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A noted theologian and bestselling author shows how nonviolent action has been practiced in history and in current social-political situations to promote peace and oppose injustice.
- Sales Rank: #362061 in Books
- Brand: Baker Pub Group/Baker Books
- Published on: 2015-02-17
- Released on: 2015-02-17
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .52" w x 6.00" l, .64 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 208 pages
From the Back Cover
Testing the Possibilities of Nonviolence
"Every once in a while a book substantially changes the conversation, and even the posture, of the church. What Ron Sider's Rich Christians in An Age of Hunger did to change how Christians think about poverty, Nonviolent Action promises to do for how we think about war. It is not just for pacifists. It is for skeptics, war hawks, liberals, and conservatives."
--Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and founding partner of The Simple Way
"Ron Sider's powerful blend of scholarship and passion has gripped me! I fully endorse Ron's call to an organized, active campaign of nonviolence."
--Lynne Hybels, advocate for global engagement, Willow Creek Community Church
"When Ron Sider talks, I listen. When he writes, I read. Whether or not one is a pacifist--I am not--one has something to learn about the power of nonviolent protest and resistance from Dr. Sider's careful and thoughtful study of successful nonviolent movements against tyranny and oppression."
--Robert P. George, Princeton University
"This wise, balanced, and inspiring book is a richly instructive guide for all who have pledged their allegiance to the Savior who is also the Prince of Peace."
--Richard Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary (from the foreword)
"Gandhi and King are not anomalies. Ron Sider shows that these outstanding witnesses to nonviolence are part of a long and often-successful tradition. I hope this book of case studies inspires more people to seek the knowledge and training that Christian action for justice requires."
--David Neff, speaker, writer, and former editor-in-chief of Christianity Today
"[A] persuasive book. . . . Sider recognizes that civil disobedience often functions as only one factor among many in ending oppression--but often the one that tips the balance. . . . Proponents of just war and pacifists need to recognize they are often on the same side and work together to make war a true last resort. History shows they can."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Author
Ronald J. Sider (PhD, Yale University) is the founder and president emeritus of Evangelicals for Social Action and distinguished professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. He is t
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Is the church called to non-violent action?
By Jerry Ireland
First, few people have as much authority to write on the subject of non-violent action as Ron Sider. He is more than an academic who has theorized about this (though he is no less than that). He is someone who has embodied his beliefs in the power of nonviolent action, and his account of his experiences in Nicaragua (pp. 47-48) testify to this. So, when Sider calls both pacifists and Just War proponents alike to put their lives on the line for the sake of peace, he does so with some authority.
This text is a moving account of how non-violent protests have brought ends to bloody conflicts and government corruption the world over. I found myself moved to near tears reading of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King and, equally, of the way in which the women of Liberia played a key role in ending the civil war there through non-violent action. These stories need to be read and read again.
As someone who has at times been horrified by fellow Christians who sometimes seem all to eager for the US to engage in another war, I found these stories deeply challenging and am inclined to think that most evangelicals could benefit from reading this thorough account of how non-violent action has succeeded again and again.
But I have a couple of criticisms of this book. My biggest criticism relates to the subtitle: “what Christian ethics demands but most Christians have never really done.” In this text Sider makes a very good case that non-violent action often succeeds. But, oddly, he never makes the case that Christian ethics requires this. If Sider hopes to convince the evangelical community of the rightness of his argument, he will have to do more than stack up case studies. He will have to provide a biblical argument. Given the strong statement of his subtitle, it is surprising that he never actually does this in the book. As a result, one never comes to understand what Christianity uniquely contributes to non-violent action. Indeed, a few of his examples are of those who had no specifically Christian commitments at all. And so my question is, where does the uniquely redemptive message of Christianity fit into all this? Where precisely does the Prince of Peace fit into these efforts, as surely the church that is called to protest is equally called to proclaim. This needs to be clarified.
Finally, Carl F. H. Henry once said that the church is called to “a moment of protest.” Henry’s point was that in certain times of crisis the church must oppose governments when those governments have lost sight of their God-given roles in upholding justice. But Henry’s emphasis was that this was only to be momentary. Protest cannot become the central feature of the church’s life and practice. But some of the ways in which Sider seems to envision the church’s non-violent action seem to move in the opposite direction. And, I can’t help but think it a little bit naïve to believe that non-violence is always the answer. Yes, some nations were able to use non-violent protest (e.g. Finland) and refuse to deport their Jewish populations, but non-violence had no hope of pushing back the German Army that had take over Europe. To do that it took a brutal, blood, and yet necessary war—a war that, furthermore, likely saved thousands upon thousands of lives that would have otherwise been destroyed by Hitler’s aggressive and racist agenda. The same could be said of the US Civil War. How many millions of African American lives were saved by ending slavery, through a very bloody, and yet, seemingly necessary war. My point here is just to say, that at times war is the best worst choice. Sometimes a necessary evil.
