Thursday, June 27, 2013

weapons

Paul tells us in 2 Cor 10 that the weapons God's work are not of this world. As part of the armor of God, Paul mentions prayer 4 times in just three verses in Eph 6:18-20. How can prayer be a spiritual weapon? And what other weapons do we have?

When we think of weapons we tend to think of destruction and violence in the name of righteousness. Some call this a belief in "redemptive violence". But taking down spiritual strongholds (2 Cor 10:4) cannot be done with violence. In fact, Paul is contrasting the ways of God with the ways of the world in both 2 Cor 10 and in Eph 6. In Eph 4 Paul tells us to get rid of anger and take on kindness and forgiveness. This is how we are to pray for people, no matter how corrupted the image of God in them has become.

It's hard to shake our belief in violence as a tool of redemption. We want to be on the winning side, and we assume that means that someone has to lose, that someone has to be subjugated. This is the message the world repeats to us through every medium possible, especially movies.

"The Lord of the Rings" has been described as the story of an anti-quest. Instead of fighting to acquire something the heroes are struggling to get rid of something. The counter-cultural nature of this story comes through in Tolkien's contrasting of Boromir and his father Denethor's belief in redemptive violence with the younger brother Faramir's belief in grace as the superior weapon of spiritual warfare. This comes through more clearly in the book than the movie.
(Denethor) "Ever your desire is to appear lordly and generous as a king of old, gracious, gentle. That may well befit one of a high race, if he sits in power and peace. But in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death."
"So be it," said Faramir.
The more desperate the situation, the more looming the defeat, the more tempted we are to turn to violence. Jesus showed us that death may be the ultimate weapon rather than the ultimate defeat. Sacrifice and service and prayer are the "weapons" of love, weapons that can bring down the strongholds that imprison the people that God loves and for which he sent his Son to die.