Turning the other cheek
Jesus founded the sacred Law on a basis of moral character and spirituality evident in verses like turning the other cheek
[edit]"In the fifth chapter of Matthew beginning with the thirty-seventh verse He counsels: "Resist not evil and injury with its like; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." And further, from the forty-third verse: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, `Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and thou shalt not vex thine enemy with enmity.' ([49. The King James Bible reads: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." Scholars object to this reading because it is contrary to the known Law as set forth in Leviticus 19:18, Exodus 23:4-5, Proverbs 25:21, the Talmud, etc.]) But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth down the rain of His mercy on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?"
"Many were the counsels of this kind that were uttered by that Dayspring of Divine wisdom, and souls who have become characterized with such attributes of holiness are the distilled essence of creation and the sources of true civilization.
"Jesus, then, founded the sacred Law on a basis of moral character and complete spirituality, and for those who believed in Him He delineated a special way of life which constitutes the highest type of action on earth."
- ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Secret of Divine Civilization, pp. 81-82)
Turning the other cheek was to educate people, not to prevent community protection
[edit]"But the body politic has the right to preserve and to protect. It holds no grudge and harbours no enmity towards the murderer, but chooses to imprison or punish him solely to ensure the protection of others. The purpose is not revenge but a punishment through which the body politic is protected. Otherwise, were both the victim’s heirs and the community to forgive and return good for evil, the wrongdoers would never cease their onslaught and a murder would be committed at every moment—nay, bloodthirsty individuals would, like wolves, entirely destroy the flock of God. The body politic is not prompted by ill will in meting out its punishment; it acts without prejudice and does not seek to gratify a sense of vengeance. Its purpose in inflicting the punishment is to safeguard others and to prevent the future commission of such vile actions."
"Thus, when Christ said, “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the left one also”,[153 Cf. Matt. 5:39] the purpose was to educate the people, not to imply that one should assist a wolf that has fallen upon a flock of sheep and is intent upon devouring them all. No, if Christ had known that a wolf had entered the fold and was about to destroy the sheep, He most certainly would have prevented it."
- ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, Chapter 77, pars. 6-7)
War as in the Balkans shows men have forgotten the command of Christ
[edit]"Christ commanded that if we are smitten upon the right cheek, we should turn the other cheek also. Consider what is happening now in the Balkans. What conformity with the teachings of Christ do we witness in that deplorable picture? Has not man absolutely forgotten and forsaken the divine command of Christ? In fact, such discord and warfare are evidences of disagreement upon the non-essential precepts and laws of religious belief. Investigation of the one fundamental reality and allegiance to the essential unchanging principles of the Word of God can alone establish unity and love in human hearts."
- ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 445-446)