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Thanks! I can understand where your friend is coming from. I think if you polled most Christians (a least most that I know) you would find that most of them b

Thanks! I can understand where your friend is coming from. I think if you polled most Christians (a least most that I know) you would find that most of them believe it is fine to defend oneself or at least take oneself out of harms way. So even though 'turn the other cheek' is such a common phrase in our culture and most Christians are well aware of this saying by Jesus, they don't interpret it literally. Most would say it means to forgive those who do evil towards you and not take revenge against them. I think the original saying has some cultural connotation of a strike on the cheek being more of an insult than a physical attack, but I a not an expert. (Though this article supports this idea: http://learntheology.com/turn-the-other-cheek.html http://learntheology.com/turn-the-other-cheek.html) Now, in Muslim culture (I am again not an expert) it may be that they teach a more strict sense of a right to take revenge/justice on those that do them harm?

gwd 7y ago
> So even though 'turn the other cheek' is such a common phrase in our culture and most Christians are well aware of this saying by Jesus, they don't interpret it literally. Jesus often says things hyperbolically to shock people enough to get them to think outside their boxes. It's a bit like that quote from Suits: “What are your choices when someone puts a gun to your head? ... You take the gun, or you pull out a bigger one. Or, you call their bluff. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things.” In certain cultures, if you're insulted or attacked, people feel like they basically have to respond in kind. But this sets up a cycle of violence: someone attacks you, you "have" to attack them; but then they "have" to attack you back, and so on until one of you is more or less destroyed. (Furious 7 probably unintentionally demonstrated this perfectly: both the main hero and the main villain were revenging attacks done by the other on their own family.) Saying "Turn the other cheek" is basically along the same lines as the gun quote: "What are your choices when someone smacks you in the face? ... How about this: You turn the other cheek. Or you ignore it and move on. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things. You don't have to respond in violence."

gwd 7y ago

> So even though 'turn the other cheek' is such a common phrase in our culture and most Christians are well aware of this saying by Jesus, they don't interpret it literally. Jesus often says things hyperbolically to shock people enough to get them to think outside their boxes. It's a bit like that quote from Suits: “What are your choices when someone puts a gun to your head? ... You take the gun, or you pull out a bigger one. Or, you call their bluff. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things.” In certain cultures, if you're insulted or attacked, people feel like they basically have to respond in kind. But this sets up a cycle of violence: someone attacks you, you "have" to attack them; but then they "have" to attack you back, and so on until one of you is more or less destroyed. (Furious 7 probably unintentionally demonstrated this perfectly: both the main hero and the main villain were revenging attacks done by the other on their own family.) Saying "Turn the other cheek" is basically along the same lines as the gun quote: "What are your choices when someone smacks you in the face? ... How about this: You turn the other cheek. Or you ignore it and move on. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things. You don't have to respond in violence."