Here is the sixth in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. In this essay, “In and Out of Egypt,” I consider two very different stories–Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 37–50 and the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt in Exodus 1–15. When we read these stories together, I suggest that see in the Joseph account, which is a kind of exemplar story, also a dark side with its account of the Hebrews got into Egypt and the role Joseph played in greatly extending the Pharaoh’s power. At the same time, the Exodus story, even with its troubling portrayal of God’s violence, actually sets the stage for the emerging central peace message of the Bible–God on the side of prophets not warriors, God working to liberate people from the oppressive domination of Empires and kings.

Here is the fifth in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. In this essay, “The Calling of a People—Genesis 12,” I look at how God purposes in the story to approach the task of healing creation not by coercive force but by persevering love. In Genesis 12, we read of the establishment of God’s “chosen people” in the calling of Abraham and Sarah to be parents of a great people that will “bless all the families of the earth.” This initial story emphasizes that the events that follow in the biblical story are an outworking of God’s healing strategy that is centered on the calling together of a people to know God’s peace and to witness to that peace throughout the world in order to bless all the families of the earth. 

Here is the fourth in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. In this essay, “Retribution and Mercy—Genesis 6–9; 18–19,” I look at the stories of Noah and the flood and of Sodom and Gomorrah. Here we have the problem of inter-human violence and injustice identified leading to divine retribution. In Genesis 6–9, God “repents” of creating humanity. And as a consequence of God’s distress, an overwhelming punitive act happens–the great flood. However, the story ends with a renewed covenant with humanity and God’s resolve to bring healing to creation. In Genesis 18–19 God brings judgment down on Sodom, allowing only Lot and his family to escape. Are these story “problem stories” or inspirations for our peacemaking work?  Both, I suggest.

Here is the third in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. In this essay, “Harmony Disrupted—Genesis 3–4,” I look at the story of the entry of alienation into the story following the creation account. I reflect on the way this part of the story (Adam and Eve’s becoming afraid of God and the initial act reflecting the alienation, Cain’s murder of Abel) sets the stage for the main focus of the larger biblical story: God’s healing strategy of persistent love as the means of healing creation.

Here is the second in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. In this essay, “God’s Creative Love—Genesis 1,” I begin with the beginning of the Bible and discuss the fundamentally peaceable way that the story begins. The focus of Genesis 1 sets the tone for the rest of the Bible and makes clear the fundamental intentions of the God of this story–the creation of a peaceable world by a loving creator.

One of the big debates in the history of Christianity has been whether or not the Bible clearly teaches that Christians should not take part in warfare–or otherwise engage in violence. Certainly the consensus belief in Christianity since the 4th century has been that Christians may (even should) go to war when called upon by their country to do so. But has that consensus truly been arrived at through the best reading of the Bible? Christian pacifists would say no.

Here is the first in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. In this essay, “Reading the Bible with Pacifist Eyes,” I introduce the essays that follow by reflecting on what a pacifist reading strategy of the Bible might entail.

This is what I understand “pacifism” to mean. In a phrase, I mean by pacifism the love of peace. Pacifism is the belief that nothing matters so much as love, kindness, compassion, mercy, and care.  In the Old Testament, the word shalom is often translated “peace,” and it catches up these various values (love, kindness, restorative justice, etc.).  Close synonyms to peace would be “health” and “wholeness.”  To make peace is to effect healing.

Two key conclusions about pacifism follow from this understanding.  First, if nothing matters so much as love, no place is left for violence.  Nonviolence, though, is the consequence of having a love for peace, not the starting point.  A pacifist commitment is not first of all an avoidance of something bad; it is actively seeking something good.  Second, pacifism is about actively seeking healing.  Contrary to some caricatures of pacifism, the term as I understand it has absolutely nothing to do with passivity (beyond how the words sound) or with withdrawal.

Both friends and dismissers of the Bible are quick to point out that the Bible does not give us an obvious and detailed blueprint for thorough-going pacifism.  One cannot take up the Bible as the basis for one’s pacifism as if this is the obvious perspective. In the studies that will follow, I will focus on simply presenting a reading of the Bible that does lead to pacifism.  I offer this reading as a proposal, an encouragement for the examination of non-pacifist readings, an exhortation to those sympathetic to pacifism to seek to embody this message.