Nonresistance (or non-resistance) discourages physical resistance to an enemy and is a subdivision of nonviolence. Strict practicioners of nonresistance refuse to retaliate against an opponent or offer any form of self-defense. Mahatma Gandhi defined it more broadly as seeking to return good for evil: Nonviolence (or non-violence) is a set of assumptions about morality, power and conflict that leads its proponents to reject the use of violence in efforts to attain social or political goals. ... Self defense refers to actions taken by a person to defend onself, ones property or ones home. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Devanagari/Hindi: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी; Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી; October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) was the spiritual and political leader of India who led the struggle for Indian independence from the British Empire, empowered by tens of millions of Indians. ...

"My nonresistance is active resistance in a different plane. Nonresistance to evil does not mean absence of any resistance whatsoever but it means not resisting evil with evil but with good. Resistance, therefore, is transferred to a higher and absolutely effective plane."

This understanding of nonresistance overlaps significantly with nonviolent resistance. Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) comprises the practice of applying power to achieve socio-political goals through symbolic protests, economic or political noncooperation, civil disobedience and other methods, without the use of physical violence. ...

History

The term nonresistance was used to refer to the Established Church during the religious troubles in England following the English Civil War and Protestant Succession. In English history, the Established Church is the Church of England, the church which is established by the Government, supported by it, and of which the monarch is the titular head; until 1920 it also held the same position in Wales. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ... The Electress Sophia The Act of Settlement (12 & 13 Wm 3 c. ...

In Anabaptist churches the term has come to be defined in contrast with pacifism, which is seen by advocates of nonresistance as a more liberal theology because it allows adherents to work actively against their enemies as long as they remain physically nonviolent. In the 20th century there was some differences of opinion between and within Amish and Mennonite churches as they disagreed on the ethics of nonresistance and pacifism. Today the majority of Mennonite churches have moved towards pacifism but the Amish and Old Order Amish still hold strictly to nonresistance. Pacifism is opposition to war. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Amish couple in a horse-drawn buggy in rural Holmes County, Ohio, the site of one of the largest concentrations of Amish in the United States The Amish are a denomination of Anabaptists, found primarily in the United States and Canada, noted for their restrictions on the use of modern... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist (Re-baptizers) denominations named after and influenced by the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons (1496-1561). ... The Old Order Amish Churches are a North American religious body descended from the Anabaptist Mennonite followers of Jacob Amman. ...

Leo Tolstoy, Adin Ballou and Mahatma Gandhi were notable advocates of nonresistance. Leo Tolstoy, pictured late in life Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (?) (Russian: Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й; commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy) (September 9, 1828 – November 20, 1910, N.S.; August 28, 1828 – November 7, 1910, O.S.) was a Russian novelist, social reformer, pacifist, Christian anarchist, vegetarian, moral thinker and an influential... Adin Ballou Adin Ballou (1803-1890) was a founder of the Hopedale Community in Hopedale, Massachusetts, and a prominent 19th century exponent of pacifism, socialism and abolitionism. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Devanagari/Hindi: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी; Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી; October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) was the spiritual and political leader of India who led the struggle for Indian independence from the British Empire, empowered by tens of millions of Indians. ...

Christian theology

Christian nonresistance is based on a reading of the first half of Matthew 5:39, part of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus says: The Gospel of Matthew (literally: according to Matthew, Greek: Κατα Μαθθαιον ) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ... Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene, is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός) with Christ being a title meaning Anointed One or Messiah. Christian viewpoints on Jesus (known as Christology) are both diverse and complex. ...

"But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also". [1]

Members of denominations such as those from Anabaptist backgrounds, such as the Amish, have interpreted this verse to mean Christians should do nothing to resist an evil person or enemy, other than to return good to those that hate them. Anabaptists (Greek ana+baptizo re-baptizers, German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the so-called radical wing of the Protestant Reformation. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ...

