As part of its ongoing work on Remembrance, peacemaking and the investment of churches and civil society groups in alternatives to armed conflict, Ekklesia was delighted to sponsor a conversation on 12 November 2014 looking the justification of war alongside opposition to war, violence and nonviolence in the Christian tradition.
As part of its ongoing work on Remembrance, peacemaking and the investment of churches and civil society groups in alternatives to armed conflict, Ekklesia was delighted to sponsor a conversation on 12 November 2014 looking the justification of war alongside opposition to war, violence and nonviolence in the Christian tradition.
It took place at Union Chapel in London and attracted some 160 people to a venue more used to music than debates. You can see pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/ekklesiathinktank There will be a podcast of the presentations and discussion, and follow up on social media.
One participant told us: “This was the best, most constructive public conversation about peace and war from a Christian perspective that I think I’ve ever been part of.”
Where next? This is just part of Ekklesia’s work and collaboration on turning around how we think about and remember war, so that the focus is on working for alternatives – and engaging the church in peacemaking. You can support this work here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/annualappeal2014
For the record, the two keynote speakers last night were:
Dr Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld, Mennonite theologian, Professor Emeritus at Conrad Grebel University College, and author of ‘Jesus and the Subversion of Violence’.
Dr Nigel Biggar, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Christchurch College, Oxford, and author of ‘In Defence of War’.
The chairs were Karen Stallard, minister at Union Chapel and a member of the Anabaptist Network steering committee, and Simon Barrow, co-director of the Christian political think-tank Ekklesia.
The event is part of a two-month tour of Britain by Mennonite peace workers and thinkers Tom and Rebecca Yoder Neufeld.
The sponsors of the meeting were Ekklesia; the Anabaptist Network; The Mennonite Trust; Union Chapel; Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, and Greenbelt Festival.
* More from Ekklesia on Remembrance here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/remembrance
If you would like to support Ekklesia’s work on remembrance and war, you can do so through our annual appeal here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/21032