- Theology Against Violence and Violence in Theology. Sub-themes: Theology of the cross and violence; atonement and violence; the peace and the wrath of God – guiding Images of God in the Bible; apocalyptical end-time scenarios vs. the apocalyptical message of the New Testament; reconciliation and peace-making
We can and dare not overlook the massive reality of human self-destruction. Why is there so much suicidal violence and how is it being kept alive? How can we as Christians enable our fellow human beings to come to terms with the powers that threaten to tear them apart or, differently put, to make peace with themselves? Obviously, human beings that are not at peace with themselves can hardly be expected to be agents of peace in their closer or wider contexts.
The intergenerational violence is structurally related to gender-based violence. Obviously, there are habitual and culturally sanctioned sides to this, since patriarchal and/or masculinist power patterns continue to impact and justify violent behavior. At the same time, oppressive conditions at economic and political levels are being reenacted and compensated at the domestic level. Media-based violence also exerts considerable influence.
In which ways can Christian communities contribute to the creation of alternative role models that liberate women – and men - from the bondage of gender-related and intergenerational violence? What can be done to enable men to be reliable partners and caring fathers? We need fresh approaches to male and female power, to parenthood and healthy family life. We also need to become committed advocates against widespread child labor, sex traffiquing and similar abuses.
Human destructiveness finds its gruesome expression in gender-related violence. Since gender is a fundamental factor in the ways human beings experience themselves, shape their lives and interact with others it is a primordial area in which peace needs to take root. Since sexual violence is a pervasive reality among men and women the search for peace includes the development of (erotically) mature personhood. In most cases, churches have been reluctant, if not unwilling to face up to the massivity of sexually motivated violence.
How are Christian communities to confront such violence immersion? What would our "peace fascination" have to look like in order to overcome violence fascination? Which useful alternatives can be recommended? There is ample evidence for the fact that our young people, boys and young men in particular, are becoming the main target groups of what may well be termed "violence entertainment industries" that work by and through electronic media, video games and sophisticated mobile phone systems. This global business with the fascination of violence is a disturbing phenomenon not least because it is difficult to adequately assess its formative impact on the world-views of coming generations. The impact of virtual violence is bound to become destructive in connection with other damaging influences such as lack of education, broken homes, economic depravities, etc.
- Strengthening communities against urban violence and giving a home to our young people.
There is a trend in Christian thinking to renounce the "fallen earth" in favor of heaven’s eternal peace. We need to rediscover, therefore, that God created the human beings "from the earth". In other words, the life of human beings is inseparable from the life of the earth. Human beings are "earthlings". Our Christian faith binds us to the earth. Hence we need and "ethics for earthlings" that connects the wellbeing of humans with the wellbeing of the earth, the air and the seas. This implies a shift from the habitual paradigm of domination to a paradigm of indwelling. Since the earth is the home (in Greek: "oikos") of the human family, we need to connect "ecology" (the science of the earth as "oikos") and "economics" (the administration of the needs of the "oikos"). It is often overlooked that the violence among human beings is deeply embedded in the habitual and largely "unconscious" violence against nature. There is, however, a growing awareness of the damage done to the earth and its carrying capacities. More and more groups are concerned about widespread species extinction, the destruction of entire ecosystems and the reality of climate change that will cause unprecedented global catastrophies, notably in those regions that are already among the poorest.
There is a profound debate in the ecumenical community about the quasi-religious power of this dominant global economic system. How can its dominance be broken? How can communities cooperate across the world in order to contribute to what may be called sustainable earth economics and systems of dependable neighborhood? There are promising alternative models that deserve active promotion. Fair trade agreements, campaigns for clean clothes and against child labour are significant efforts. The "Grameen Bank" launched by Nobel peace-prize laureate Mohammad Yunus, also provides an important incentive for the empowerment of poor people, especially women, in the struggle for dignified living conditions. Is goes without saying that the violence inherent in economic disparities and constantly reinforces patterns of dependency and exploitation is one of the overarching realities of the present global situation. Economic injustice in its globalized ramifications and structural expressions is a continuous threat to peace within and among peoples and societies.
As Christians confess the God of peace the role of pacifism requires profound and renewed attention. The legacy of the Historic Peace Churches is as essential as the non-violence strategies of leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr.. This becomes all the more important as there is an increasing fascination with extremely violent end-time scenarios among large fundamentalist evangelical groups for which Christ has become something of a supreme "War- Lord". There are many ways in which the age-old scourge of war continues to plague the lives of many people around the globe. Although the threat of an all-out atomic war has thus far been contained, the threat of "limited" atomic warfare is an ingredient of the "war-games" of those nations that possess them (and thereby seducing others to wanting to possess them, too). It is most likely that the increasing scarcity of vital resources such as crude oil, gas or drinking water will lead nations to go to war against each other. In the course of these developments the ecumenical community needs to clarify its approach to the traditional "just war" theories as well as its understanding of "just peace". This implies the discussion of limited military intervention for the protection of human beings who are under the threat of massive destruction.
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