This course will examine violence as a problem of deep religious and spiritual significance for Christianity, and the complex relationship between theological reflection, violence, and nonviolence, by exploring such questions as: Is Christianity inherently violent? What aspects of Christianity can exacerbate or mitigate violent acts? Does Christian soteriology sanction divine violence? Under which conditions does Christianity condone or condemn violence? We will enlist an interdisciplinary approach to answer these and other questions. The first part of the course will turn to history to explore current manifestations of violence and review contemporary classic texts in philosophy, psychology, theology, and politics on this difficult topic. We will also study the occurrence of human and divine violence and nonviolence in the Christian sources of revelation. The course will then examine different Christian theological traditions in connection to the just war theory, pacifism, and non-violence, all with the intention of identifying the most appropriate Christian responses to contemporary violence.
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