jason evans

While I was still working with christianaudio, I had the privilege of engineering the audio version of Matt Mikalatos' new book, Imaginary Jesus. Matt narrated the book himself and so I got a chance to hang out with him. He's a funny guy and he happens to be a comic book geek–which you can feel as you read his book (... I meant that as a compliment). Imaginary Jesus is funny, touching and thought-provoking. Our families have been through similar circumstances, so much of the semi-autobiographical content really hit home for me.

When we were done recording the book–and after Matt had the chance to raid the christianaudio warehouse–I drove him to the airport to head back to Portland. I shared with Matt my growing interest in graphic novels (our friend, Matt Aragon–yes, another "Matt"–turned our son into a comic book geek and it's been slowly impacting me–just for the art of course). On the way to the airport, Mikalatos grabbed a piece of paper and scratched out an intense list of comics and graphic novels I needed to look into, for Matty Boy and myself.

After the holidays, I started my research and have been finding some really great stuff due to Matt (thanks, Matt!). But during my search, I came upon a release from Image Comics called, Loaded Bible: 'Jesus vs Vampires' (links on the Image Comics site don't work)–and, no, Matt did not recommend this. Those that know me, know that I have this fascination with vampires... but I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry about this.

When I first read the spine, my immediate reaction was:

"Jesus AND vampires?!"

and then...

"Awesome!"

along with...

"Oh, dear."

In the end, though, it bugs me to see a sword-wielding Jesus. I'm an advocate for peacemaking as a central part of being a Christian. So, the "imaginary" Jesus of Loaded Bible disturbs me because of how violent he is. Is this what happens over time when we drift away from a theology that is informed by the peacemaking work of Jesus? ... Do the Jesus's that we imagine increasingly endorse and enact violence? What would the real Jesus think about this?

Here's a preview of the series, I'm curious to read your thoughts (NOTE: violent still image content-choose wisely who you watch this with):

I'm tweeting thru tonight's workshop with Erik Olson Fernandez on A History of Nonviolence. You can follow that on Twitter or on Facebook.

As I waited for our '03 Honda Civic to get serviced today, I finished reading, Nonviolence: The History of A Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky. And, I must say that this is a great read! I love reading history, so maybe it's just me, but I really enjoyed this book. Kurlansky is accessible and does a good job of representing the history of nonviolence throughout history. The book is fairly short, so he does not go into too much detail but enough to entice the imagination of those that dream of a way of life without violence. I would recommend this to just about anyone simply because the side of history of told here is often not heard. This book is actually a history of violence rather than nonviolence. Kurlansky tells the other side of that history; of those that were opposed to and withstood violence throughout recorded time. But the violence seems ever present unfortunately. But those I would recommend this to the most would be my fellow Christians. A decent amount of ink is used on telling another side of the history of the Church. It is inspiring and frustrating. But it ultimately gave me hope that those of us that follow Jesus today yet don't agree with the Christendom machine are not alone. Pick it up.

I remember the first time I popped in Boysetsfire's After the Eulogy album to hear the chanting of a crowd screaming, "No justice, no peace!" Chilling! ... but I wouldn't recommend anything after that album... yuck! Anyways, I digress.

This week, for my class we are discussing just that: the relationship between justice and peace. In Just Peacemaking, the section on justice argues that just economic, humanitarian and democratic processes are necessary in order for peace to be obtainable. Stassen shared with us this nifty diagram that distinguishes active peacemaking from pacifism and just war theory. To add to the conversation we also heard from Dr. Lindy Scott who shared some thoughts from his book with Rene Padilla, Terrorism and the War in Iraq: A Christian Word from Latin America. Here's my thoughts on this subject as it relates to my home, sweet, home...

The relationship between justice and peace seems logical. It is difficult to conceive of those within socially and economically unjust situations not attempting to disrupt a system which oppresses them. And the more desperate the situation, the more desperate the responses may be. Therefore, it seems reasonable that fair representation, human rights, economic stability and personal freedoms be required steps if peace is the desired outcome.

In the San Diego/Tijuana region, there is a great economic disparity between those living in San Diego and those within Tijuana. Hispanic immigrants living in San Diego without documentation are often paid unfairly and neglected basic human rights. Still, they migrate because there are fewer options in Mexico.

Even though these injustices exist, Hispanic immigrants have not violently risen up against the authorities. But they do willfully disobey U.S. immigration laws. And this does commonly bring violence against the migrant; sometimes physically, sometimes in other ways. In order for peace to be achieved, economic justice will first have to be achieved.

While war clearly is not on the horizon in this situation, the border has been increasingly militarized. As the situation escalates in this manner, Stassen’s diagram is helpful. It provides those of us that live in this region another set of questions to ask those on both sides of the issue of migration. Rather than managing how we forcefully stop migration–such as spending more money on weapons and larger walls–we can ask how it can peacefully be accomplished through sustainable economic development throughout Latin America (but especially in Baja) and advancement of immigrant, human rights in both Latin America and the U.S. (but, again, especially in San Diego). Both of these practices–addressed in just peacemaking–could potentially decrease migration and the reactionary violence due to it.

