Biblical Warrior 1: Excerpts of articles

In Morioka, I was told that many farming people in the north of Japan believe their ancestors were Jewish. My own work on this subject was inspired by Professor Humitake Seki of Tsukuba University. It is focused on similarities between spiritual aspects of Biblical warrior tradition, and the Japanese Samurai…But it is relatively easy to be ethical in peacetime. Behaving ethically when someone is trying to kill you is much harder, and perhaps more valuable. There are many points of similarity. Jewish stories about Mica-el the Angel of War are amazingly similar to Japanese stories about Takamikazuchi-no-Kami. Takamikazuchi is believed in Kashima Shinryu tradition to be the god of swordsmanship. Yaakov's (Jacob’s) battle with the angel in the Book of Genesis is so similar to Takamikazuchi's battle with the "gods of the earth" in the Kojiki, which one feels that one is reading the same story from different perspectives.

The Biblical warriors used a hand-held shield only for defense against arrows and spears launched at a distance. Unlike other Mediterranean and European soldiers, but exactly like the Japanese, they did not use a shield in close combat. Indeed most of the references to shields in the Bible refer to God as our spiritual shield (specifically the shield of faith of Ephesians 6). (Source: http://www2.unescobkk.org/eubios/ABC4/abc4224.htm)



The idea of seeking peace while being ready for war reminds one of Biblical holy people, like Shmuel, David and Devora who sought peace but could fight like samurai when necessary.

In many books about the Samurai we read that one is to avoid confrontation, to seek a peaceful solution to conflict and to fight only when absolutely necessary. Yet in the Middle East we have acquired a habit of reacting to an insult immediately and violently. This habit, however, might be a corruption of Israel's authentic Biblical culture which may have been closer to the Japanese than is suspected. In the Bible, II Shmuel 2, Asah-El chases after Abner threatening to kill him. Although Abner is a better warrior than Asah-El, and could have killed him easily, Abner's first response is the non-violent one. He tries to run away, with none of the false shame which this would imply in the Middle East today. He even begs Asah-El to leave him alone. But Asah-El swift as a deer in the field does not give up and is faster than Abner. Only when Abner sees that he cannot escape and has no choice does he turn and kill Asah-El.
(Source: http://www2.unescobkk.org/eubios/EJ83/ej83k.htm)





THE WARRIOR SPIRIT AND CHRISTIANITY

By Daryl Covington
For most of my life I have been fascinated and involved in the marital arts. When I was first called into the ministry, some people thought I needed to leave behind the ‘warrior way’ as I followed the Lord’s will in my life. These people had a false conception of what the ‘warrior spirit’ is all about.
One of the biggest negatives I hear about my involvement and teaching martial arts is that I am merely teaching people how to fight. In reality, I teach students so they do not have to fight. When one is confident in their ability to defend themselves, one does not have to fight to prove this fact. I do not have to fight someone to prove my ability, I have proven my abilities in the Dojang, so those issues are long settled in my heart. The first aspect of self defense is to learn to avoid confrontation all together. Without that as a foundation, martial arts have lost their art form.
There is a time to stand. A great example of the ‘warrior spirit’ from a Christian perspective can be found in the Bible in II Samuel 23:8-12 in the list of David’s mighty men:
23:8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:
10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.
11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines.
12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.
The first example of a man with a biblical warrior spirit in this list is Eleazar. He literally stood and fought until his muscles became so contracted that his sword was literally stuck in his hand. I have found individuals that are involved in Christian martial arts develop this spirit of Eleazar; they are willing to stand until the end and work for God with all their might. In this day and age when most people have the remote control frozen to their hand, we need men and women of God to develop this warrior spirit so exemplified in Eleazar so that we may shake the gates of hell for the glory of God.
Let us turn our focus on the ‘warrior spirit and Christianity’ to a man named Shammah, for he exemplifies the Christian martial artist. The Bible says when everyone else had run away, Shammah stood ‘in the midst’. I have found that martial arts instills in individuals the self confidence needed to take a stand ‘in the midst’. In today’s world, many Christians try to straddle the fence and keep both sides happy. One that is taught to have confidence in God through Christian martial arts is highly more likely to take a stand in the midst of tragedy, when the non-warriors have long been gone.
Shammah stood ‘during the crisis’. It is easy to stand when all is well. Martial artists are taught to stand when all is not well. According to George Barna, 3 of 4 Americans do not believe in absolute truth.
I have been Baptist most of my life, so let me share a example from my own denomination.70 % of all Baptist Churches are plateaued or declining. Only 4% of all Baptists have ever shared faith. Last year, Baptists had 10,000 churches which saw no baptisms. That is 1,040,000 sermons, 520,000 prayer meetings, 4,000,000 hymns, and well over 200 million in offerings, and not one soul was reached.
These statistics exist in a nation where we have 45 Million teens, of which 44 1/2 million do not attend church.
The crisis is deeper than these examples, for it runs deep into the heart of American Christianity. Yes, there is a crisis in Christianity in the God Blessed USA. Passive Christianity is the cause. The great need in this country is to instill a little ‘warrior spirit’ in the youth of our community so they will not bend, bow, or budge to the system of this world and can stand firm on the principles of God’s Word. This is what Christian martial arts can be used to do, build the X generation to be warriors for Christ.
The interesting thing about Shammah was ‘why he stood’. He was not defending all of Israel, the Holy City, the Ark of the Covenant, or the King. He was fighting to defend a ‘field full of lentils’; a pea patch! Fighting by himself, when the whole army fled, Shammah defeated the whole Philistine army, over a pea patch! Why? Because they were God’s peas. We learn from Shammah the biblical concept of the warrior spirit, ‘If it is God’s, It is worth fighting for’.
I believe our youth are worth fighting for. In my years of ministry, I have been able to reach more kids with the gospel through marital arts ministry than I have through Sunday School. Without exception, the kids that have been reached through the martial arts ministry, and adults, have become radical Christians that turned the community upside down for Jesus. Why? The warrior spirit. Let’s suit up for battle and shake the gates of hell.

(Source: http://www.faithandfitness.net/connect/kfci.htm)