Christian pacifism

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Christian pacifism is a theological and ethical stance within Christianity that interprets Jesus’ teachings as a call to reject violence and warfare in favor of nonviolent love, peace, and enemy-love.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (66)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian doctrine
ethical stance
form of pacifism
theological stance
basedOn New Testament ethics
Sermon on the Mount
teachings of Jesus
contrastsWith Christian just war theory
holy war ideology
corePrinciple enemy-love
forgiveness
love of enemies
love of neighbor
nonviolent love
peacemaking
rejection of violence
rejection of warfare
turning the other cheek
critiquedFor alleged failure to protect the innocent
alleged political irresponsibility
debatedWithin Christian ethics
systematic theology
defendedAs faithful obedience to Jesus
witness to the kingdom of God
emphasizes God’s kingdom of peace
cross-bearing discipleship
enemy reconciliation
imitation of Christ
reconciliation
goal embody peace in personal and social life
reduce and prevent war and violence
heldBy Amish
Anabaptist traditions
linked to: Anabaptist churches

Church of the Brethren
Hutterites
Mennonites
Quakers
some Roman Catholics
some mainline Protestants
historicalProponent John Howard Yoder
Lactantius
Leo Tolstoy
Mahatma Gandhi’s Christian interlocutors
Martin Luther King Jr.
Menno Simons
Origen
Stanley Hauerwas
Tertullian
influenced Christian nonviolent resistance movements
civil rights movement in the United States
influencedBy Anabaptist Radical Reformation
linked to: Radical Reformation

early church attitudes toward military service
interpretsPassage Exodus 20:13
linked to: Exodus 20:1–17

Luke 6:27–36
linked to: Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 26:52
Matthew 5:38–48
Matthew 5–7
linked to: Sermon on the Mount

Romans 12:17–21
Romans 13
viewOnMilitaryService Christians should not participate in war
many adherents are conscientious objectors
viewOnPolitics supports nonviolent social change
viewOnSelfDefense nonviolent response is preferred
viewOnState state may use force but Christians should not participate
viewOnViolence Christians should not use lethal force
viewOnWar war is incompatible with Jesus’ teachings

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Christian anarchism associatedConcept Christian pacifism
Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change focusesOn Kingian nonviolence
linked to: Christian pacifism
QUNO hasPerspective Quaker peace testimony
linked to: Christian pacifism
John Howard Yoder movement Christian pacifism
Quaker agencies inspiredBy Quaker peace testimony
linked to: Christian pacifism