A Theology of Nonviolence

I wrote this paper for a theological conference in 2009. You may listen to the audio, which merely gives a brief overview of the selected topics or read the actual paper available as a pdf. Essentially, I argue for a proleptic ethic whereby the Christ-follower seeks to embody the lifestyle of the kingdom in the present in anticipation of it. The idea is that although, strictly speaking, the kingdom is not yet here, Christ and those who follow him have already begun to live the way it will be then. As a result, Christians have already beaten their swords in plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. We live the way of the future in order to testify as prophetic signposts of God’s beautiful coming kingdom. In addition to explaining a cohesive New Testament theology this paper defends the notion of Christian pacifism biblically and historically.