Notes to "Wrestling with Scriptural Violence: A Primer for Peaceful Followers of Jesus Christ"

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

Notes to the agora talk Wrestling with Scriptural Violence: A Primer for Peaceful Followers of Jesus Christ, by David Pulsipher, who was teaching "American Foundations" and "History of Peace" this past semester. Given January 21st, 2015.

• "We live in a culture that celebrates violent heroes." The culture trains us, from an early age, to accept violence as legitimate. We "believe that we know all the rules, when violence is appropriate, when it's not appropriate, and so on." 
• Jeffrey R. Holland: "Clearly among [God's] greatest concerns regarding mortality are how one gets into this world and how one gets out of it. He has set very strict limits on these matters." We think very much about the former (sexuality) but not the latter, Pulsipher notes. 
• "Because we think we all know the rules [about when violence is acceptable], we let the culture set the rules." 
• "When we turn the scriptures, we bring our cultural assumptions about violence to the scriptures... We start to reduce some very complex and morally ambiguous stories to flattened-out characters. We start interpreting these stories according to our cultural ideas about violence, rather than interrogating them." 
• "We start celebrating this violence [in the scriptures], like how our culture celebrates violence." 
• "Resources for Wrestling:
• "Correctly categorizing varieties of scriptural violence.
• "Accepting scriptural regulations regarding violence.
• "Adopting a scriptural attitude regarding violence.
• [fill in later]
• Categories of scriptural violence: 
• Symbolic violence: "Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words." Doctrine and Covenants 6:2
• Also: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels..." Rev 12:7
• Descriptive violence: "Teancum in his anger did go forth into the camp of the Lamanites, and did let himself down over the walls of the city. And he went forth with a cord, from place to place, insomuch that he did find the king; and he did cast a javelin at him, which did piece him near the heart..." Alma 62:36
• We often turn descriptive violence into prescriptive violence, usually because "it was done by someone we admire." 
• The narrator may even stop the narrative and approve, but this does not mean that there is divine approval. Helaman may be the first to clearly state how this is going on. 
• "... they had fought as if with the strength of God; 
• "And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared... And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God." Alma 57:26
• These are examples of "providential reasoning." This process is not always correct, however. 
• Prescriptive violence: "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." 1 Samuel 15:3
• "And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands; behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes." 1 Nephi 4:12-13
• Divine violence: "Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof. And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned. ffff
• Scriptural regulations regarding violence:
• In the face of violence: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also..." 
• Also: "Therefore renounce war, and proclaim peace
• Also: "Now, I speak unto you concerning your families-- if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded; but if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out as a just measure unto you." 98:23-24
• Several other verses are used, which were discussed in Pulsipher's previous talk. 
• "To be justified in violence means that [by default] violence is wrong." 
• "Violence, when it is done on God's behalf, is always done with great reluctance and with grief." 
• "Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all-- they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God." Alma 48:23
• "Eternal beings are by nature radically free." 
• "Divine power is ultimately love. When you are ruling over divine souls, the only power that you can ultimately have is trust, power that is given to you... All power is based on consent." 
• "Violence can bring only temporary influence-- fleeting consent."
• Selflessness and service, on the other hand, bring trust and thus-- enduring consent. 
• This is the path of the Suffering Servant, the one who absorbs violence into themselves rather than inflicting violence, and therefore wields lasting power. 
• "Ultimately, Jesus invites us to come and follow him, and take up the cross, and go on the path of sacrifice, rather than the path of violence."