Having said that, I also remain solidly convinced that the contemporary church (perhaps especially in America) needs to be reminded of the power of non-violence and also of the church’s biblical mandate to be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9). And this book does that very, very well. I highly recommend it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Does nonviolent action actually work? And does it matter?
By Chris Woznicki
Erin Dufault-Hunter, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, recently wrote:
Many Mennonites shirk the label “evangelical,” especially as it often associates us with US Christians who narrate their relationship to the nation-state quite differently than we do. But most recently my tiny adopted tradition has become cool; nonviolence has become fashionable (and God help us if we so depreciate the cost of waging peace).
Though I am not drawn to the Mennonite tradition (and I certainly love my evangelical tradition/label), I can definitely agree with her that among evangelicalism – nonviolence and Anabaptism has become quite cool. Its probably for good reasons though – the Anabaptists are on to something when it comes to their ethics. But its not just the Anabaptists – you can find some reformed (lower case “r”) writers writing about non-violence (see Preston Sprinkle’s Fight – I wrote a review here). So being reformed myself and committed to non-violent action, I’m glad to see more resources come out that are accessible to evangelicals. Ron Sider has a history of writing books that have pushed evangelicals to be more socially Nonviolent Actionaware and engaged. He has pushed them (us) to think through issues that we might have ignored i.e. the legitimate use of violence as Christians. His latest book: Nonviolent Action: What Christian Ethics Demands But Most Christians Have Never Really Tried is one such book.
On the back of the book – Richard Mouw writes that Sider has written a “wise, balanced, and inspiring book” that is “a richly instructive guide for all who have pledged their allegiance to the Savior who is also the prince of peace.” Whether you agree with non-violence or believe in just war – the fact is that as Christians we are called to follow the Prince of Peace and we are called to be peacemakers. So at the very least non-violence is an issue that all Christians have to deal with. We have to ask ourselves – is this the best way to live as disciples of Jesus Christ or is there some other way?
Alright – lets actually get to the book…
Non-Violent Action
The structure of the book is pretty straightforward; there are four parts. Each of the first three parts is intended to inspire people to nonviolence and to show people that unlike what many opponents say, nonviolence actually works. Part 1 covers the early days of nonviolence by looking at non-violence in the early church and nonviolence through leaders like MLK and Gandhi. Part 2 show us how non-violence helped topple the soviet empire. Part three takes a look at non-violent movement in the last decade or so. Let it be known that all of the cases he examines are not necessarily Christian movements (i.e. Ghandi & the Arab Spring) however a majority of the cases he follows are Christian an Sider’s call to non-violence is ultimately grounded in Christianity.
For me, the fourth part was the most interesting. It consisted of Sider’s constructive argument for non-violence. His first argument is that non-violent movements contrary to popular opinion, actually work. They accomplish their goals with far less loss and they tend to lead to stronger democratic societies. The reason for this latter accomplishment is that “those who win by the gun tend to rule by the gun.” His other argument for non-violence is that non-violence as a strategic systematized method has not really been tried yet. Regarding this, Sider makes a great point,
Pacifists have long claimed that they have an alternative to war. But that claim remains empty unless they are willing to risk death, as soldiers do to stop injustice and bring peace. (158)
If pacifists think that they have an alternative to war, then they must have the guts and integrity to prove it in the brutal world in which dictators such as Hitler, Somoza, Stalin, and Marcos kill and destroy. If pacifists are not ready to run the same risk as soldiers in nonviolent struggle against evil, then they have no moral right to pretend they know a better way. (167)
Those are powerful words! Sider’s other point is that According to the just war tradition (which most Christians find themselves in) lethal violence must always be the last resort. He calls into question the notion that just war theorists have been consistent with this position. He points to the fact that just war theorists have not spent the amount of time and money to explore the possibilities of nonviolent action.
Sider’s book however ignores the most important argument for nonviolence (although the title does imply it) – namely that it is what Christianity demands. When I hear most people argue against nonviolence (usually for loving reasons and to protect the weak) the argument almost always goes something like this…
Non-violence would be great. But we live in a sinful broken world. Non-violence just doesn’t work because we don’t live in an ideal world.
