The Book of Revelation might seem an unlikely place to find a theology of justice that emphasizes mercy over retribution, but here’s an attempt to present a case that this indeed is what we find. This essay, “The Justice of God in the Book of Revelation,” is part of my book-in-progress, Pacifism with Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case.
The Book of Revelation is not a common resource for Christian pacifists. However, it should be. This essay, “Revealing a New World: Power According to Biblical Apocalyptic.”, from my book-in-progress, Pacifism with Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case, argues that the view of authentic power portrayed in Revelation has to do with persevering love, not coercive force. The “revelation” conveyed in the Bible’s final book provides an angle for understanding power throughout the Bible.
Most of the writing I have read that critiques Christian pacifism brings up as strong New Testament evidence against pacifism Paul’s famous passage in Romans 13 that, as usually read, calls upon Christians to obey their government. This essay, “Romans 13: An Interpretation.”, from my book-in-process Pacifism with Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case, offers a different reading of this text. This essay focuses on a constructive reading of Romans 13, not a critique of other ways of reading it.
Christian pacifists generally focus much of our explanatory energy on Jesus’ life and teaching, as we should. However, we should also be attentive to the relevance of New Testament portrayals of Jesus’ death for our pacifist convictions. This essay, “Christian Pacifism and New Testament Understandings of Jesus’ Death,” which is from my book-in-process, Pacifism with Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case, suggests that one key lesson from the New Testament is that Jesus’ death exposes the tendencies of three central human structures (religious institutions [the temple], cultural ordering systems [the law], and political structures [the empire]) to fuel the spiral of violence–hence, rendering themselves unworthy of our trust. These structures proved themselves to be God’s rivals, not God’s servants. Recognizing this should help human beings give their ultimate trust to God’s peaceable way, not to the violent ways of these Powers.
If we understand Jesus to have proclaimed a socially relevant message–including a call to peacemaking and nonviolence, we need to be attentive to his social context and how he responded to it. This essay, “Jesus’ Confrontation With Empire.”, is a chapter in my book-in-progress, Pacifism With Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case. One argument I make here is that Jesus is in full continuity with much in the Old Testament that expressed strong antipathy toward the world’s great empires and understood the community of the promise to be called to offer the world a social alternative to empire as a way of life.
For Christian pacifism, as I understand it, Jesus provides our basis with his life, teaching, and identity as God’s Son. A core chapter, then, in my book-in-process, Pacifism With Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case, focuses on Jesus. This chapter, “Pacifism and the Story of Jesus,” essentially summarizes the argument of the great Mennonite theologian, John Howard Yoder, in his classic book The Politics of Jesus
I believe that Christian pacifism ultimately rests on our understanding of God. As Jesus taught, when we love our enemies we are “children of our Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:45). An important aspect of our understanding of God is how we view that salvation that God offers. In this chapter, “Salvation in the Prophets, Salvation in Jesus: Mercy Not Retribution,” which is from my book-in-progress, Pacifism With Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case, I look at biblical understandings of salvation. I argue for a strong continuity among the teachings of the Old Testament prophets and Jesus–all agreeing that God’s mercy lies at the heart of salvation, not retribution.
Quite often in discussions of Christian pacifism, the concepts of “peace” and “pacifism” and “love” are held in tension with the theme of “justice.” In recent years, the discipline of restorative justice has arisen that, in its more faith-oriented strands, has sought to rethink the meaning of justice in ways that see it as more complimentary with peace, pacifism, and love.
This essay, “Healing Justice: The Prophet Amos and a ‘New’ Theology of Justice,” is chapter four in my book-in-process, Pacifism With Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case. It addresses the understanding of justice reflected in the Old Testament, specifically, the Book of Amos. It argues for a view of justice that emphasizes justice as focused on healing.
A huge issue in the discussion of Christian pacifism is “what do we do with the Old Testament?” Here is my attempt to speak to that issue. This essay is called “The Old Testament Peace Vision.” It is the third chapter in my book-in-process called Pacifism With Justice: The Biblical and Theological Case.
Here is the link to the second chapter from my book-in-process, Pacifism With Justice. This chapter is called, “A Christian Pacifist Perspective on War and Peace.” It is a historical survey of Christian perspectives on war and peace from a pacifist angle.
Peace Theology 