Why Doesn't the Church Strike Back?

Why don't Christians eradicate evil? Why shouldn't there be Christian-led military offensives, to dig into Russia and eradicate evil, to dig into the "Islamic State" and eradicate evil, to dig into many nations and communities and eradicate evil?

Well, for starters, it's God's nature to be longsuffering, to give men time to repent, at His expense. It's also God's nature to "bind" — not destroy — evil, during times of longsuffering.

It's often not easy to understand why Heaven is that way, but the fact of the matter is, Jesus
  • is longsuffering
  • gives time to repent of inhumanity
  • says vengeance isn't the purpose of His kind of discernment
  • says His word is His "sword"
  • says to endure
  • says to wait for Him to bring justice
  • says our salvation in Him — not hell — is our vindication
  • says to be wiser than serpents but harmless as doves
  • says to work matters out among brethren
  • says He doesn't wish any would flat-out perish
  • says mankind is more cherished than birds sold at market
  • says He will separate evils from among us before too long (but not through might)
  • is a light unto our path
  • is only willing to bruise a small part of the evil that's represented by a serpent in the Bible's book of Genesis (which helps explain why our striking Saddam Hussein, for example, did not truly change Iraq, Libya, and other parts of the radicalized world — and which may imply God isn't going to destroy evil, but is going to allow evil to self-destruct, as in Judges 9:22-57).

As an old radio Bible-reading host used to say at the end of his broadcast: "Read the Bible. It's good for the soul." (Deuteronomy 32:43)


 




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