Turning the other cheek

Bluesun has a good post up about a Christian group that is advocating gun control.  The central theme seems to be that a good Christian will not defend himself, instead "turning the other cheek".

Here's my response:

   ⁹And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
   ¹⁰For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
   ¹¹And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
   ¹²And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

As Christians, we trust in the Lord to do the right thing for us, even if it's not always pleasant, but we understand that the role of God is not to provide for us, nor is it to protect us in every way.  He made us thinking, reasoning creatures, so we are responsible for ourselves.  We should always strive towards the ultimate goal of loving our fellow human beings as we would want to be loved, but that does not mean we should let go of our responsibility to protect ourselves and those dear to us.

The "turn the other cheek" thing has also been explained to me as "Don't give the bastard the satisfaction of a response", as opposed to "Stand there and take it rather than fight back".  The chaplain that gave that sermon to soldiers certainly knew his audience.