View source for Turning the other cheek

{{short description|Phrase from the Sermon on the Mount in Christian doctrine}}
[[File:Bloch-SermonOnTheMount.jpg|thumb|right|Jesus taught turning the other cheek during the [[Sermon on the Mount]].]]
'''Turning the other cheek''' is a phrase in [[Christian doctrine]] from the [[Sermon on the Mount]] that refers to responding to insult without retort. This passage is variously interpreted as accepting one's predicament, commanding [[nonresistance]] or advocating [[Christian pacifism]].

==Scriptural references==
The phrase originates from the [[Sermon on the Mount]] in the [[New Testament]]. In the [[Gospel of Matthew]] [[Matthew 5|chapter 5]], an alternative for "[[eye for an eye|an eye for an eye]]" is given by [[Jesus]]:
{{blockquote| <sup>38</sup>You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."  <sup>39</sup>But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.  <sup>40</sup>And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.  <sup>41</sup>And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  <sup>42</sup>Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
|Jesus Christ|source=English Standard Version ([[Matthew 5:38]]–[[Matthew 5:42|42]])}}

In the [[Sermon on the Plain]]<ref>{{bibleverse |Luke|6:17–|KJV}} – This is a different location than the sermon on the mount of Matthew.</ref> in the [[Gospel of Luke]] [[Luke 6|chapter 6]], as part of his command to "[[love your enemies]]", Jesus says:
{{blockquote| <sup>27</sup>But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, <sup>28</sup>bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.  <sup>29</sup>To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. <sup>30</sup>Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.  <sup>31</sup>And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.|Jesus Christ|source= English Standard Version (Luke 6:27–31)}}

==Interpretations==
This phrase, as with much of the [[Sermon on the Mount]], has been subject to both literal and figurative [[Sermon on the Mount#Interpretations|interpretations]].

===Christian anarchist interpretation ===
{{Main|Christian anarchism}}
According to this interpretation, the passages call for total nonresistance to the point of ''facilitating'' aggression against oneself, and since human governments defend themselves by military force, some have advocated for [[Christian anarchism]], including [[Leo Tolstoy]] who elucidated his reasoning in his 1894 book ''[[The Kingdom of God Is Within You]]''.

===Nonviolent resistance interpretation===
Jewish scholars Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Brettler state that the issue is about justice after an injury has been committed. They argue that since the Greek word used in Matthew 5:39 for 'resist' is {{lang|grc|ἀντιστῆναι}} (which usually refers to armed resistance or violent struggle) Jesus is offering to confront violence, maintain one's honor, and shame the perpetrator, instead of escalating violence, or losing dignity. By offering the left cheek, the victim resists humiliation by inviting a right-handed jab which exposes the slap as a violent act that failed to reduce the humanity of the victim, thus challenging the perpetrator and shaming them for cruelty of treatment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Levine |first1=Amy-Jill |last2=Brettler |first2=Marc |title=The Bible with and without Jesus: How Jews and Christians read the same stories differently |date=2020 |publisher=Harper One |isbn=9780062560155 |pages=201–203}}</ref>

The scholar [[Walter Wink]], in his book ''Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination'', interprets the passage as ways to subvert the power structures of the time.<ref name= "engaging-powers">{{cite book |last=Wink |first=Walter |date= 1992 |title=Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination |pages= 175–82 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qNAEjt_Yh5cC |publisher= Fortress Press |isbn= 978-0-80062646-4 |access-date= December 27, 2013}}</ref> At the time of Jesus, says Wink, striking backhand a person deemed to be of lower socioeconomic class was a means of asserting authority and dominance. If the persecuted person "turned the other cheek," the discipliner was faced with a dilemma: the left hand was used for unclean purposes, so a back-hand strike on the opposite cheek would not be performed. An alternative would be a slap with the open hand as a challenge or to punch the person, but this was seen as a statement of equality. Thus, by turning the other cheek, the persecuted was demanding equality.

Wink continues with an interpretation of handing over one's cloak in addition to one's tunic. The debtor has given the shirt off his back, a situation forbidden by Hebrew law as stated in [[Deuteronomy]] (24:10–13).<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|24:10–13}}</ref> By giving the lender the cloak as well, the debtor was reduced to nakedness. Wink notes that public nudity was viewed as bringing shame on the viewer, and not just the naked, as seen in Noah's case (Genesis 9:20–23).<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|9:20–23}}</ref>

Wink interprets the succeeding verse from the Sermon on the Mount as a method for making the oppressor break the law. The commonly invoked Roman law of [[Angaria (Roman law)|Angaria]] allowed the Roman authorities to demand that inhabitants of occupied territories carry messages and equipment the distance of one mile post, but prohibited forcing an individual to go further than a single mile, at the risk of suffering disciplinary actions.<ref name= "angaria">{{cite book |author=Th. Mommsen |title=Codex Theodosianus 8:5:1|url= http://webu2.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/Constitutiones/CTh08.html#5}}</ref> In this example, the nonviolent interpretation sees Jesus as placing criticism on an unjust and hated Roman law, as well as clarifying the teaching to extend beyond Jewish law.<ref name= "angaria talmud">{{cite book | first= Michael | last = Avi-Yonah |title=The Jews Under Roman and Byzantine Rule: A Political History of Palestine from the Bar Kokhba War to the Arab Conquest}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
* [[Christian pacifism]]
* [[Live by the sword, die by the sword]]
* [[Matthew 5:29]], [[Matthew 10]]
* [[Tolstoyan]]
* [[Violence begets violence]]
* [[Law of attraction (New Thought)]]
* [[Just war theory]]
* [[Mindfulness]]
* [[Acceptance and commitment therapy]]
* [[Right of conquest]]

==References==
<references/>

==Further reading==
* [[Jim Douglass]], ''Lightning from East to West: Jesus, Gandhi, and the nuclear age'', 1983 {{ISBN|0-8245-0587-5}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120921/http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=1&ItemID=6889 Christian Nonviolence]

{{Sermon on the Mount|state=expanded}}
{{Anti-war}}


[[Category:Doctrines and teachings of Jesus]]
[[Category:Christian nonviolence]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Ethical principles]]
[[Category:New Testament words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sermon on the Mount]]
[[Category:Gospel of Matthew]]
[[Category:Matthew 5]]
[[Category:Nonviolence]]
[[Category:Pacifism]]