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The Atlantic is wrong.
In World War II, kamikaze pilots acted as "human missiles" by flying their planes, heavily laden with explosives, directly into enemy warships. After World War II, Viet Minh "death volunteers" were used against the French colonial army.
"Turn the other cheek" is more complicated than that. The original greek uses two different words for strike. The first word suggests the relationship between a slave and an owner, and typically involves striking with the back of the hand. By "turning the other cheek", you are telling the assailer to strike you in a manner that suggests a peer, with the palm of the hand.
It's a brilliant way to stand up to someone non-violently and assert yourself as an equal at the same time.
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