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Welcome to the section of my site which outline, elaborate and meditate upon the Christian mission of peace and social justice in the world.
Contrary to popular misconception, pacifism does not mean passive nonresistance. Rather, it means an active nonviolent resistance to the evils of the world. It recognizes the fallen nature of this reality we live in, with violence at every level of society from domestic to international, and refuses to accept the logic that more violence is the solution. Instead, it believes that peace is not merely an end, but the means to that end. And so with faith in the victory of Christ over violence and death in the Resurrection, and the assurance of Christ that He will be with us always as we work towards a Baptized reality, we seek out the means of peace.
This mission and means is inseperable from the cause of social justice. That is, the recognition and practice of God's preferential option for the destitute and outcast. There can be no peace so long as there is inequality and injustice in the world, whether it be based in economics, gender, reproduction, sexuality, resources, environment and countless other areas of human experience. Jesus has promised a new world order based upon reconciliation and justice for all people and all Creation, and He has chosen His followers to join with Him in creating that new order.
For more on peace, pacifism and social justice, visit my Pacifism and Social Justice Links page.
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Christian Pacifism and Social Justice
- Here you will find the summary for the material on this page: the coherent picture of what I believe and proclaim and try to live.
Christian Pacifism Basics
- The Roots of Christian Pacifism and Anarchy
- An ongoing collection of Biblical and Christian quotes on pacifism and anarchy.
- Redemptive Violence
- An excerpt from Walter Wink outining how the fundamental paradigm of our civilization is not moral vs. immoral but order vs. chaos, and how this paradigm permits and promotes violence.
- The False Valuation of Violence
- Calling to task the dominant moral valuation system of our society, which views goodness along a scale of willingness to commit violence. New Mar. 17th, 2004.
- Four Pillars of Violence
- Often violence is justified on the grounds of protection of self, family, property, and nation. Jesus undermines these justifications.
- Temptation in the Desert
- The temptation of Christ was not a set of arbitrary gifts offered by Satan, but a systematic assault upon His conscience which all believers in Christ and peace must overcome.
Turning the Other Cheek
- Jesus' call to turn the other cheek is a call to engage in non-violent resistance which exposes injustice and converts the enemy.
Challenges to Christian Nonviolence
- Violence in the Hebrew Scriptures
- Part I: Introduction and Violence in God's Original Plan. When addressing the example of bloodshed in the Old Testament, we must begin with the original intent of God towards Creation and human relationships.
- Violence in the Hebrew Scriptures
- Part II: The Prophetic Hope and Jesus the Messiah. There is a thread of non-violence throughout the Old Testament, culminating in the prophecies of a Messiah and His age of peace. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is this Messiah and that His age of peace is now.
- The Action in the Temple
- Far from an act of violence, Jesus' cleansing of the Temple was a type case of nonviolent resistance.
Jesus and the Centurion
- The pro-violence argument drawn from Jesus' healing the centurion's slave could just as easily be made in favour of slavery.
- Buying Swords
- Did Jesus really tell His followers to arm themselves? A necessary analysis of the passage in its Scriptural context.
- On Churchill's "Pacifism as Pathology"
- Analyzing the criticism of pacifism from a leftist revolutionary, rather than a conservative State-oriented, perspective.
Church and State
- Protecting the Church from the State
- An arguement that separating Church and State is good for the Church.
- The Church Living Within the State
- To what extent is a Christian supposed to obey the State? A meditation upon the writings of Peter and Paul.
- Acts of Defiance
- Excerpts from the Acts of the Apostles demonstrating the Christian obligation to defy the State yet submit to its punishments.
- Patriotism, War, and Christianity
- Patriotism is a vice to the Christian, competing with God for the loyalty of the faithful.
- Two Types of Patriotism
- On the only type of patriotism that I would admit to; that being the cultural patriotism of knowing my own cultural heritage vs. thinking it's better than everyone elses'.
- Jesus, Plato and the Foundation for Order
- A general studies paper of mine contrasting Plato's belief in a hierarchy of Philosopher-Kings against the Jesus' teachings of a egalitarian community built on shared moral principle.
Social Justice
- The Meek and the Great Men
- A word of encouragement to pessimistic activists, observing that it has only ever been the meek of the earth who have affected genuine, lasting change.
- The Social Justice Roots of Christianity
- Quotes and observations on the subject of social justice.
- A Brief Explanation of Christian Socialism
- Contradicting the assumption that socialism is inherently bad and undesirable. New Oct. 6th, 2004.
- The Immorality of the Arbitrary
- Far from holding the moral high ground, conservatism has no morality to speak of.
- Homosexuality, Scripture, and Jesus
- Does Scripture truly condemn homosexuality? The Scriptures say no.
- The Life/Choice Synthesis
- Being pro-life means more than being anti-abortion.
Miscellany
- Favorite MLK Quotes
- A selection of my favorite quotes from the great Christian and civil rights leader.
- Spiritual Warfare
- A meditation upon the Peace Prayer attributed to Saint Francis.
- An Analogy
- A very moving analogy for the Christian mission as written by a member of the Jesus Radicals group.
- The Failure of War
- Proponents of war say it is necessary to protect lives and secure freedom, yet the history of war demonstrates that it has only accomplished the exact opposite.
- The War Prayer
- A classic story by Mark Twain.
- According to Johnny Cash
- A song lyric which resonates with me.
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