Arguments around non-violence almost always center around the idea that “it doesn’t work.” Sider here set out to argue that it does in fact work, and history has proved that it can and it does! However that misses the point of Christian non-violence. The call to Christian non-violence isn’t a call to pragmatism. Even if nonviolence didn’t work and Jesus called us to it then we would have to do it! (Whether God calls for it is up to debate; I certainly believe he did call us to peace.)
What I’m trying to point out – and what Sider so unhelpfully forgot to address – is that: The call to nonviolence isn’t grounded on what does or does not work. The call to nonviolence is grounded on whether or not this is what Jesus calls his followers to do.
(Note: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an impartial review.)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Nonviolent Action: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
By Robert C. Trube
Nonviolent Action by Ron Sider. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015.
Summary: Ron Sider argues from a number of instances over the past seventy-five years that nonviolent action can work and bring about political change.
“I ain’t gonna study war no more”
Ronald J. Sider thinks we have spent far too long and far too much studying war. It is time, particularly for persons of faith, to devote ourselves and our money and our lives to study peace: the use of nonviolent means of protest and resistance in the pursuit of peace and a just order. He argues that both pacifists and just war advocates actually have much in common in advocating the use of nonviolent efforts as much as possible, with the only difference being between war never being a resort and war being a last resort.
Sider builds his case by recounting the numerous instances of nonviolent resistance over the past seventy-five years beginning with Ghandhi’s effort to secure Indian independence from the British empire. The first part of the book recounts Ghandhi’s, and India’s, long road to freedom and Ghandhi’s persistent and principled decision to renounce violence. Following chapters recount Martin Luther King, Jr’s leadership of the civil rights movement and commitment to loving, nonviolent resistance, seen most vividly at the Edmund Pettus Bridge as chronicled in the recent Selma. He tells the story of his own involvement with Witness for Peace’s work in Nicaragua standing between invading Contras backed by the U.S. and the Nicaraguan people. And he tells the story of the peaceful People Power resistance to the Marcos regime in the Phillipines including the instance when a wheelchair was more powerful than a tank:
Cardinal Sin tells the story of bedridden, eighty-one year-old Mrs. Monzon, owner of Arrelano University. Everywhere she went, she used a wheelchair. But Mrs. Monzon insisted on joining the people in the streets in front of the camps. When the tanks came, she wheeled in front of the advancing war vehicles. Armed with a crucifix, she called out to the soldiers, “Stop. I am an old woman. You can kill me, but you shouldn’t kill your fellow Filipinos.” Overcome, a soldier jumped off the tank, and embraced the bold nonviolent resister. “I cannot kill you,” he told her, “you are just like my mother.” She stayed in the street in her wheelchair.
The marines finally withdrew without firing a shot.
Part Two of the book focuses on two instances of nonviolent resistance in the defeat of the Soviet empire. First he tells the story of a Polish pope and a ship yard worker, Lech Walesa, who led the Solidarity Movement, which over ten years, brought an end to the Communist leadership in Poland. Then he turns to the Revolution of Candles in East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall and eventual reunification of Germany.
Recent developments are the focus of Part Three. He begins by describing how Leymah Gbowee led a movement of prayer among Liberian women pursuing peace and justice for the women and children of Liberia during the dictatorship of Charles Taylor. He recounts the nonviolent efforts in the Arab Spring, including the wonderful shalom moment of a ring of Christians forming a protective circle around Muslims at prayer. He ends this section by talking of the work of Peacemaker Teams and similar groups in many parts of the world including in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He concludes the book with the contention that it is time to devote serious attention to nonviolent action. We spend billions on military defense and military academies but virtually nothing for nonviolent resistance and peace academies. He argues that pacifism that engages in nonviolent action is in fact as courageous as armed resistance because it also is willing to die in the pursuit of just and peaceful conflict resolution. He further contends the following:
Nonviolence often accomplishes its aims with far less loss of life.
Nonviolence accomplishes its aims more often than violence.
Nonviolence is more likely to lead to democratic institutions.
One of the sobering implications of all this is the willingness to die without killing. One of the questions Sider left unanswered for me was whether there are circumstances where one should not pursue nonviolent resistance, where force must be met with force. I think particularly of instances when a regime has determined a course of genocide. Here, the evidence seems to be that armed peacekeeping forces have been both necessary and successful in places like Kosovo and South Sudan in stopping genocidal regimes.
Perhaps what this points up is the necessity of what Sider argues. Many nonviolent efforts have been spontaneous and sometimes undisciplined. It is time for rigorous studies and the devotion of resources that inform and make possible disciplined and strategic action. War calls for these things as well as courage. It just makes sense that the pursuit of peace requires no less.
_____________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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