The Myth of a Christian Nation by Greg Boyd ($2.99 at cbd.com)
This book suggests a good portion of American evangelicalism has been co-opted and even has fallen into nationalistic and political idolatry. This idolatry according to Boyd has clouded the true mission of the church as imitators of Jesus and his Kingdom (peace, love, reconciliation, humility and SERVICE). Instead the church has taken on the characteristics to the other Kingdoms of this World that lead with the thirst for power, control and violence. A great introduction to an important topic.
To End all Wars by Ernest Gordan
I originally saw the movie and was surprised that I hadn’t heard of it before now, it was very good. The movie got passed around the guys in the neighborhood and became an instant topic of conversation. Now we are passing around the book, which of course goes into more of what when on during the capture of these men. Ernest Gordan writes a gripping account of his capture during WWII. Imprisoned by the japanese and forced into labor on the “Railroad of Death”, Gordon faces the reality of death and undergoes a transformation to peace, nonviolence and love. Redemption is the heart of this story.
Performing the Faith: Bonhoeffer and the Practice of Nonviolence by Stanley Hauerwas
A helpful book on nonviolence that starts with a brief look at Bonhoeffer’s life in nonviolence and ends with a compelling look at a response to 9-11. As always with Hauerwas, he is provocative without ever taking sides on the left or the right and is always calling Christians back into radical faithfulness as a follower of Jesus.
Christian nonviolence is not a strategy to rid the world of violence, but rather the way Christians must live in a world of violence. In short, Christians are not nonviolent because we believe our nonviolence is a strategy to rid the world of war, but rather hopefully as faithful followers of Christ in a world of war we cannot imagine being anything other than nonviolent. (p.203)
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