Must All Action Against Tyranny Cease Because Animals May Suffer? (Part II). By Dr Chapman Chen
- Chapman Chen
- Apr 24
- 5 min read
In part I, we have seen that there are absolutist vegan pacifists who insist that any militant action against tyranny is condemnable on the ground that innocent animals will inevitably be killed. This stance, however, ignores the much greater and more prolonged suffering that tyrannical systems impose upon the whole created order.
1. Just Wars vs. Unjust Wars
Recently, Pope Leo XIV has strongly criticised the bombing of Iran by the US and Israel, framing it in moral and theological terms. On March 26, 2026, Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, the Pope stated, “Jesus does not listen to prayers of those who wage war, quoting Isaiah 1:15: "Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood". Moreover, on April 16, 2026, the Pope, quoting Jesus, addressed the faithful in Cameroon: "Blessed are the peacemakers. But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain.”
But the Bible does distinguish between illegal murder and legitimate killing in terms of self-defence: “If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him”(Exodus 22:2).
Pastor Franklin Graham also cites King David to rebut the Pope: “God does listen to prayers made in the midst of war…There is such a thing as a just war and an unjust war.” In the OT, King David is frequently shown fighting to defend Israel from attack rather than to invade other nations for self-gains. A classic example is: 1 Samuel 17 — David and Goliath. This fits classical just war theory developed by early church fathers like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. The idea is that war may be morally justified if it meets conditions such as just cause (self-defence, stopping evil), legitimate authority, right intention, last resort, and proportionality.
2. Jesus vs. Jesus
In connection with valiant resistance, Jesus has made a few seemingly paradoxical statements.
2.1. Peace vs. Sword
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). But he also says, “I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matt 10:34).
Look, peacemaking that avoids confronting grave injustice may unintentionally allow suffering to continue; therefore, true peacemaking must sometimes include the willingness to restrain evil through proportionate force, grounded in love for the oppressed.
2.2. Valiantly Confronting Atrocity Out of Love
No doubt, Jesus says, “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27-28). But He also says, “Set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). In the face of a grossly unjust, dictatorial, atrocious regime that refuses all peaceful appeals, a community may, as a last resort, use necessary and proportionate force to stop grave injustice and protect the innocent—even to the point of dismantling that regime—provided this is done not out of hatred, but out of love: love for the perpetrators, that they may be restrained from committing more deadly sins; love for the oppressed; and love for the restoration of a just and lasting peace.
2.3. Put Up Thy Sword Into The Sheath Or Buy a Sword?
When Jesus said, “Put up thy sword into the sheath” (John 18:11), “for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matt 26:520, He was prepared to die so as to fulfil biblical prophecies (Matt 26:54-56), and He’s concerned that His disciples, outnumbered, would get killed if they put up resistance (Barnes' Bible Commentary).
On the other hand, Jesus says, “If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:36). Here, Jesus is advising His disciples to acquire weapons, for He foresees that they will be facing persecutions. This saying strongly suggests that the Christian life is not reducible to an absolute renunciation of all defensive preparedness.
2.4. Turn the Other Cheek or Save the Oppressed?
Jesus asks us to “turn the other cheek” when smitten on our right cheek (Matthew 5:39). But He also says, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11).
"Christ did not intend to teach that we are to see our families murdered, or be murdered ourselves, rather than to make resistance...all laws, human and divine, justify self-defense when life is in danger," Albert Barnes wrote in his Matthew Bible Commentary.
What we find in verse 39 is imagery of someone striking your right cheek with the back of their hand, which was an ancient humiliation (cf. Job 16:10; Lam. 3:30; Matt. 26:67; John 18:22; 2 Cor. 11:20). Christ forbids revenge and reciprocal insult; he does not require believers to surrender innocent life to murderers, terrorists, or tyrants.
And Scripture does command active rescue of those facing destruction, probably including both animals and humans: “Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked” (Psalms 82:4). Similarly, Jesus proclaims: “Preach deliverance to the captives…” (Luke 4:18–19).
In other words, Jesus is prepared to take self-costly, valiant action in order to protect innocent sentient creatures of God. And direct action did Jesus indeed take. In liberating the animals from the Second Temple, which He called “a den of murderers”, He disrupted the lucrative revenue stream of the big bosses behind – the chief priests and scribes – who immediately afterwards plotted to have Him destroyed.
The biblical witness culminates not in passive surrender to evil but in the ultimate overthrow of oppressive and beastly powers under the righteous judgment of Christ. For example: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan…” (Rev 12:9); and “And the beast was taken… These both were cast alive into a lake of fire…” (Rev 19:20).
3. The Final Reconciliation of All Creation
Since the refusal to confront structural evil may condemn far more sentient beings to prolonged misery, resistance to tyranny may sometimes be tragically necessary, yet the ultimate goal is the reconciliation of all creation.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.” (Isaiah 11:6, 9 KJV)
“And every creature… saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto…the Lamb for ever…” (Rev 5:13 KJV).
That’s why Jesus’ last instruction is for us to “Go… preach the Gospel to all creation” (Matt 16:15).
4. Conclusion
The moral task of Vegan Theology is not simplistic pacifism at any cost, but the faithful discernment of how best to reduce total suffering and advance the liberation of all sentient life under God. When tyranny becomes institutionalised, simply abstaining from action may itself become a form of moral complicity. Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously stated that if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
In this fallen world, difficult choices sometimes must be made. The vegan theological response is not blind support for violence, but neither is it an absolute prohibition against all resistance to tyranny. Rather, it is a call to seek the path that most faithfully serves the healing of the whole groaning creation.
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