Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:42:17.204Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

“Peace, Peace, but there is No Peace”: A Critique of Christian Pacifist Communitarianism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2008

Phillip W. Gray
Phillip W. Gray*
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Baptist University
*
Address correspondence and reprint request to: Phillip W. Gray, Department of Government and International Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, 8F, David C. Liam Building, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong HKSAR. E-mail: pwgray@hkbu.edu.hk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The communal elements of Christianity are of increasing concern to religious thinkers. Indeed, for some religious thinkers, the importance of community is paramount in Christian belief and practice, especially as these communitarian views interact and enhance Christian pacifism. The community of Christians as the “peaceable kingdom” becomes the core element of Christian life. But is this pacifist communitarian Christianity tenable? In this article, I will argue that pacifist communitarianism leads to unexpected and objectionable consequences. Specifically, I will consider the views of John Howard Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas. By explicating the weaknesses of their pacifist views, most especially on the issue of coercion and the notion of “Constantinianism,” I will show that both thinkers tend toward a view of Christian separatism vis-à-vis the secular world. Both thinkers' systems present problems in communicating truth to those not already in the community. Finally, their communitarian views conflict with their pacifism, in the end requiring those not within the community to act as if they were members.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , December 2008 , pp. 411 - 435
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The author would like to thank Sara R. Jordan, Cary J. Nederman, and the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions.

References

REFERENCES

Augustine, . 1964. On Free Choice of the Will. Trans. Benjamin, A. and Hackstaff, L.. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Augustine, . 1984. City of God. Trans. Bettenson, H.. London, UK: Penguin Press.Google Scholar
Burr, D. 2001. The Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century after St. Francis. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Carter, C. 2001. The Politics of the Cross: The Theology and Social Ethics of John Howard Yoder. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press.Google Scholar
Cartwright, M. 2001. “Afterword: Stanley Hauerwas's Essays in Theological Ethics: A Reader's Guide.” In The Hauerwas Reader, eds. Berkman, J. and Cartwright, M.. Durhman: Duke University Press, 643–647.Google Scholar
Gustafson, J. 1985. “The Sectarian Temptation: Reflections on Theology, the Church and the University.” Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society 40:83–94.Google Scholar
Habermas, J. 1987. The Theory of Communicative Action: Lifeworld and System: A Critique of Functionalist Reason. vol. 2. Trans. McCarthy, T.. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 1983. The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 1984. Should War Be Eliminated? Philosophical and Theological Investigations. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 1991. After Christendom? How the Church is to Behave if Freedom, Justice, and a Christian Nation are Bad Ideas. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 1992. Against the Nations: War and Survival in a Liberal Society. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 1998. Sanctify them in the Truth: Holiness Exemplified. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 2000. A Better Hope: Resources for a Church Confronting Capitalism, Democracy, and Postmodernity. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 2001. “Why the ‘Sectarian Temptation’ is a Misrepresentation: A Response to James Gustafson.” In The Hauerwas Reader, eds. Berkman, J. and Cartwright, M.. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 90–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 2002a. “In a Time of War: An Exchange.” First Things. http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=1970 (Accessed October 15, 2007).Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S. 2002b. With the Grain of the Universe: The Church's Witness and Natural Theology. London, UK: SCM Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S., and Pinches, C.. 1997. Christians among the Virtues: Theological Conversations with Ancient and Modern Ethics. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Hauerwas, S., and Willimon, W.. 1989. Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.Google Scholar
Howard, D. 2002. The Specter of Democracy. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Nozick, R. 1974. Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
O'Donovan, O. 1996. The Desire of the Nations: Rediscovering the Roots of Political Theology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ramsey, P. 2002. The Just War: Force and Political Responsibility. Lanham, UK: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.Google Scholar
Tertullian, . 1996a. “On Idolatry.” In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Schaff, P.. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. Vol. 3, 61–76.Google Scholar
Tertullian, . 1996b. “On the Flesh of Christ.” In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Schaff, P.. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Vol. 3, 521–543.Google Scholar
Nation, T.M. 2006. John Howard Yoder: Mennonite Patience, Evangelical Witness, Catholic Convictions. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Walzer, Michael. 1977. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. New York, NY: Basic Books, Inc.Google Scholar
Wolin, S. 1996. “Fugitive Democracy”. In Democracy and Difference: Contesting the Boundaries of the Political, ed. Benhabib, S.. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 31–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoder, J. 1983. What Would You Do? A Serious Answer to a Standard Question. Expanded Edition. Scottsdale, AZ: Herald Press.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 1984. The Priestly Kingdom: Social Ethics as Gospel. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 1992. Nevertheless: The Varieties and Shortcomings of Religious Pacifism. Revised & Expanded Edition. Scottsdale, AZ: Herald Press.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 1994. The Politics of Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster. Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 1996. When War is Unjust: Being Honest in Just-War Thinking. Second Edition. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 1997. For The Nations: Essays Public and Evangelical. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 1998. The Royal Priesthood: Essays Ecclesiastical and Ecumenical. Scottsdale, AZ: Herald Press.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 2002a. The Christian Witness to the State. Scottsdale, AZ: Herald Press.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 2002b. “Preface.” In Theology: Christology and Theological Method. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 2003a. Discipleship as Political Responsibility. Scottsdale, AZ: Herald Press.Google Scholar
Yoder, J. 2003b. The Original Revolution: Essays on Christian Pacifism. Scottsdale, AZ: Herald Press.Google Scholar