Five Questions your Pacifist Friends are Tired of Answering

My title is the title of a good article by a fellow named Jonathan Fitzgerald at the Burnside Writer's Collective (BWC). The BWC is a solid site started by Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) and a few of his friends that deals with social justice, sports, general rants or thoughts, and other things. The reason I like the site is because they identify themselves as "an online magazine presenting an alternative to franchise faith." In other words, they're not afraid of disagreeing with some "Christian" perspectives on issues that are in fact twisted and not reflective of what Jesus cared deeply about.

And so, knowing this reality, Fitzgerald explores an area (pacifism) that is often marginalized in the church (some call it the ultimate and vilest form of immorality), with five subpoints of questions he's often asked as a pacifist:

1) What if your (insert loved one here) was attacked?
2) What about the Old Testament?
3) Didn't Jesus mean to live non-violently in our personal lives, but not corporately
4) What about Romans 13?
5) So, you're suggesting Christians sit back and do nothing?

Now, I don't always toe the same line as Fitzgerald, and I don't mind talking about these questions (I'm, in fact, deeply passionate about talking about them), but as a pacifist I often grow tired of people hauling out these questions as trump cards that trivialize and pass over central issues that drive those of us who believe Jesus called all of his followers to nonviolence.

Here's the link to the article.

p.s. I disagree with the picture I posted above. Just posted it for the sake of kickstarting the discussion.