Spiritual Warfare Warrior Christians

[Guriko]

Hi,

I've made this thread after listening to Fr. Trenhams homily about Jesus being a Peacemaker and not a pacifist.

And after reading Rooshs article about Corneliu Zelea Cordreanu.

Given the current time we find ourselves living in and there being a higher chance than normal that we or our families will be confronted with coercion or violence I've wanted to ask members who are more knowledgeable than me about the Scriptures/Bible/Church stance on the use of adequate force or violence.

Is it allowed only defensively?
If someone hurts me/my family/close friends how is vengeance treated? Is it abhorred at? An eye for an eye?
What about preemptive strikes (if you know you will be targeted)?
Can/should we form bands of like-minded brothers in order to protect ourselves from threat?
Is fleeing persecution our only acceptable option?

These are probably dumb questions for many, but I've made a clean slate of my faith and have started anew with vigour and have found myself searching for answers. My local priests are more on the pacifist side (strictly following COVID-19 regulations, no holy water but an abundance of disinfectants...) which is a story for another day.

I've asked Roosh for permission to post such a thread because I do not wish to attract fed/glowie posts and this is not a call for violence against anyone.

But I'll never forgive myself if harm befalls anyone I love because I misunderstood or was led to misunderstand the Christian faith of our Fathers given to us by His only Son Jesus Christ.

Opinions, book/video/podcast recommendations are most welcome.

 

[Lawrence87]

I think this is a matter that calls for the utmost discernment.

It can be easy to get caught in thoughts of righteousness, but there is always the possibility that despite our righteous ideals the Lord may declare that He never knew us. I think that if we are seeking to act in defense of Christian virtues we must seek a blessing before doing so. The impulse may be strong to take matters into our own hands, but we must seek a blessing for our actions. If our actions are not blessed, then they are simply not blessed, no matter how righteous they might seem to us.

I believe that we, especially men, are called to be Christian soldiers. This is true. But just as a rogue band of warriors will be tried for insubordination if they try to take matters into their own hands without the approval of the generals, it is of utmost importance that any actions we take in the spiritual war be blessed by our superiors within the Church hierarchy. We might not approve of or understand the decisions of our superiors, but it is of critical importance that we respect and honour our hierarchs. If we fail to do so then the entire basis of the church is weakened

 

[OrthoSerb]

Amongst other topics, the Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church covers war and violence from a number of angles:

Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church » Background Information » OrthodoxEurope.org

There are probably some other sources which cover the topics in more detail but this is what first came to mind.