Turning the other cheek..

Submitted by Don (United States), Jul 6, 2006 at 12:22

Good article, but the Monsignor was not rejecting Jesus' teaching of "turn the other cheek". Matt 5:39 (or Luke 6:29) is a specific admonition regarding revenge, completely in line with similar sentiments echoed elsewhere in the old and new testaments (the most obvious being Romans 12:19 - "Revenge is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord"). This passage directly follows a rebuke of the old order of "an eye for an eye", etc. Clearly, violence for the sake of revenge is rejected by Christianity, but it would be an obvious misinterpretation to take this passage as a call to absolute pacifism.

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