A large and vocal segment of Christianity is unaware of the strong peace witness in the Scriptures and Christian history, and many other well meaning Christians are struggling to make sense of seemingly contradictory messages in the written and living Christian tradition that appears to endorse everything from genocide to radical nonviolence.

 

Students, scholars, practitioners, and laypeople often have a difficult time integrating peace theology (theory) and practical peacebuilding as a vocation and way of life (praxis). This is especially true when we factor in the volatility and complexity of today's ever-changing geopolitical landscape and the many intractable and emerging conflicts, interconnected global affairs, and attendant ethical dilemmas.

 

For example, on the theological side, there is a large segment of Christianity that wrestles with questions such as, How do we account for the times when God seems to endorse or even command violence and genocide in the Old Testament? Or why did Jesus command his disciples to take a sword with them in Lk. 22:38 and how do we account for Romans 13? Or what about soldier Saints, just war, and the church's cooperation with state priorities including national security? 

 

And on the practical side, even if Christians embrace peacemaking and Jesus' nonviolent way, they are simply unaware of any alternatives to stop or reduce the violence in the world—especially sectarian violence—other than through force and haven't been exposed to the courageous and creative peacebuilding and conflict transformation work being carried out around the world today. But even if these actions and initiatives are already known, people with a commitment to peace and nonviolence have a difficult time knowing what to do (or what they should do) when a threat presents itself, how to prepare for these challenging situations, how to make our peaceable behaviour a part of everyday life, or how to deal with our inevitable failure with patience and humility.

 

Therefore, a clear articulation of the peace witness in the Scriptures and Christian history and ways of making sense of the eclectic biblical passages that seem to promote both violence and nonviolence are desperately needed in today’s volatile world. Resources for communicating a peace-affirming way of thinking is lacking and research opportunities in these areas are scarce. IRPJ therefore seeks to provide the space, opportunity, and resources to wrestle with these challenges and explore the many options for achieving peace and coexistence without the use of force and coercion as informed by the ethical teachings and living example of Jesus.

 

Further, this deeper understanding of one's own faith tradition and the ways that theology shapes our practical life, political loyalties, embrace or critique of various economic systems and the ways we benefit from them, and preferred responses to challenges in our world including warfare and intra-state violence will help us better understand the thorny issue of religion's role in peace and violence. IRPJ therefore explores issues related to interreligious peacebuilding and hospitality, interfaith dialogue, and how religion is used as a surrogate for deeper political, economic, and other injustices and harms through the lens of peace theology and the challenges of peace and violence in the Christian faith.

 

Facilitating the connection between theology and inner transformation on the one hand and the more practical political and socio-economic challenges on the ground and in the public square on the other hand (locally, nationally, and globally) is also an urgent need. Therefore, an important focus of IRPJ's activities is the inner transformation of the peacebuilder or peacemaker who typically focuses on tactics, strategies, and methods with little attentiveness to the inner life.

 

With the understanding that the opposite of violence isn’t nonviolence but instead creativity, the Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice is not a venue that merely promotes an absolutistic pacifist position and leaves it at that (although this perspective is certainly welcome). Rather, IRPJ aims to promote less violence and the hard work of creative peacebuilding, conflict transformation, interfaith dialogue, and the humanization of the Other through a sound theological foundation, inner transformation, relationship-building, creation of just and equitable institutions, and interreligious hospitality as alternatives to violent, unjust, and uncreative inner impulses and responses.