For the last 20 years Shane Claiborne has been trying to follow Jesus in a deprived area of Philadelphia. This journey has led him to a commitment to non-violence, ‘from womb to tomb’, which has been tested on many occasions. So tune in for a challenging and counter-cultural conversation.
Interview starts at 11m 15s.
Image by Ms. Tsar Fedorsky. Used with permission.
BOOKS
Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It’s Killing Us
A Faith Not Worth Fighting For: Addressing Commonly Asked Questions about Christian Nonviolence
QUOTES
“For the first few hundred years, Christians were unmistakably committed to nonviolence, in every sense of the word. They spoke out against abortion, they spoke out against the death penalty, They spoke out against militarism and war. They had a beautiful, seamless garment when it came to the ethic of life.”
“Pacifism is anything other than passive. I Don’t think it’s passive in the sense of not doing anything. What I believe in is active nonviolence. I believe in getting in the way of violence, getting to the root of violence.”
This was a great interview, Shane comes across as the real deal and has an infectiously joyful way with him. There was an opportunity in unpacking this interview to explore structural violence. Violence isn’t just about physical or verbal attacks but it’s also systemic e.g. poverty can be described as a form of violence. It might be tempting to feel smug that in the UK the death penalty has been abolished unlike in Shane’s context but we’re all complicit in the various ways violence gets perpetuated – whether it’s the arms that are produced, sold, exported and used in violent conflicts around the world or gender-based violence that is fuelled by inequality, sexism and misogyny. And that presents some very deep challenges to us if we want to be committed to non-violence in the way of Jesus.
Thanks, Debs. I agree. And my commitment to non-violence also got me reflecting deeply about my relationship with animals as well. Tim