"Confessional" Nonviolence and the Unity of the Church: Can Christians Square the Circle? - Gerald W. Schlabach - Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics (Philosophy Documentation Center)
Both within and among churches that have traditionally held to just war teaching, various formulas in the last fifty years have allowed for the recognition that Christian pacifism is a respectable tradition alongside just war. It is not obvious, however, how historic peace churches can officially re...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Published: |
Philosophy Documentation Center
2014
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In: |
Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
Year: 2014, Volume: 34, Issue: 1, Pages: 125-144 |
Online Access: |
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Summary: | Both within and among churches that have traditionally held to just war teaching, various formulas in the last fifty years have allowed for the recognition that Christian pacifism is a respectable tradition alongside just war. It is not obvious, however, how historic peace churches can officially reciprocate with the same kind of ecumenical generosity by recognizing the legitimacy of the just war tradition. To do so, after all, would seem to require giving up their very claim to the confessional status of nonviolence, thus undermining their very identities as historic peace churches. Glen Stassen's well-accepted exegesis of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount opens up an unexpected path out of this impasse. If he is right that the sermon is organized around a consistent succession of triads in which Jesus first named "traditional righteousness,'' then diagnosed a "vicious cycle," then presented a "transforming initiative" for escaping that cycle, then the relationship between just war and pacifism can be reconceived in entirely fresh ways. |
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ISSN: | 2326-2176 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Society of Christian Ethics, Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/sce.2014.0026 |