Warlike Christians In An Age Of Violence

How should Christians respond to war? This age-old question has become more pressing given Western governments’ recent overseas military interventions and the rise of extremist Islamist jihadism. Grounded in conservative evangelical theology, this book argues the historic church position that it is inadmissible for Christians to use violence or take part in war. It shows how the church’s propensity to support the “just wars,” crusades, rebellions, or “humanitarian interventions” of its host nations over time has been disastrous for the reputation of the gospel. Instead, the church’s response to war is simply to be the church, by preaching the gospel and making peace in the love and power of God. The book considers challenges to this argument for “gospel peace.” What about warfare in the Old Testament and military metaphors in the New? What of church history? And how do we deal with tyrants like Hitler and terrorists like Islamic State? Charting a path between just war theory and liberal pacifism, numerous inspiring examples from the worldwide church are used to demonstrate effective and authentically Christian responses to violence. The author argues that as Christians increasingly drop their unbiblical addiction to war, we may be entering one of the most exciting periods of church history.

Does life have meaning, purpose and value? Can we know whether God exists? If he does, why does he allow bad things to happen? How can we make sense of death, and what lies beyond it? And how can we live life well during a personal, national, or global crisis? Human beings have always asked these big questions. However, crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2007–2008 financial collapse, or the War on Terror following the 9/11 attacks, make them seem more urgent and harder to avoid. This short book is an accessible introduction to these questions. It makes no assumptions about the reader’s beliefs but is written for anyone who wants to understand how Christian ideas can help make sense of life and live it well during difficult times. Each chapter is illustrated with examples from the lives of a wide range of people over time, as well as stories from films, novels, and music, to help the reader think through these weighty issues in an engaging way.

We live in the wealthiest and most heavily defended world in history, so why do we feel so insecure? In a secular world, what does Christian theology have to say about this problem? Security after Christendom combines practical examples, social scientific research, and an ecumenical approach to political theology to answer these questions. It argues that Christendom was a plural phenomenon of imagined security communities of East and West whose unravelling continues to have implications for global politics today, as dramatically illustrated by Russia's war in Ukraine. While notions of a new Christendom are idolatrous and delusional, secular imaginaries of national security or the liberal international order are both destructive and unstable. True security--radical inclusion, nonviolent protection, and abundant provision--is an eschatological phenomenon, inaugurated by Christ. Security after Christendom is neither found in faithful government nor an exclusive church-as-polis approach but in relations of tension where the fallen powers are continuously confronted by prophetic practices. A post-Christendom community expresses its love for the world by seeking its security, providentially limiting the disorders of the secular age, and offering glimmers of a new earth.

This book offers a challenge to conservative, liberal, and in-between Christians, as well as persons who do not call themselves Christians but have some interest in what the Christian movement is about. To state the extremes, both those persons who think they can have Christ without pacifism and those who think they can have pacifism without Christ will have to think again after reading Christ and Violence.... The time is right for a sweeping reappraisal of the church's teaching on violence. A mountain of nuclear stockpiles on the one hand and an ocean of revolutionary violence on the other converge in our time to make the question of violence the most urgent Christian issue facing this generation.... What about violence? Certain political/economic philosophies, including communism and capitalism, have made clear their answer to that question in the arms race which now engulfs the world. Will Christians have anything different to say or anything better to offer? Ron Sider says they can and they should. John K. Stoner in the Introduction

What does Jesus have to say about violence, just war, and killing? Does Jesus ever want his disciples to kill in order to resist evil and promote peace and justice? This book by noted theologian and bestselling author Ronald J. Sider provides a career capstone statement on biblical peacemaking. Sider makes a strong case for the view that Jesus calls his disciples to love, and never kill, their enemies. He explains that there are never only two options: to kill or to do nothing in the face of tyranny and brutality. There is always a third possibility: vigorous, nonviolent resistance. If we believe that Jesus is Lord, then we disobey him when we set aside what he taught about killing and ignore his command to love our enemies. This thorough, comprehensive treatment of a topic of perennial concern vigorously engages with the just war tradition and issues a challenge to all Christians, especially evangelicals, to engage in biblical peacemaking. The book includes a foreword by Stanley Hauerwas.

Jesus an anarchist? That doesn't sound like the Jesus preached by the political establishment, mega church pastors, or even most small town ministers. Nevertheless, Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God that makes all other political loyalties inconsequential. In this collection of essays, theologian Cody Cook gives the biblical answer to the question of how Christians are supposed to relate to the state. Endorsements: "We learn most by engaging thought in community, and Cody Cook's essays are a solid contribution to the discussion over Christian politics, pacifism, and the legitimacy of the state. Readers are challenged with profound arguments for better readings of important biblical texts and reconsideration of traditionally accepted formulations of theology. All will come away with a deeper understanding of how imperative it is for Christians to think in a Christlike manner." - Doug Stuart, CEO, Libertarian Christian Institute "What is God's alternative to the violent, unjust, and oppressive human systems of government that deform the lives of so many human beings? The answer: the church, a new community of people saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus and living out his kingdom values. So often, however, the church goes badly wrong and ends up mimicking the evil of the world. This book gives glimpses into where we go wrong and how we can do things better." - Nick Megoran, Professor of Political Geography at Newcastle University and Minister of Wallsend Baptist Church, and author of 2017 Wipf & Stock book Warlike Christians in an Age of Violence "For any politically-minded follower of Jesus the question of one's posture toward power is a fundamental one. To resolve the tension between temporal kingdoms and the King of Kings, Cody offers a thorough yet concise view of the arguments and scripture at hand. In typical fashion Cody has given Christians another even handed treatment of a controversial topic with prayerful consideration, grace, and precision. What Belongs to Caesar? is a perfect entry into a lifetime of the liberty only Christ provides." - J. A. Dangelo, AntiWarWarVet.com "Christian voters often claim biblical support for their conviction that this or that candidate, or even this or that political party, is to be preferred over the other. Rarely, however, are they as genuinely thoughtful, comprehensive, and rigorous in their application of Scripture to government, politics, and voting, as Cody Cook is in What Belongs to Caesar? Readers may find legitimate fault in and disagree with some of Cook's arguments, but it will not be easy, and it will force them to take a much closer and more careful look at the Bible than they're probably accustomed to doing." - Christopher M. Date, Adjunct Professor of Bible and Theology, Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary

What is the place - if any - for violence in the Christian life? This book explores the tension between Christianity's historic reverence for martyrdom (suffering violence for faith) and Christianity's historical support of a just war ethic (involving the inflicting of violence). While the book considers the possibility that the two are unreconcilable, it also argues that they are ultimately compatible; but their compatibility requires a more humanized portrait of the Christian martyr as well as a stricter approach to the justified use of violence.