Re: ok, we can start again.

@ rainy: Hmm....well, as a Christian, I can agree - up to a point. Trubble is, while you're praying for them, they have this unfortunate habit of lopping your head off or burning you alive in metal cages. I'm really not sure I wanna hang around them long enough to give them that pleasure. I know that historically my brethren walked into the arena to face death by lion chomping or incineration, but they were obviously made of much sterner stuff than I could ever aspire to. 

I also know that vengeance belongs to God, but if a kalashnikov suddenly appeared in my hands just as I was about to be salamied by a 'jihadist', I'm not at all certain I would be able to resist using it. Not necessarily to save my own life, but to save the lives of others who might find themselves in the same predicament in short order.

Look at what the Coptic Christians are going thru right now in Egypt. Or other Christian groups in countries like Nigeria, Pakistan and India. How long before these groups are totally extinguished in countries where Christianity has had a presence since Biblical times?

In those specific circumstances, how long can we continue turning the other cheek? Do we continue doing so to the point of total extinction? I ask as both a pacifist and firm believer in gun control, as well as a poor example of the Christian faith.