Notice board
Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00
What are the effects of violence on those who perpetrate it and on its
victims? Can there be such a thing as a just war? These and other questions are
discussed by S. Wesley Ariarajah in his Axis of Peace: Christian faith
in times of violence and war. The author encourages people of faith to
work against terror at every level (World Council of Churches Publications,
£8.40; 2-8254-1394-1).
Does the Bible Justify Violence? is a short reflection on
the links between violence and the sacred. John Collins looks at the ways in
which the Bible appears to endorse a violent approach, and addresses the
questions of interpretation which are thrown up as a result (Fortress Press,
£3.99; 0-8006-3689-9).
Also on this theme is René Girard's Violence and the Sacred
. It was originally published in French in 1972, and an English translation
followed five years later. Now it is reissued by Continuum, which is making
available a series of important theological works (£11.99 (
£10.80);
0-8264-7718-6). Girard looks at violence in history, literature and myth,
arguing that it is at the heart of sacred things.
In 2002, Kenizé Mourad went to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip,
and talked to ordinary people who were living in those areas. In Our
Sacred Land: Voice of the Palestine-Israel conflict, he tells us their
stories (Oneworld Publications, £10.99 (
£9.90);
1-85168-357-7).
The Historic Peace Churches met in June 2001, which was six months into the
Decade to Overcome Violence. Their conversations are documented in a collection
of essays entitled Seeking Cultures of Peace, and this has
been edited by Fernando Enns, Scott Holland, and Ann Riggs (World Council of
Churches Publications, £12.90; 2-8254-1402-6).