InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network
How can Christians decide when to be involved in conflict, and how can they know when to stop? In the past two years, Christians in Ukraine have faced all of these. How have they responded?
From Dec 27 – Jan 1, volunteers with our network of early career Christian academics are liveblogging seminars at the Urbana conference, a mission-focused student gathering of 16,000 Christians from across North America and the world. This post was written by Nathan Matias and Galina Pylypiv
You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. — Matthew 5:9, The Message
Perhaps no other saying from Jesus needs attention as this one in our very dangerous and destructive world. World and area events point to the need for “peacemaking.” What is a peacemaker? Can the ordinary believer be a peacemaker? The answer, says Jesus, is a resounding YES! The church group to which I belong actually has “peacemaking” as one of its core values:
We value all human life and promote forgiveness, understanding, reconciliation and non-violent resolution of conflict.
Such peace is not merely a cease-fire or a cessation of hostilities or even a truce. While the Jewish citizens of Jesus’ day enjoyed what was called the pax Romana, an external peace, the first century Christian writer Epictetus gave this comment:
While the Emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief and envy. He cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearns more than even for outward peace. [Read more…] about Devotions: Beatitudes (7) — God’s Peace Corps
As a descendant of Moravian settlers in Lititz, PA, I made sure not to miss the presentation of the 2010 The Dale W. Brown Book Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies to Katherine Carté Engel (Assistant Professor of History, Texas A&M) for Religion and Profit: Moravians in Early America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009). I greatly appreciated her challenging lecture and the opportunity afterward to chat with her on “God in Americaâ€, the general inability of radical Christian communities to sustain radical Christian practices over time and across generations, my “Theology of the Church” paper on the religious history of Elizabethtown College, and some of my own Moravian roots.
More on Katherine Carté Engel‘s research coming, but today we’ll return to Elizabethtown College to address the specific question of how the college wrestled with its religious roots on a practical/detail level and came to advocate/embrace peacemaking. As we wrestle with the history of a specific campus, I pray that you’re encouraged to dig into the history of your campus/discipline (or even your own religious community) and the vision/goals which work out in its larger way of life and the details which emerge from the overarching institutional perspective. May this process inflame your passion for and undergird your prayerful seeking of “Students and faculty transformed. Campuses renewed. World changers developed.” Note: For those whom the lengthy historical details are of less interest, feel free to skim through and focus on the conclusion.
Bible College for Church of the Brethren
The Elizabethtown College: The First Hundred Years true/false pop quiz asks, “’While students at other campuses were burning their draft cards in the 60s, Etown students were burning their chapel attendance cards.’ (True. See page 73)†(Downing, 1). On page 73, 70s Protests contrasts changes in various mandatory campus policies (including mandatory convocation attendance) and the 275 students, faculty, and administrators who solemnly marched through Elizabethtown in opposition to the Vietnam War in the face of strong student opposition. Note: Post on the humbling and amazing story of countercultural peacemaking faculty coming 😉 [Read more…] about Rebirth of Peacemaking in a Much Different Context
As you may remember from No football. Campus tradition rooted in peace-making, I’ve been working on a Theology of the Church paper exploring how Elizabethtown College, founded to keep youth within the Church of the Brethren, fared in teaching denominational doctrine and way of life. In the earlier post, I shared how no football embodied the Church of the Brethren way of life. How well did peacemaking extend beyond no football, particularly in the face of 20th century military engagements? How well has your campus worked out the purposes of its founders.  How about ideals which were/are countercultural (possibly even culturemaking)? Any stories to share?
Introduction
World War II Indicates Future Direction
The pop quiz which opens Elizabethtown College: The First Hundred Years includes the question, “’Because of its pacifist heritage, very few Elizabethtown students joined the armed services during World War Two.’ (False. See page 43)†(Downing, 1). On page 43 one finds a tribute to the 135 Alumni and Former Students in the Service which appeared in the 1944 Etonian. Two receive stars indicating that they had been killed in action as of January 1, 1944. The opposing page features a tribute consisting of a flag, the pictures of the three servicemen, and the text “We salute these OUR BOYS.”
Earlier in Elizabethtown College: The First Hundred Years, the article Pacifists and Patriots emphasizes the student’s split opinion as World War II approached, with many having the desire to choose for themselves (Downing, 37). Williamson draws attention to the results of a poll which ran on the front page of the October 19, 1939, issue of The Etownian: [Read more…] about PeaceMaking Falls in the Face of Military Conflict