant, channeller and past life reader, based in Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.