Just War as Christian Discipleship

Just War as Christian Discipleship PDF Author: Daniel M. Jr. Bell
Publisher: Brazos Press
ISBN: 1441206817
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
This provocative and timely primer on the just war tradition connects just war to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life. Daniel Bell explains that the point is not simply to know the just war tradition but to live it even in the face of the tremendous difficulties associated with war. He shows how just war practice, if it is to be understood as a faithful form of Christian discipleship, must be rooted in and shaped by the fundamental convictions and confessions of the faith. The book includes a foreword by an Army chaplain who has served in Iraq and study questions for group use.

Just War as Christian Discipleship

Just War as Christian Discipleship PDF Author: Daniel M. Jr. Bell
Publisher: Brazos Press
ISBN: 1441206817
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Get Book Here

Book Description
This provocative and timely primer on the just war tradition connects just war to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life. Daniel Bell explains that the point is not simply to know the just war tradition but to live it even in the face of the tremendous difficulties associated with war. He shows how just war practice, if it is to be understood as a faithful form of Christian discipleship, must be rooted in and shaped by the fundamental convictions and confessions of the faith. The book includes a foreword by an Army chaplain who has served in Iraq and study questions for group use.

Love Your Enemies

Love Your Enemies PDF Author: Lisa Sowle Cahill
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 9781451413076
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The author examines the theological bases of just war theory and pacifism, espcially in the light of the concept of God, as that motif illuminates Chrsitian discipleship. Differences between the theory of just war and the practice of pacifism are highlighted in the overview of the history of Christian thought on the subject, and the inclusiveness of the ideal of the kingdom for pacifism is emphasized.

Christian Pacifism and Just War Theory

Christian Pacifism and Just War Theory PDF Author: Harold Palmer
Publisher: TellerBooks
ISBN: 1681090317
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 67

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Book Description
What did Jesus mean when he said to “love your enemies” and “pray for those who persecute you”? Do these commandments leave room for Christians to serve in militaries or police forces that implement the use of force? Or is the Christian to steadfastly reject violence and embrace pacifism? Are certain wars justified on the basis of just war theory, or are all wars, in their brutality and destruction, inherently evil? In this study, Harold Palmer, an attorney, examines the case that has traditionally been made to justify Christian participation in war. The author begins with a historical background of the roots of just war theory as promulgated by Thomas Aquinas. He then examines the passages on which just war theorists rely, including God’s commandments to the Israelites to go to war against their enemies, Jesus’ praise of the Roman Army centurion for his faith and God’s use of the centurion Cornelius to graft Gentiles into the Kingdom of God. Arguing that these passages have been misunderstood, he concludes that Christianity only permits a single response to evil—self-sacrificial love. The author makes a cogent case for Christian pacifism by examining the life of Jesus and arguing that His crucifixion was more than a salvific act; it also exemplified the ideal of Christian living. Being a disciple of Jesus means emulating Him in every way, including responding to violence through self-sacrificial love, as Jesus did, and obeying Jesus’ commands to be as “harmless as doves,” to “turn the other cheek” and “pray for those who persecute you.” Finally, this study tackles the difficult question of Old Testament violence by arguing that it falls within a specific context and is not normative for members of the New Covenant of Grace. Rather than embrace violence, we are to follow the examples set by the early church and its martyrs, including the Apostle Stephen, who prayed that his persecutors not be charged with their sins, and the apostle Paul, who taught us to “live peaceably with all men.” Our war is not a physical struggle, but a spiritual war to be waged with prayer, faith and the gospel of peace (Eph 6:12-18).

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Blessed Are the Peacemakers PDF Author: Lisa Sowle Cahill
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1506457797
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
This book is a contribution to the Christian ethics of war and peace. It advances peacebuilding as a needed challenge to and expansion of the traditional framework of just-war theory and pacifism. It builds on a critical reading of historical landmarks from the Bible through Augustine, Aquinas, the Reformers, Christian peace movements, and key modern figures like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Reinhold Niebuhr, and recent popes. Similar to just-war theory, peacebuilding is committed to social change and social justice but includes some theorists and practitioners who accept the use of force in extreme cases of self-defense or humanitarian intervention. Unlike just-war theorists, they do not see the justification of war as part of the Christian mission. Unlike traditional pacifists, they do see social change as necessary and possible and, as such, requiring Christian participation in public efforts. Cahill argues that transformative Christian social participation is demanded by the gospel and the example of Jesus, and can produce the avoidance, resolution, or reduction of conflicts. And yet obstacles are significant, and expectations must be realistic. Decisions to use armed force against injustice, even when they meet the criteria of just war, will be ambiguous and tragic from a Christian perspective. Regarding war and peace, the focus of Christian theology, ethics, and practice should not be on justifying war but on practical and hopeful interreligious peacebuilding.

Can War Be Just In The 21st Century?