It is often stated that The Politics of Jesus is one of Christianity Today’s most influential books of the past century. I agree. Yoder’s work is frequently sited and often provides the basis for other writer’s arguments.

The book served as an introduction to Anabaptism for me. I had two assumptions about Anabaptism beforehand: that nonviolence, or pacifism, equaled withdrawal, and that salvation was rooted in the resurrection, not the cross.

Yoder, an Anabaptist, places emphasis on the cross. He writes, “The cross is not a detour or a hurdle on the way to the kingdom, nor is it even the way to the kingdom; it is the kingdom come.” This startled me! But as Yoder goes on to discuss suffering, servanthood and subordination it made all the more sense.

Further along, Yoder discusses our relationship to authorities. Here, nonviolence potentially becomes most tangible. Yoder quotes Berkhof: “All resistance and every attack against the gods of this age will be unfruitful, unless the church herself is resistance and attack, unless she demonstrates in her life and fellowship how men can live freed from the Powers.” Yoder’s argument provides another nonviolence perspective. One that engages the world; the ostracized and powerful.

As I previously posted, one the required texts for Stassen's class I am taking at Fuller was John Howard Yoder's The Politics of Jesus. I read this book about six years ago and it effected me in huge ways! Things were so busy this week that I had very little time to re-read the book for class. But I had to have it read by tonight. If you're familiar with the book, you'll appreciate the undertaking. It is a dense book! But still an immensely formative book for me and one that I love! So, below is my brief synopsis of the scope of the book (How do you do this in 300 words or less, really?!) and it's application to our class conversation. Please offer your thoughts!

Jesus’ politics are in short, submission to the authority of God–as understood primarily through the lens of the Old Testament–in all realms of life, most significantly in how we organize ourselves as the Church. The politics that Jesus embodied evoke the supremacy of God. In our service to the Creator, we seek to be the servant to all of creation. The politics of Jesus therefore require the community of those that follow him to seek equity, justice and a wholeness that lacks any semblance of violence.

I do believe that Yoder succeeds in displaying the political nature of Jesus’ life and teaching. The Politics of Jesus offers a thorough analysis of the Gospel of Luke to prove his point. As well, Yoder surveys Old Testament texts to display Jesus’ political motivations. And he examines Pauline material to defend his argument that the Early Church was animated by Jesus’ politics as well. These, along with his explanation of the contexts within which each segment of Scripture was written make his argument convincing.

It is also must be stated that Yoder provides a convincing argument for the application of Jesus’ politics today. In regards to pacifism, he shares it’s nonviolent ethic, but he does not encourage the kind of passive, social withdrawal that it is often associated with it. Rather, he advocates a rigorous social engagement. This is most evident when Yoder sites Berkhoff’s, Christ and the Powers. But it is a social engagement that “plays by it’s own rules” rather than being subject to the Powers that be. In this way, Yoder argues Jesus’ ethic to be most similar a just peacemaking theory since just peacemaking at least assumes an alternative to violence is possible, whereas just war theory does not give much regard to nonviolent options.

One of our assignments in Stassen's Biblical and Practical Peacemaking course has been to start developing a database of grassroots and church-based peacemaking websites. What I have added, I've kept specific to San Diego. Here's what I have added thus far:

San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice
The San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice coordinates a variety of protests, vigils and educational opportunities. They are helpful in connecting with other peace-oriented groups throughout San Diego. My concern is that they tend to be quite partisan politically and more anti-war than pro-peace.

Peace Resource Center of San Diego
The Peace Resource Center is located on the same campus as the local Quaker, Brethren and Mennonite congregations. They have become wonderful hosts of a variety of educational experiences, a community garden and of course faith communities. If other peacemaking groups were getting started they would benefit from networking with the people of the Resource Center and the Center would most likely be willing to host meetings for the group.

Invest-In Project
The Invest-In Project was started by San Diego teachers union leader, Eric Olson Fernandez in order to provide education opportunities about non-violence and peacemaking principles and tactics. The Project focuses on the stories and principles used by Gandhi, King and Chavez. Invest-In would be a great educational partner in starting a new peacemaking group.

Institute for Peace and Justice
The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice is not a church-based or grassroots organization but provides a variety of free workshops and seminars in regards to peacemaking. Two other such education institutions that provide helpful peace and justice resources are San Diego City College's Certificate in Peace Studies and Point Loma Nazarene University's Center for Justice and Reconciliation.

Peace and Democracy Action Group
First Universalist Church's Peace and Democracy Action Group provides the rest of their congregation with news that relates democracy and peace so that they may be not only informed but able to act on their convictions.

Peace and Justice Committee
The Peace and Justice Committee at St. Paul’s Cathedral has similarities to the group at First Unitarian Universalist but has been more active politically and in developing their own efforts.

Activist San Diego
While their site does not speak specifically to peacemaking efforts, the Activist San Diego community has been a strong grassroots peacemaking organization in San Diego for some time. As their name makes clear, they are activists that are often present at protests, vigils, etc. but they are also active in providing and promoting educational opportunities on media awareness, policy, nonviolence, urban gardening, bike repair and more.