“For it is a commendable thing if, being aware of God, a person endures pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do good and suffer for it, this is a commendable thing before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his footsteps.” (1 Peter 2:19-21)
This has to be the craziest command in the entire New Testament. Getting beaten up for no reason and doing nothing in return! Since when was that a good idea?!
As well as being a professional boxer, I have six black belts in the martial arts, and I’ve spent a lot of time teaching self-defence. I’ve taught self-defence to women. I taught it to our local police. I even taught it to a church security team! What I’ve never taught is the technique here advocated here by the Apostle Peter – namely, just enduring the beating and doing nothing in response!
When we put these verses in their context, things only look worse. Peter is talking here to slaves – people whom he surely believed were their masters’ equals! And from there Peter goes on to tell wives to submit to their husbands (1 Peter 3:1), which sounds like another invitation to a beating. Further, he tells all of us to submit to the government! (1 Peter 2:13), and this at a time when Christians were being fed to lions! Is this really what being a part of Christ’s flock is about?
Some Christian thinkers have been bold enough to accept that this is pretty much what Peter taught. John Howard Yoder, in his famous book, “The Politics of Jesus”, grounded his pacifism in passages like this. Indeed, Yoder pointed out that 1 Peter 2:21 is the only place in the entire New Testament where the lifestyle of Jesus is used as an example for us to follow. Jesus slept outdoors a lot, but we’re never told that; therefore, we should try sleeping outdoors. Jesus never married, but this is never given as a reason for us not to marry. The only point at which the lifestyle of Jesus is used as an example for us is here, says Yoder – in Jesus’ refusal to respond to violence with violence! He left you this example “so that you should follow in his footsteps.” (1 Peter 2:21)
Incidentally, in year 2000, Christianity Today ranked “The Politics of Jesus” as number five on its list of the most important religious books of the 20th century, so clearly, Yoder and Saint Peter have inspired many Christians to non-violence. The obvious question then is, ‘How the hell do I, as a Christian priest, get away with teaching people to fight?’
I’ve been asked that question a lot over the years, of course, not only by those who don’t approve of boxing but also by those who consider the martial arts to be nefarious portals to Eastern mysticism and idolatry. There’s not a simple one-size-fits-all answer to all the issues here, but let me share with you a few thoughts.
Firstly, I don’t consider boxing to be a form of violence – certainly not the way I do it or teach it. For me, it’s a form of rough play.
Years ago I used to teach wrestling to young people in Sydney’s juvenile detention centre (prison for those under 18 years of age), and I was astonished as to how often, after I’d finished a session of rumbling with those guys (almost all of whom were bigger and stronger than me), they’d tell me how our session reminded them of days when they’d rumble in the backyard with their dads when they were kids.
Rough play doesn’t have to be destructive, and from my experience, amateur boxing rarely does anyone any harm but can do a lot of people a lot of good – particularly, in my experience, ‘at-risk’ young people. Professional boxing has money involved, of course, so that’s riskier, but I have always felt protected by the rules and the referees, and I believe they’ve protected my opponents as well. Mind you, this is also why I got out of kickboxing and mixed martial arts when the rules of competition changed. I believed people were going to get seriously damaged, so I got out, but that’s another story.
In terms of the teachings of the Apostle Peter and his exhortation not to hit back, it’s important, I think, to distinguish between violence and vengeance. Vengeance is hitting someone because they hit you. They slap you on the cheek, so you slap them back. They swear at you; you swear back. They pick up a gun. You grab yours!
Vengeance is what we call ‘retributive’ justice. It’s about giving as good as you get, and our Scriptures are entirely consistent in saying that there’s no place for this. ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord’ (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30). We are never permitted to hit someone simply because they hit us. If we are to be true to Jesus and the Scriptures, we cannot do this on any level. That, in itself, though, does not mean that there’s never a time to fight.
Saint Augustine developed the ‘just war’ theory, suggesting that, while living peaceably with one another is always the goal, there may be times when even wars must be waged by those who follow Christ, but never for vengeance, and there are very strict conditions, such as:
- Wars could only be ordered for the sake of peace.
- War had to be motivated by love of neighbour.
- Wars must not harm the innocent.
Augustine’s theory was further developed and codified by Saint Thomas Aquinas, and, quite honestly, I suspect Saint Peter may well have agreed with Augustine and Aquinas – that there could be times when applying maximum force to someone or even to some nation was not only appropriate but the only loving thing to do. It’s just ironic that in the current conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, it’s not the supposedly Christian country that is following these teachings of the church fathers here!
There’s a lot more that could be said but, in closing, I note that, from what we know, Saint Peter himself died a violent death at the hands of government authorities. It is said that they crucified him upside-down! Whatever the grim details, his violent end suggests that Peter did not quietly live out his life in humble submission to the governing authorities. He stood up and he spoke out! Even so, like his master, he did not hit back:
“When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)
First published in Father Dave’s weekly newsletter – April 24th, 2026
