Militarist Christendom And The Gospel Of The Prince Of Peace
by Daniel H. Shubin
List Price:
Our Price: $12.00
You Save: $4.95 (29%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.69 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Daniel H. ShubinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-10-27
ISBN: 160002260X
Number of pages: 293
Publisher: Airleaf Publishing
Book Reviews of Militarist Christendom And The Gospel Of The Prince Of Peace
Book Review: A Fearless Call for the Church to Change
Summary: 5 Stars
Dan Shubin's book gives new meaning to the words prayed in the churches of Christendom: "forgive us our trespasses." The book is a challenge to repent, a fearless call for the church to change its mind (metanoia), to think a different way about coercive violence, nationaliism and compolicity with state power. That process of repentance would surely involve some earnest prayers on the part of the church of Christendom for forgiveness for past sins. And it would mean turning to the willing embrace of Jesus' command to love as he loved. The way Jesus loved had none of the marks of militarism which have characterized Christendom since the emperor Constantine and the bishop Augustine.
But I'm afraid that the faithful who pray "forgive us our debts" are not asking forgiveness for supporting war after bloody war against God's children around the world. They might have a lot of sins in mind as they mouth the words of the Lord's Prayer, but there is little evidence that they see their behavior in the support of the sword and imperial power in the same way the victims of that power, or Jesus himself, see it. To see that, they would have to expose themselves to the kind of historical clarity and spiritual earnestness which this writer portrays--which is why most of the people who would profit from it will probably not be reading this book!
What is my bias as a reviewer? I am committed to a way of being church which is called peace, or peacemaking, church. And what do we call a not-peace or peacemaking way of being church? It is called Christendom. So I resonate with the clarity which Shubin brings to the task of defining the difference between Christendom church and peace church, and whether that difference matters--the "so what?" question.
I hope to whet the alppetite of the reader for engaging the author by reading the full text, so I will include substantial quotations of the author's own words.
The book is structured as a series of contrasts between Militarist Christendom and the Gospel of the Prince of Peace. The outline is historical, recounting the way Christendom re-wrote the gospel, and the way a remnant of faithful witnesses and churches across the centuries have retained the essence of the peacemaking gospel. In effect, Shubin recounts how the church allowed the heroism of living and dying for a cause to shift away from the church's bold incarnation of Jesus' compassionate way of life to the state's claim to be the guarantor of society's order and security through war and homicidal violence. The heroism of exemplary human living and dying shifted from being in the world as Jesus was in the world to being in the world as the Roman emperor Constantine, and the apologist bishops like Augustine who followed him, were in the world.
In the process, Shubin names names. There really isn't any other way to do it. Billy Graham, Billy Sunday, Reinhold Niebuhr, Carl F. H. Henry, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Jesus, Augustine, Irenaeus, Erasmus, Menno Simons--they did/do not all say the same thing. We are still choosing among them as we interpret the gospel and give shape to the church. And the world bears the consequences of our choosing--heavy, heavy consequences.
Near the end of the book, Shubin puts it this way, in a good summary of his argument:
"87 THE BETRAYAL OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE BY MILITARIST CHRISTENDOM"
"This betrayal lies in the situation of churches of Christendom refusing to return to the original gospel message of Jesus Christ, generation after generation. Every generation betrays and crucifies the Prince of Peace when it continues to subject the gospel to the state and secular authority.
Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory of them, and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Matt 4:8-9.
This is the temptation that confronts every child of God, and especially those in the circles of ecclesiastical influence: minister, pastor, priest, student and scholar. The betrayal occurs when the Christian gives divine support and approval to the work of the kingdoms of this world that contradict the law of God and gospel of the Prince of Peace, rather than resisting the temptation. To compromise the gospel and redefine it in terms of the kingdoms of this world is to capitulate to the devil, and the temporal rewards are many. These ministers are wardens over churches that are massive architectural monuments; they receive the respect of powerful secular rulers and military officials; they receive an income from the healthy donations of wealthy parishioners; they acquire the popularity of a large congregation; they accumulate considerable control over real estate and financial assets. This is Christendom, not Christianity. This new Christian church is redefined in terms of the needs of the state and society that the church is part of. Once the political policy is defined and established, the purpose of Christendom is the divine approval of its preservation, with each congregation becoming a national church in the country of its residency. As the state provides religious freedom, the congregation supports the dictates and needs of the state: this is Christendom, now itself a political force within the nation of its residency, ready to offer to it parishioners divine approval of the state polity and preservation of its civilization. But in exchange for freedom - saving their soul - they lose it due to their capitulation to the secular state.