This theology sees that if punishment is to be carried out, it is to be done by God, not humans. Nonresistance Christians note the sacrificial love of Jesus showed in his crucifixion, rather than returning evil for evil. Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... God is the term used to denote the Supreme Being ascribed by monotheistic religions to be the creator, ruler and/or the sum total of, existence. ... Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning to make sacred, from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacer, sacred; sacred + facere, to make) is commonly known as the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people to the gods, as an act of propitiation or worship. ... Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross (Latin: crux) and left to hang there until dead. ...

Living nonresistance

Ammon Hennacy related this story of an incident which occurred in the 1930's when he was a social worker in Milwaukee. He had gone to the home of a man who was on pain relief when the man pulled a knife on him: Ammon Hennacy Ammon Hennacy (July 24, 1893 - January 14, 1970) was a pacifist, Christian anarchist, vegetarian, social activist, member of the Catholic Worker Movement and was known for establishing the Joe Hill House of Hospitality in Salt Lake City, Utah and never paying taxes. ... Social Work is a helping profession focused on social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being (IASSW & IFSW 2001). ... An analgesic (colloquially known as painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain and to achieve analgesia. ...

He would prance around and swing his fist at me to frighten me and breathe down the back of my neck and tickle me with the point of his knife. I was not frightened for I had learned in solitary not to be afraid of anything. He threatened me on for nearly an hour. I did not answer back a word nor hang my head but looked him in the eye. Finally he came after me more energetically than before and said that I had to do something.

I got up and said "I will do something, but not what you think." I reached out my hand in a friendly manner saying "You are all right but you forget about it. I am not afraid of that false face you have on. I see the good man inside. If you want to knife me or knock me cold, go ahead. I won't hit you back; go ahead. I dare you!" But I didn't double dare him.

He shook my hand, and with the other hand was making passes to hit me in the face. I did not say anything more. Slowly his grip loosened and he went to the door and opened it, pulled up the blind and put the knife away.

"What I don't see is why you don't hit back."

"That's just what I want you to see," I answered.

"Explain it." He demanded.

"What is your strongest weapon? It is your big fist with a big knife. What is my weakest weapon? It is a little fist without a knife. What is my strongest weapon? It is the fact that I do not get excited; I do not boil over; some people call it spiritual power. What is your weakest weapon? It is your getting excited and boiling over and your lack of spiritual power. I would be dumb if I used my weakest weapon, my small fist without a knife, against your strongest weapon, your large fist with a knife. I am smart, so I use my strongest weapon, my quiet spiritual power against your weakest weapon, your excited manner, and I won, didn't I?"

If I had told him, "Don't hit or knife this good Christian anarchist who returns good for evil" he would have laughed at me. When I showed no fear and dared him to do me up, it woke him up to the reality and took his mind off his meanness. The good was in him the same as it was in the warden and the District Attorney, but it had to be brought out by the warmth of love which I showed, and not by the blustering wind which provoked only more bluster.

"And when do I go to court?"

"You won't go to court. I don't believe in courts; you have learned your lesson."

When I left the house my knees were shaking from the strain although I had not wavered a bit all along.

Christian anarchism (also known as Christian libertarianism) is the belief that the only source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable is God, embodied in the teachings of Jesus. ...

See also

• Christian anarchism
• Christian Peacemaker Teams
• Nonviolence
• Nonviolent resistance
• Peace churches
• Turn the other cheek

Christian anarchism (also known as Christian libertarianism) is the belief that the only source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable is God, embodied in the teachings of Jesus. ... Christian Peacemaker Teams is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. ... Nonviolence (or non-violence) is a set of assumptions about morality, power and conflict that leads its proponents to reject the use of violence in efforts to attain social or political goals. ... Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) comprises the practice of applying power to achieve socio-political goals through symbolic protests, economic or political noncooperation, civil disobedience and other methods, without the use of physical violence. ... A peace church is a Christian group in the pacifist tradition. ... Turn the other cheek is a famous phrase taken from the Christian New Testament, Matthew 5:39-40, when Jesus says: But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. ...

References

• The Principle of Nonresistance - written in 1927 by John Horsch, a Mennonite church leader.
• Nonresistance - article in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia
• Tolstoy on nonresistance
• Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind: A Manifesto for Nonviolence, Part 1
• Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind: A Manifesto for Nonviolence, Part 2