|
Axis of Peace
Recensie, Bijdragen, 16-01-09
 Ariarajah, being a Methodist pastor and a professor of ecumenical theology at Drew University (USA), seeks to find some answers about the righteousness of war, triggered by the American invasion of Iraq. In a appealing combination between academic reflection and pastoral praxis this pastor writ his book “as a tool for biblical and theological reflections on the issues raised by war and violence.” (p. 13) The author calls into memory that the issue of violence or pacifism was raised almost immediately after the birth of the young Christian church: should a Christian enlist in the Roman army? Clemens of Alexandria and Augustinus of Hippo set up a theological theory about under which conditions a ‘just war’ could be fought. Other theologians such as Thomas Aquinas were opposed this idea. Ariarajah claims that the theory of just war isn’t adequate enough anymore – if it ever was – to deal with modern day’s violence.
If all monotheistic religions claim to be peaceful and non-violent – as they univocally do – why then are they altogether associated with it? Ariarajah gives a number of reasons which are grounded in (interpretations of) the Scripture and in Christian tradition: (1) Gods seems to want violence, (2) the practice of blood sacrifice, (3) a latent dualism in which the world is the ‘battleground’ for an epic fight between the forces of good en evil, (4) the ‘urge’ to evangelize and (5) the paramount dogma of monotheism itself: that there is only one God. This dogma excludes all others as heretics and heathens. To overcome these historical Christian problems with God, faith, bible and violence the author gives his ‘axis of peace’ (in contrast to president Bush’s ‘axis of evil’): justice as a condition to peace, reconciliation as the way to achieve it and non-violence as the hope to be.
Nothing is new or unexpected in Axis of Peace, but every appeal to universal peace is worth applauding, especially when it is religiously motivated.
S. Wesley Ariarajah, Axis of Peace. Christian Faith in Times of Violence and War, World Council of Churches Publications: Geneva (2004), ISBN 2-8254-1394-1.
Bron: Deze recensie is gepubliceerd in het wetenschappelijk tijdschrijft Bijdragen 69 (2008, nr. 4), p. 492
|
