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Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. This opposition to violence and war is a minority view in Christianity, but represents the dominant perspective in Christian communities such as peace churches. Christian pacifists claim that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism, and that his followers must do likewise.

There have been various notable Christian pacifists, including Leo Tolstoy and Martin Luther King, Jr. (see Category:Christian pacifists). Ammon Hennacy believed that adherence to Christianity meant being a pacifist and, due to governments constantly threatening or using force to resolve conflicts, this meant being an anarchist. Other pacifists however, such as peace churches, CPT and individuals such as John Howard Yoder for example, make no claim to be anarchists.

Some writers, such as Keith Akers, believe that modern Christians would do well to imitate the Ebionites, an early Christian, pacifist, and vegetarian sect as opposed to the more dominant Pauline Christianity.

The following verses and interpretations are used by some Biblical scholars as evidence for either Christian pacifism, nonviolence or nonresistance.

• "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." Matthew 5:38-41 NIV

Walter Wink advocates that, "There are three general responses to evil: (1) violent opposition, (2) passivity, and (3) the third way of militant nonviolence articulated by Jesus. Human evolution has conditioned us for only the first two of these responses: fight or flight." This understanding typifies Walter Wink's exegesis of Matthew 5:38-41 ^[1] and his book, Jesus and Nonviolence: The Third Way ^[2].

• "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13 NIV

There is controversy over this text about its advocation to not kill versus not murder.

• "I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6 NIV

Violence can be seen as a form of ritual sacrifice that Christ tried to end. René Girard advocates that Christianity is meant to stop the continuous mythological re-enactment of sacred violence. The Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary writes,

Girard's work essentially presents us with a unified theory of human violence. Violence is the "darkness" we project onto our gods. Thus, Girard's work also offers an hypothesis concerning human idolatry, namely, that idolatry arises to veil humanity's responsibility for its own violence. A common mistake has been to undertake the matter of idolatry from a theological perspective only. But idolatry is in our nature, not God's, and so is more properly a matter for anthropology. ^[3]

Christianity Portal

• Category:Christian pacifists
• Christian anarchism
• Christian vegetarianism

1. ^ Matthew 5:38-41 exegesis by Walter Wink
2. ^ Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way, Augsburg Fortress, 2003. ISBN 0-8006-3609-0
3. ^ The Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary, My Core Convictions

• Love Your Enemies articles, Scriptures, quotes, mp3s, etc.
• Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
• Tolstoyans' Forum
• Bible Pacifism
• Myth of Redemptive Violence
• LoveYourEnemies.org
• Harmless as Doves
• The Christian and a Biblical/Ethical Approach to War
• Global Nonviolence for Jesus
• Pentecostal Charismatic Peace Fellowship
• The Early Christian Attitude to War, by C. John Cadoux (1919)