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8. Christianity and Peacebuilding
- State University of New York Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
In Nigeria, in the heart of Africa where the long-term expansion of Christianity and Islam meet, tensions are high. Many predict bloodshed. There are several indications that this might actually happen.1 Yet in the midst of this urgent and uncertain situation a most improbable scenario has occurred: a vibrant Evangelical Christian Pastor decided together with a Muslim Imam to start an interreligious dialogue, a dialogue that could bring peace to the region and the whole country.2 What might, one wonders, the religious contribution to peace be? In the Democratic Republic of Congo when many Congolese parties involved in the deadly conflict that ravages the region were exploring the feasibility of a national debate to pave the way to a peaceful resolution, they asked for the facilitation of the Community of Sant’Egidio, an international Catholic organization. After its successful facilitation in Mozambique, members of the Community of Sant’Egidio have been able to encourage, support, and achieve significant results in the area of international peacemaking in countries such as Algeria, Albania, Burundi, Guatemala, and Kosovo.3 From the Indian-Pakistani conflict in 1948 (which led to the Nobel Peace Prize to the Quakers) to the Mennonite intervention in the Nicaragua conflict, the list of successful engagements in peacemaking by individuals and groups affiliated with the Anabaptist tradition has been highly significant. Indeed, any scholar interested in conflict resolution, as well as the many practitioners with long-term commitments to the resolution of conflicts around the world, will recognize the contribution 147 8 Christianity and Peacebuilding ANDREA BARTOLI of Mennonites and Quakers to both the practice and the theory of conflict resolution today.4 Likewise, the profound and peaceful transformation of South Africa owns a great deal to the creative intervention of various Christian churches. In short, across the world today and throughout history, the relationship between Christianity and peacebuilding is dauntingly rich, complex, and yet somehow elusive.5 Nonetheless, the examples pointed to previously do provide ground for the formulation of a set of highly pertinent, general observations arising out of the contributions to peace made by contemporary Christian organizations as well as from the long history of human inquiry prompted and produced by those who have been seeking to live the Gospel message fully. Christianity must be understood through the revelatory framework historically inaugurated by the benediction of Noah and affirmed through the experience of Abraham, who was made aware of the special relationship between the human family and the one and only God. In Christian terms, this relationship is revealed, and is not merely discovered or constructed. The Abrahamic heritage, shared in different ways by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, relates to Jesus’ message profoundly . Jesus accepts and proclaims the notion of faith in the one and only God and always respectfully refers to the example of Abraham. Jesus did not come to abolish the old revelation, but rather to “fulfill it.”6 This fulfillment was passed on to his followers and the world at large through Jesus’ own life and has come to us through the testimonies of others. Jesus, who was crucified after a dubious trial, refused to use violence against adversaries and lived a radical message of forgiveness and reconciliation beyond enmity. Jesus never held office, never commanded armies, and refused to pass judgment. He was peaceful and yet his teaching would divide “brother from brother.” In his wake would come a paradoxical revelation of a possibility of love that may be divisive in its capacity to reveal human attitudes. Jesus’ silence is as significant as his words, and he refused to be a judge; yet his example allows a self-recognition process by the disciples first and by many followers afterwards. Jesus’ Gospel, then, may be better understood in light of the human need for understanding through self-awareness.7 Humans need distinctions, and the famous “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”8 gives us a glimpse of a very fruitful line of interpretation that led eventually to a distinction between religious and secular powers that has proven to be a useful tool in conceiving and developing tolerant practices within institutions . Likewise, Jesus’ command “to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”9 and his “Blessed are the peacemakers”10 had 148 Andrea Bartoli [18.232.188.122] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:59 GMT) very different resonance throughout history, often prompting fruitful innovations as response to the Word.11...