Michael Westmorland-White at the "Levellers" blog has just started the Christian Peace Bloggers web ring. I've joined but I'm a bit nervous about being able to fulfill his criterion of blogging on peace at least once a week. So why am I nervous and why I have joined?
I've joined and I'm nervous for the same reason. I never set out to study Christianity with a "peace agenda" and I've not really studied any sort of "theology of peace" in depth. My convictions about peace and reconciliation have come out of my study and devotion as a Christian person. To me, peace and reconcilation are at the very heart of the Gospel. Being in a "peace blog ring" seems rather like being in an "Agape-love blog ring".
But maybe the fact that so many other Christians consider peace and reconciliation to be periperial issues or even matters of "worldliness" is part of why being identified as a Christian pacificist and reconciler is a necessary thing.
So I will leave the academic theology of peace to Michael and other ring members who have studied this issue in depth. For me, my basic belief is that selfishness, greed, competition and violence are all out-workings of original sin. I believe that peace and reconciliation (God with humanity and human beings with other human beings) are only possible through Christ and by the grace of the Holy Spirit; I believe that peace is an out-working of holiness. To say that "peace" is a worldly issue or something that God is not concerned about is to say that God does not care about holiness and that God does not care about salvation or reconciliation.
The basis for many of my ideas on peace and Christianity is Rene Girard's theory of mimetic desire.
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7 comments:
Nice start, Pam. No need to be nervous.
Interestingly, while I don't know him, it turns out Michael and I are both living in and writing out of the same town, Louisville, KY. Small world.
I like the project, but while I used to preach on peace when I was a pastor, I rarely ever write on it. Perhaps I should take this as a challenge.
It seems like a good challenge to me (and I suspect you'd have a lot more to say than I feel I will!)
Maybe you two even oughta meet. I knew there was someone from Louisville looking at my blog but I didn't realise that there were two of you!
Wow, Chris. Looks like we should touch base, at least.
Yes, I came to Louisville in '85 intending to stay only 3 years. :-)
It still doesn't feel like home to this Florida boy, but I'm starting to get used to it--even the month-long festival for a 2 minute horse race. :-)
Michael,
I came to Louisville from Lexington about 6 1/2 years ago. I too have been sucked in by this beautiful city, and at this point I expect that I'll be here for life.
I came here for a girl, expecting to woo her, marry her, and bring her home. Two out of three ain't bad! We got married over five years ago, have a beautiful two-year-old son, and I am now a Louisvillian.
Send me an email, and we'll see if we can't meet up somewhere.
Pam,
I have officially joined the fray. You can see my opening salvo here. Hopefully it does not disappoint.
OK now I have a new set of blogs to read! thanks for sharing about this!
:)
d
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