Ecumenical Christendom is designed for a superficial adherence to the NT teachings, rather than a serious practice of the gospel. The practical issues of the NT, taught by Christendom, can be derived from most philosophers and humanists, and political leaders having a humanitarian nature, and the religion is supplemented with rites that are associated with the ministry of Jesus. But if theology and the shell of ecclesiastical sacerdotalism and sacraments were removed, the ethic and morality that would remain would essentially be no different than any that could not be derived from secular humanism, humanitarianism or philosophy. The idea of pacifism is not an issue to be seriously considered in the NT; it is fine and noteworthy during times of peace, for children's Sunday School lessons, and a precept to ponder, but not to be taken seriously, because it is only an ideal and impractical to actually implement. During wartime, Christendom as an institution becomes the state's department of religious services for the state, to echo and implement the requirements of the state. During war, so-called Christians do not conduct themselves any differently than people with no religious scruples or who are members of non-Christian religions. Essentially, there is nothing of substance or distinct about ecumenical Christendom once it is stripped of its superficial shell of ceremonialism, sacerdotalism and theology. The conclusion is that ecumenical Christendom denies the essence of the gospel that was preached by Jesus the Messiah, which was the deliverance of humanity from its perpetual self-destructive trend of warfare. The elimination of preparation and training for war, and its replacement by reconciliation, is the salvation that Jesus the Messiah came to provide his Jewish countrymen, and that toleration of abuse suffered in the process would be less devastating than aggression or reprisal suffered in war. Eventually this gospel was to extend to all nations, for them to convert their weapons into implements of agriculture and not to learn war anymore.
During war, industries produce employment and profits, and during war, many residents are employed in industries that are related to the war effort. Since ministers are supported by the charitable contributions of parishioners, they are not about to bite the hand that feeds them by dictating form their pulpit that such employment is antithesis to the gospel of the Prince of Peace, and that employment should be sought elsewhere for the Christian, in some vocation that is directly a benefit to society. It is almost treason and disloyalty for a minister to tell his parishioners not to be employed by a company designing, manufacturing, or selling weapons or military-related equipment and accessories. In no manner will ministers of mainline denominations be critical of war, if they expect to keep their pulpit and the respect of their parishioners.
Although the First Amendment states that the government will not respect any one religion over another, this is applicable only during peacetime. During wartime, the unwritten rule is the respect of those religions that defend the war from the pulpit and support the war effort by providing recruits for the armed forces from among the military-age parishioners of their congregations. Religions whose pulpits do not echo the voice of the state are deprived of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and are suspected of treason and even collaboration with the enemy. The state requires approval of its dictates from national religious organizations and denominations to provide a united and formidable front without dissension against the enemy. In exchange for this, the state provides such groups religious freedoms - speech and the press - during wartime.
The church, just like the individual, will set out to correct a problem which does not exist. If the Christendom state of the church is not a problelm, it needs no correction. Shubin, in this lengthy quotation, has stated the problem clearly. His book also states the solution clearly, and the reader is invited to look it up.
(...)
Religion & Spirituality Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Nonviolence: for Fellow Peacemakers and Jesus Followers
I'd Rather Teach Peaceby Colman McCarthy
Orbis Books; Published: 2002-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Rambo and the Dalai Lama: The Compulsion to Win and Its Threat to Human Survival (Suny Series, Global Conflict and Peace Education)by Gordon Fellman
State University of New York Press; Published: 1998-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.90
Price in other shops:
No Contest: The Case Against Competitionby Alfie Kohn
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 1992-11-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.69
Price in other shops:
Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of Tao-te chingby Greg Johanson, Ronald S. Kurtz
Harmony/Bell Tower; Published: 1994-02-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.15
Price in other shops:
Conflict Mediation Across Cultures: Pathways and Patternsby David W. Augsberger
Westminster John Knox Press; Published: 1992-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.76
Price in other shops:
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Lifeby Marshall B. Rosenberg
Puddledancer Press; Published: 2003-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.22
Price in other shops:
Nonviolent Social Movements: A Geographical PerspectiveWiley-Blackwell; Published: 1999-11-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.80
Price in other shops:
Nonviolence in America: A Documentary History, revised editionby Staughton Lynd
Orbis Books; Published: 1995-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.29
Price in other shops:
A Force More Powerful: A Century of Non-Violent Conflictby Peter Ackerman, Jack DuVall
Palgrave Macmillan; Published: 2001-10-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice And 21st Century Potentialby Gene Sharp, Joshua Paulson
Extending Horizons Books; Published: 2005-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: