I haven’t read this book, but just received an ad for it today. It’s by Charl van Wyck, a South African man.
In “Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self-Defense,” van Wyk makes a biblical, Christian case for individuals arming themselves with guns, and does so more persuasively than perhaps any other author because he found himself in a church attacked by terrorists.
“Grenades were exploding in flashes of light. Pews shattered under the blasts, sending splinters flying through the air,” he recalls of the July 25, 1993, St. James Church Massacre. “An automatic assault rifle was being fired and was fast ripping the pews — and whoever, whatever was in its trajectory — to pieces. We were being attacked!”
But van Wyk was not defenseless that day. Had he been unarmed like the other congregants, the slaughter would have been much worse.
The subtitle caught my attention: The Right and Duty…
So is self-defense a duty? What do you think?
dayuntoday 
I wanted to see peoples response to this 🙂
@tyler_helmuth – Yeah, I was disappointed no one replied. I thought it was an interesting question…. But I’m not getting any traffic on my site anymore, so I guess we’ll never know what people think!
I think it would depend on the situation. But I do think there is a duty to protect your family and loved ones. I think it is just wrong to stand by and watch people be hurt or slaughtered if you can do something to stop it. As for actual SELF defense, I am not sure that is a duty, but I would say it is a right. But with that we also have to remember that those who live by the sword will also die by the sword. So its a complicated issue. I don’t think that if I saw someone harming my family I would stop to think about whether it was a duty or a right, I would defend them to the best of my abilities, and deal with the consequences later. Nothing in life comes without consequences, but for some things they are worth it. I just can’t see God having a problem with defending those who cannot defend themselves.
@Pensamientos@revelife – Good point–we just don’t know how we would react. Makes me remember an old story– When my fil was drafted, he appeared before a judge as a concienscous objector because he didn’t believe it was right to kill, even in war. The judge asked him what he would do if someone broke into his house and was beating up his wife and kids. Since fil was a rather fiery man, this really made him think, and he finally said he just didn’t know what he would do. The judge said that was the only answer he would have accepted. If fil had declared that he wouldn’t resist, the judge wouldn’t have believed anything else he said. It’s a very sticky question, and I’m so glad to have some input on it!
@homefire – That sounds like a really wise judge.