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Series Editor's
Preface
Violence
Renounced
Visions of peace abound in the Bible,
whose pages are also filled with the language and the
reality of war. In this respect, the Bible is thoroughly
at home in the modern world, whether as a literary
classic or as a unique sacred text. This is, perhaps, a
part of the Bible’s realism: bridging the distance
between its world and our own is a history filled with
visions of peace accompanying the reality of war.
That alone would justify study of peace
and war in the Bible. However, for those communities in
which the Bible is sacred Scripture, the matter is more
urgent. For them, it is crucial to understand what the
Bible says about peace—and about war. These issues
have often divided Christians from each other, and the
way Christians have understood them has had terrible
consequences for Jews and, indeed, for the world. A
series of scholarly investigations cannot hope to resolve
these issues, but it can hope, as this one does, to aid
our understanding of them.
Over the past century a substantial
body of literature has grown up around the topic of the
Bible and war. Studies in great abundance have been
devoted to historical questions about ancient
Israel’s conception and conduct of war and about the
position of the early church on participation in the
Roman Empire and its military. It is not surprising that
many such studies have been motivated by theological and
ethical concerns, which may themselves be attributed to
the Bible’s own seemingly disjunctive preoccupation
with peace and, at the same time, with war.
If not within the Bible itself, then at
least from Aqiba and Tertullian, the question has been
raised whether—and if so, then on what
basis—God’s people may legitimately participate
in war. With the Reformation, the churches divided on
this question. The division was unequal, with the
majority of Christendom agreeing that, however
regrettable war may be, Christians have biblical warrant
for participating in it. A minority countered that,
however necessary war may appear, Christians have a
biblical mandate to avoid it. Modern historical studies
have bolstered one side of this division or the other.
Meanwhile, it has become clear that a
narrow focus on participation in war is not the
only—nor likely the best—way to approach the
Bible on the topic of peace. War and peace are not simply
two sides of a coin; each is broader than its contrast
with the other. Despite broad agreement on this point,
the number of studies devoted to the Bible and peace is
still small, especially in English. Consequently, answers
to the most basic questions remain to be settled. Among
questions is what the Bible means in speaking of
shalom or eirene, the Hebrew and Greek
terms usually translated as “peace.” In
addition, what the Bible has to say about peace is not
limited to its use of these two terms. Questions remain
about the relation of peace to justice, integrity,
and—in the broadest sense—salvation. And of
course there still remains the question of the relation
between peace and war. In fact, what the Bible says about
peace is often framed in language of war. The Bible often
uses martial imagery to portray God’s action,
whether in creation, in judgment against or defense of
Israel, or in the cross and resurrection of Jesus
Christ—actions aimed at achieving peace.
The Bible’s close association of
peace and war presents serious problems for the
contemporary appropriation of the Bible. Are human
freedom, justice, and liberation—and the liberation
of creation—furthered or hindered by the martial,
frequently royal, and pervasively masculine terms in
which the Bible speaks of peace? These questions cannot
be answered by the rigorous and critical exegesis of the
biblical texts alone; they demand serious moral and
theological reflection. But that reflection will be
substantially aided by exegetical studies of the kind
included in this series—even as these studies will
be illumined by including just that kind of reflection
within them.
The essays in this interdisciplinary
volume engage the work of René Girard. They assess,
critically and constructively, Girard's theories on the
sacrificial origins of violence and its eventual
renunciation in the Bible. In so doing, they further the
goals of the series.
Studies in Peace and Scripture is
sponsored by the Institute of Mennonite Studies, the
research agency of the Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries. The seminaries and the tradition they
represent have a particular interest in peace but even
more a shared interest in the Bible. We hope this
ecumenical series will contribute to a deeper
understanding of both.
Ben C. Ollenburger, Old Testament Editor
Willard M. Swartley, New Testament Editor
Violence Renounced
orders:
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