Peace Church Theology

This course is a critical examination of contemporary peace theologies as they have developed within the Historical Peace Churches (Mennonite, Brethren, Quaker, though with a primary focus on the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition) and through ecumenical engagement. Several themes emerges. 1) There is a strong ecclesiological character to peace church theology-- the distinctive character of the community of faith is the embodiment of the peace of Jesus Christ. 2) Ecumenical contacts have shaped and deepened peace church theology just as peace church theology has prompted a broadening of the discourse of peace within the ecumenical movement, and in other Christian traditions. As ecclesiology has emerged as the central issue in the "Faith and Order" stream of ecumenism, the historical peace churches have much to offer, and to receive, in the dialogue with the peace themes as they are developing in the "Life and Work" stream of ecumenism. 3) These ecumenical engagements have led to practical proposals around Just Policing and Just Peace. 4) Whereas question of war and peace, just war and pacifism, and the nature and mission of the churched shaped earlier rounds of reflection, theologians in the peace church traditions are also examining issues of atonement, the character of God, epistemology, ecology, and global capitalism. 5) There are profound internal contradictions in the theology of the peace churches. The work of Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder is central in the development of peace church theology, yet given his abuse of women also deeply problematic. We will consider how the structure of the peace theology of which Yoder is a primary representative masks other forms of violence, especially gendered violence that is internal to the community of faith.