Search Results: non-violence
God’s War on War
Category: General
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Though the OT portrays God as not only tolerating violence but also in many cases various narratives quote God as getting his hands dirty and actually promoting and commanding acts of violence, this is not the true character of the God of the OT. Throughout the OT we find passages…
Non-Violence and Police Protection
Category: General
Tags: Authority, Current Events, Ethics, Non-Violence, Q&A, Security
…are arguing that we should hired armed officers for protection. The call, ultimately, is mine to make. I share your views on the call of Jesus followers to love enemies and swear off all violence. So I’m wondering if you think it would be inconsistent for me to grant this…
The Cleansing of the Temple and Non-Violence
Category: General
Tags: Cross, Love, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
…mentioned public teachings about refraining from violence. There is therefore nothing about Jesus’ cleansing of the temple that runs counter to my claim that the non-violent, enemy-embracing, self-sacrificial love that was supremely revealed on the cross is the thematic center of Jesus’ identity and mission. To the contrary, Jesus engaged…
Cross-like Love and Non-Violence
Category: General
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Discipleship, Enemy Love, Kingdom Living, Love, Non-Violence, Pacifism
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
…refrain from violence cannot be considered an optional aspect of what it means to follow Jesus. Rather, as cruciform love is the most definitive distinguishing characteristic of God’s nature, so manifesting cruciform love must be considered the sine qua non feature of all who are the children of this God….
Lessons on the Non-Violent Atonement
Category: General
…the Non-Violent Atonement Seminar I participated in last Friday. It was really interesting. The Seminar was sponsored by an organization called Preaching Peace headed up by Michael Hardin (editor of Stricken By God?). He was joined by Denny Weaver (author of The Non-Violent Atonement) Tony Bartlet (author of Cross Purposes)…
Does the Old Testament Justify “Just War”?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Augustine, Cruciform Theology, Just War, Kingdom Living, Non-Violence, Old Testament, OT Violence, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
…towards their enemies (1 Pet 2:18-23; 3:15-16; Heb. 12:2-3). Nowhere in the New Testament is this example or these teachings about non-violence ever qualified. Jesus himself seems quite aware that the attitude towards enemies he commands his followers to embrace is very different from some aspects of the OT. For…
Colson’s God & Government: A Review
Category: General
Tags: Book Reviews, Reviews
…use of violence) (Romans 13:1-6)! 3. Speaking of violence, on what basis can Colson justify Christians resorting to violence simply because one deems it justified? When Jesus, Paul and others in the New Testament command us to love, do good, bless and pray for our enemies and never retaliate, they…
Shedding Light On “The Dark Side of God”
Category: General
Is it possible to believe that the whole Bible is divinely inspired and yet believe that God never engages in violence? Any one with even a cursory knowledge of the Bible would probably answer this with a resounding “No.” The Bible attributes a good deal of violence to God. He…
A Cruciform Magic Eye
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
…way of looking at these portraits. See if something doesn’t start to pop out at you. Blessings, Greg Image by Shannon Kringen. Sourced via Flickr. Suggested Reading This is a sampling of the works that have helped convince me that Revelation is intended to call followers of Jesus to non-violent,…
Getting Honest about the Dark Side of the Bible
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Honesty, Jesus, John Calvin, OT Violence
…order to sound more pious, we are in effect condoning its violence. And as I mentioned in a previous blog, there is now a wealth of research demonstrating that violence in literature that is considered sacred is a powerful force in motivating religious violence. It can only be negated by…
God’s Dream for the World
Category: General
Tags: Character of God, Non-Violence
One of the grandest expressions of non-violent nature of God is found in Isaiah 11. Here God is dreaming of a time when his creation would be entirely free of violence. “The wolf will live with the lamb,” Isaiah says, and “the leopard will lie down with the goat.” So…
Trapped in a Constantinian Paradigm
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
…status quo insofar as the status quo doesn’t reflect the character of God. Using the unique power of Christ-like love, I maintain, the Church is to take responsibility to address issues of (for example) homelessness, hunger, racism, sexism, greed, social injustice, drug abuse, domestic violence, AIDS, etc. (see, e.g. Myth,…
Is Non-Violence a Key to Christian Discipleship?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Mennonerds, Non-Violence, Peacemaking, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
For the first three centuries of the church, Christians understood that forgoing the use of violence and expressing God’s self-sacrificial love was central to discipleship. However, this mindset changed after the Church acquired power in the fourth century. Entire theological systems have been developed to support the use of coercive…
The Myth of Redemptive Violence
Category: General
Tags: Non-Violence
…neither fight nor flight. He shows us a way to oppose evil without mirroring it, where oppressors can be resisted without being emulated and neutralized without being destroyed.” If you’re interested in exploring this subject further, Greg has also written some articles and Q&As on the subject of Christian non-violence….
Why Did Jesus Curse a Barren Fig Tree?
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
While no one argues that the NT advocates violence explicitly, many allege that some passages reflect violent attitudes toward outsiders, and especially toward non-believing Jews, while others detect an element of violence in some of Jesus’ teachings and behavior. Some scholars argue that this violent aspect of the NT laid…
Why Didn’t Jesus Denounce Military Service?
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Military, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
…it is fair to say that the New Testament doesn’t contain an ethic for humans in general, and perhaps even fair to say that the New Testament doesn’t espouse pacifism, in the sense that it doesn’t advocate non-violence for all people and as an end in-and-of itself. Jesus and the…
Milbanks and the Satan in Nature Hypothesis
Category: General
Some of you may be familiar with John Milbank, one of the founders of a movement called “Radical Orthodoxy.” (His best known book is Theology and Social Theory). I don’t agree with everything he writes, but it seems we are on the same page regarding a) the centrality of non-violence…
Promiscuity and Terrorism
Category: General
…alarming crime and violence rates in our culture, especially among young people. One in five Americans now has a STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection). Forty three percent of all marriages now end in divorce. And, ironically, the percentage of people struggling with sexual dysfunction is on the rise, especially for married…
Evolution As Cosmic Warfare
Category: General
Well, believe it or not, I’m going to take a break today from obsessing on the problem of violence in the Old Testament and instead obsess on the problem of violence in nature. (I promise to return to the O.T. soon — we’ll deal with Peter Craigie’s The Problem of…
A Word to My Mennonite Friends: “Cherish Your Treasure!”
Category: General
Hello friends, I plan on getting back to the problem of violence in the Old Testament soon, but today I want to share a marvelous experience I had last week. About eight months ago I spoke at a conference at Hesston college (a Mennonite college) on faith and politics (I…