The Nonviolent God
Overview
This bold new statement on the nonviolence of God challenges long-standing assumptions of divine violence in theology, the violent God pictured in the Old Testament, and the supposed violence of God in Revelation. In The Nonviolent God J. Denny Weaver argues that since God is revealed in Jesus, the nonviolence of Jesus most truly reflects the character of God. According to Weaver, the way Christians live—Christian ethics—is an ongoing expression of theology. Consequently, he suggests positive images of the reign of God made visible in the narrative of Jesus—nonviolent practice, forgiveness and restorative justice, issues of racism and sexism, and more—in order that Christians might live more peacefully.
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- Challenges long-standing assumptions of divine violence in theology
- Discusses the nonviolence of Jesus as most truly reflecting the character of God
- Suggests positive images of the reign of God made visible in the narrative of Jesus
- Jesus in Acts and the Gospels
- Jesus in Revelation and Paul
- Engaging the Atonement Tradition
- Divine Violence: Bible versus Bible
- The Conversation about God
- Christology and the Body of Christ
- Violence and Nonviolence
- Atonement, Violence, and Forgiveness
- Race, Gender, Money
- Nature and Suffering
Those who would claim that the God worshiped by Christians justifies violence—either the violence of war or that of racism, sexism, or economic exploitation—will now have to contend with this richly textured book by Denny Weaver. . . . Makes the compelling claim that the God of Jesus does not deal with the world by violence and thus neither should humanity.
—Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, professor of theology, Chicago Theological Seminary
All those who seek biblical and theological grounding for a God who resists cultures of guns, violence, and war will be profoundly nourished by this careful, revelatory study of the nonviolent God revealed in Jesus Christ and his story.
—Rita Nakashima Brock, founding co-director of the Soul Repair Center, Brite Divinity School
Powerful, insightful, and practical. . . . Denny Weaver doesn’t downplay the violent strand that runs throughout Scripture, but he compellingly argues that nonviolence lies at the heart of Jesus’ revelation of God and that this understanding of God is far more prevalent in Scripture than most Western Bible readers realize. Not all will agree with Weaver, but the profound challenge he presents in this book is one that every follower of Jesus needs to wrestle with.
—Gregory A. Boyd, senior pastor, Woodland Hills Church
- Title: The Nonviolent God
- Author: J. Denny Weaver
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 2013
- Pages: 316
- Christian Group: Evangelicals
- Resource Type: Topical
- Topic: Theology
Reviews
1 rating
Cody Gustafson
12/13/2017
Good arguments, but I thought the author's stance on atonement was not necessary to make the case. He believes in the Christus Victor view, which is contrary to substitutionary atonement by propitiation. Everything does not need to get permission at the cross, like trying to make the cross non-violent in order to prove the argument that God is non-violent or doesn't enjoy violence.
Anthony Sims
4/10/2015