Can War Be Just In The 21st Century? PDF Author: Winright, Tobias
Publisher: Orbis Books
ISBN: 1608336247
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description


Warfare in the Old Testament

Warfare in the Old Testament PDF Author: Boyd Seevers
Publisher: Kregel Academic
ISBN: 0825436559
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Warfare in the Old Testament brides the gap between the modern reader and the world of the Old Testament by using textual and physical evidence to describe ancient military practices in Israel, Egypt, Philistia, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. Filled with illustrations and maps, this full-color volume enriches many biblical accounts by showing how Israel and the surrounding nations did battle. Of special interest are the author's treatments of the role that religion played in ancient warfare practices.

The Life Jesus Made Possible

The Life Jesus Made Possible PDF Author: Bill Randall
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781493717231
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
To the faithful follower of Jesus, life is anything but ordinary as he or she experiences the things of heaven transforming the things of earth. Followers of this untamed King grow to expect the Spirit to show up and demonstrate God's love, truth and power in tangible ways every day. In this Kingdom the guilty experience forgiveness, the wounded are healed, the bound are set free and the fearful are overwhelmed by God's transforming love...Are you ready to explore and experience the Kingdom within your reach? Assuming you are, let's begin our journey to discover what it can mean to live the life Jesus made possible! - From the introduction "This is an intensely practical and applicable book that helps Christians activate their God-given agency by seeing where God is at work and joining him in His quest to transform the world, inch-by-inch, in the context of everyday life. Dynamic!" - Alan Hirsch, Author & Activist ..".Bill Randall is challenging us to go beyond belief to actively engage, announce, and advance the Kingdom of God, moving the gospel message from the 'then and there' to the 'here and now'..." - Dr. Terry Wardle, President, Healing Care Ministries ..".The Life Jesus Made Possible will embolden you to take up your call as an apprentice of Jesus in his magnificent Kingdom and find yourself transformed by the Spirit along the way. A must read for everyday missional people." - Christiana Rice, Author, Coach and Trainer with Thresholds "Bill Randall's powerful new book, The Life Jesus Made Possible, unearths the real meaning of the normal Christian life and teaches us how to walk in our divine mandate as world changers and history makers..." - Kris Vallotton, Author and Senior Leader, Bethel Church, Redding, CA ..".There is a select group of books that work on the reader like a well-guided retreat, The Life Jesus Made Possible is one of them." - Dr. Robb Redman, Dean and Professor, South University

Rethinking Christ and Culture

Rethinking Christ and Culture PDF Author: Craig A. Carter
Publisher: Brazos Press
ISBN: 144120122X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
In 1951, theologian H. Richard Niebuhr published Christ and Culture, a hugely influential book that set the agenda for the church and cultural engagement for the next several decades. But Niebuhr's model was devised in and for a predominantly Christian cultural setting. How do we best understand the church and its writers in a world that is less and less Christian? Craig Carter critiques Niebuhr's still pervasive models and proposes a typology better suited to mission after Christendom.

Hauerwas the Peacemaker?

Hauerwas the Peacemaker? PDF Author: Nathan Scot Hosler
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532671482
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
“War has been abolished in Christ” is a strong claim by theologian Stanley Hauerwas. Wars, however, continue to rage, and historic numbers of people are displaced globally. Despite critics’ assessments that Hauerwas contributes to Christians disengaging, his work provides certain tools for the work of peacebuilding. In this work, Hauerwas’s contribution to peacemaking as a part of his ecclesiology and broader theological/ethical work will be assessed. Hauerwas’s peacemaking within his work stands within the context of ecclesiology and related themes of witness and Christology. The possibilities of his work on peacemaking to extend to peacebuilding practice and foreign policy formation are explored, and a critique is leveled regarding his engagement with racial justice. Additionally, certain practices of reading in theology and training in this language are extrapolated to engage the task of policy formation and analysis in contexts where religion is an active factor. This study concludes that Hauerwas’s theological ethics of peacemaking makes a valuable contribution, but must be extended into specific practices.

From Presumption to Prudence in Just-War Rationality

From Presumption to Prudence in Just-War Rationality PDF Author: Kevin Carnahan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351999443
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
For the last several decades, the Just-War debate amongst theologians has been dominated by two accounts of moral rationality. One side assumes a presumption against harm (PAH), and the other identifies with a presumption against injustice (PAI). From Presumption to Prudence in Just-War Rationality argues that the time has come to leave behind these two viewpoints in favour of a prudentially grounded approach to Just-War thinking. In Parts 1 and 2 of the book, Kevin Carnahan offers immanent critiques of the PAI and PAH positions. In Part 3, utilising Paul’s treatment of the atonement and use of the idea of the imitation of Christ, he lays out an alternative to the ways in which theologians in favour of the PAI or PAH have construed the Christian narrative. In Part 4, Carnahan then develops a neo-Aristotelian account of prudence as a higher order virtue governing the interpretation of moral reality. Drawing on this account, he explores what Just-War rationality would look like if it were prudentially grounded. The work concludes with a case study on noncombatancy in the 2011 Israeli bombardment of Gaza. This book offers a compelling new perspective on this important and pertinent subject. As such, academics and students in Religion, Theology, Philosophy, Ethics and Political Theory will all find it an invaluable resource on Just-War theory.