Boston University Theologian Espouses Pacifism at Garrett Conference

Joshua Calo
July 9, 2008

Speaking at the Progressive and Evangelical Conference 2008 in Evanston, Illinois, theologian Bryan Stone proposed that instead of inflicting violence, Christians should exhibit true pacifism by offering the type of forgiveness that God offers us, even extending such forgiveness to terrorists or tyrants.

Stone, the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Boston University School of Theology, told those attending the March 26-27 conference hosted by the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary that the church has become “fused” with the world. As a result, Stone claimed that the church doesn’t only bless and wave the flag of the empire, but “is now free to be recruited by the empire into killing those that the empire counts as its enemies,” and will serve and benefit from the empire’s political and economic conquests. He argued that as a result, “The church’s mission is now compatible (if not identical) with the ambitions of empire.”

Both the Boston University School of Theology and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary are official United Methodist seminaries.

This intertwining of interests between church and state has lead to Christians to accept violence, said Stone. “Soldiers must be trained to believe in violence as useful and redemptive,” he explained. “For persons of faith, this means coming to believe that God, the military, and the nation are inextricably linked and mutually supportive.” He continued, saying that the question of whether Christians should serve in the military “hardly even comes up for most Christians today,” since we are so accustomed to serving as “chaplains of the empire,” and are confident in “the goods that it can deliver to us.”

“Somewhere along the way, we Christians got the impression that it is our job to make sure God’s kingdom gets built in the world,” argued Stone. “But the reign of God is not real because we make it so. Nor is it made visible and habitable in the worlds to the extent that oppressive governments are dismantled, terrorists destroyed and tyrants overthrown. It is made visible when, in the midst of violence, injustice, and terrorism, a people who worship God as their sovereign refuse to find the security and meaning of their lives in their own power and instead forgive others just as they have been forgiven by god.”

Stone went on to proclaim, “God does not need our violence, but instead desires our worship and our faithfulness. By contrast, our loyalty to nation and our attachment to the economic wealth and liberties secured by it are frequently idolatrous and therefore false objects of worship that require our violence for their protection.”

Barry Bryant, an Assistant Professor of United Methodist and Wesleyan Studies at Garrett, responded to Stone’s lecture by agreeing with his pacifist stance. Bryant declared, “Conversion through coercion is a subtle form of violence, but violence nonetheless, and inconsistent with the nonviolent love of God to which we bear witness. This happens when we try to do the Holy Spirit’s work for Her.” He went on to conclude, “Violence is the primary use of persuasion of an empire. The only use of persuasion in the kingdom of God is love. “

Eric Sapp, a senior partner at Common Good Strategies, a consulting firm that works with the Democratic Party and non-profit organizations on building relationships with religious communities in America, agreed with Stone’s underlying thesis. Acknowledging that violence undercuts the witness of the church, and that war is always sinful, he conditioned, “I do believe there are times when war and violence can be justified . . . We live in a fallen world, and I think there are times when we are faced with only sinful options.”

Sapp later said that while he agreed that there is a “legitimate call” on Christians to exercise pacifism, he indicated that he is concerned by some of the rhetoric. “I think the danger we face as American pacifists in a democracy, is the call to turn the other cheek is a personal call. Maybe it’s a national call, but it’s a call for you to turn the other cheek, not to turn the other cheek of others.”

Reiterating the perils of exercising pacifism in a fallen world, he said, “I think that to be a true pacifist, what you have to be willing to do is say . . . we have the power to stop genocide, we have the power to stop rapes, we have the power to stop killings, and are we willing to say that our pacifism is going to look those people in the eye and say we did not stop the raping and genocide because of Christ.”