Our brother John Piper is an honorable Christian scholar and gives a thorough defense of his reason for his conviction. However, I can only agree with some of it.
Piper believes that the call to love our enemies and to patiently endure persecution precludes self-defense—and even more importantly, the defense of the defenseless. But I do not believe that it is one or the other (either love enemies or protect others).
I find a place in between the spirit of our brother Falwell’s statements and Piper’s convictions. There is a balance between these two brother’s words.
Christians have a duty to be loving and patient “toward outsiders,” like sheep among wolves (Colossians 4:5). But there is also a duty for us be willing to bravely protect others.
To the question of “May I shoot my wife’s assailant?” I would say the Scripture commands us to not avenge ourselves. Therefore, I must NOT shoot the assailant simply because he did assail. However, it is quite another matter altogether if I am in the position to prevent the assailing from happening. Then, it is then my DUTY as a Christian husband to shoot that assailant. Again, not to avenge but to prevent.
As Christians we can look to see if there is more we can do to prevent such scenarios as home invasion from escalating to the point of violence. We should always be open to learning and improving whilst we live, and reading on the scenarios online here or seeking other resources is something to consider.
Further, I also disagree with Piper’s attempt to nullify the position that we, as American citizens, are “those in authority” in what GOD has given us here.
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