Playing off a child's question concerning whether parents would put their son to death on a cross, this book plunges headlong into the ongoing debate about the character of God. The church confesses that God is revealed in Jesus. This book explores the implications of that radical claim. Jesus' life reveals his rejection of violence and calls for an understanding of God in nonviolent terms. Weaver thus invites us to embrace a nonviolent atonement image, in contrast to our inherited atonement images. Deriving theology from the narrative of Jesus also leads Weaver into discussions about the very nature of theology, the character of the Bible, the divine violence in the Old Testament (as well as the purported divine violence in the book of Revelation), and a rethinking of historic Christology. Each of these discussions has implications for life today--for economics, forgiveness and restorative justice, violence, gender discrimination, racism, and more. This second, expanded edition of God Without Violence is an introduction to foundational issues of theology and ethics, suitable for church discussion groups and introductory college classes.

This bold new statement on the nonviolence of God challenges long-standing assumptions of divine violence in theology, the violent God pictured in the Old Testament, and the supposed violence of God in Revelation. In The Nonviolent God J. Denny Weaver argues that since God is revealed in Jesus, the nonviolence of Jesus most truly reflects the character of God. According to Weaver, the way Christians live -- Christian ethics -- is an ongoing expression of theology. Consequently, he suggests positive images of the reign of God made visible in the narrative of Jesus -- nonviolent practice, forgiveness and restorative justice, issues of racism and sexism, and more -- in order that Christians might live more peacefully.

A provocative study that cuts to the very heart of Christian thought, The Nonviolent Atonement challenges the traditional, Anselmian understanding of atonement along with the assumption that heavenly justice depends on Christ s passive, innocent submission to violent death at the hands of a cruel God. Instead J. Denny Weaver offers a thoroughly nonviolent paradigm for understanding atonement, grounded in the New Testament and sensitive to the concerns of pacifist, black, feminist, and womanist theology. While many scholars have engaged the subject of violence in atonement theology, Weaver s Nonviolent Atonement is the only book that offers a radically new theory rather than simply refurbishing existing theories. Key features of this revised and updated second edition include new material on Paul and Anselm, expanded discussion on the development of violence in theology, interaction with recent scholarship on atonement, and response to criticisms of Weaver s original work. Praise for the first edition: The best current single volume on reconstructing the theology of atonement. S. Mark Heim in Anglican Theological Review Weaver provides an important contribution to atonement theories by seriously inserting the contemporary concerns of pacifist, feminist, womanist, and black theologians into the centuries-old christological conversation. . . . A provocative but faithful proposal benefiting any student of christology. Religious Studies Review A noteworthy contribution to the literature on the atonement. Weaver provides a useful critique of the history of atonement motifs; he does a fine job of placing Anselm s theology in its historical context; he creatively fuses a singular biblical vision from the earthly narrative of the Gospels and the cosmic perspective of the Apocalypse; and he attempts to relate discussions of the atonement to Christian social ethics. Trinity Journal This is a superb succinct survey and analysis of classical and contemporary theories of the atonement, ideal for students and general readers. . . . A clearly written, passionately expressed introduction to current debates on the atonement. . . . Excellent resource. Reviews in Religion and Theology

How can we make sense of violence in the Bible? Joshua commands the people of Israel to wipe out everyone in the promised land of Canaan, while Jesus commands God’s people to love their enemies. How are we to interpret biblical passages on violence when it is sanctioned at one point and condemned at another? The Violence of the Biblical God by L. Daniel Hawk presents a new framework, solidly rooted in the authority of Scripture, for understanding the paradox of God’s participation in violence. Hawk shows how the historical narrative of the Bible offers multiple canonical pictures for faithful Christian engagement with the violent systems of the world.

Are lawyers, by their very nature, agents of the state, of capital, of institutions of power? Or are there ways in which they can work constructively or transformatively for the disempowered, the working class, the underprivileged? Lawyers in a Postmodern World explores how lawyers actively create the forms of power which they and others deploy. Through engaging case studies, the book examines how lawyers work within and for powerful institutions and provides suggestions--both general and practical--for ways in which the practice of law can be made to work with and for the powerless. Individuals chapters address such subjects as the contradictions of radical law practice; legal work in South Africa; the economics and politics of negotiating justice; feminist legal scholarship and women's gendered lives; the overlapping worlds of law, business, and politics; theories of legal practice; and how lawyers are constitutive of gender relations. Contributing to the book are Maureen Cain (University of West Indies), Yves Dezalay (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), Martha Fineman (Columbia University), Sue Lees (University of North London), Doreen McBarnet (Wolfson College, Oxford), Frank Munger (SUNY, Buffalo), Wilfried Scharf (University of Cape Town), Stuart Scheingold (University of Washington), David Sugarman (Lancaster University), and Sally Wheeler (University of Nottingham).

Playing off a five-year-old boy's question concerning whether parents would put their son to death on a cross, this book plunges headlong into the ongoing debate about the character of God. Following the historic faith confession that God is revealed in Jesus, the book's first chapter sketches the life and teaching of Jesus. That life, which reveals Jesus' rejection of violence, calls for an understanding of God in nonviolent terms. Weaver thus invites us to embrace a nonviolent atonement image, which stands as a direct challenge to the inherited atonement images. Deriving theology from the narrative of Jesus also leads Weaver into discussions about the very nature of theology, the character of the Bible, the divine violence in the Old Testament (as well as the purported divine violence in the book of Revelation), and a rethinking of historic Christology. Each of these discussions has implications for life today--implications for economics, forgiveness, violence, gender discrimination, racism, and more. The book is thus an introduction to foundational issues of theology and ethics, suitable for church discussion groups and introductory college classrooms. ""Inviting us to 'live the story of Jesus' and to 'join the conversation' the Bible poses about the character and identity of God, Denny winsomely guides us in reading the Bible as revealing a nonviolent and loving God. This is a wonderful book for Sunday School or discussion groups--accessible and compelling in its presentation of a coherent theology that resonates with the best of our contemporary values."" --James Rissler, Pastor, Atlanta Mennonite Fellowship ""Denny Weaver pulls together various strands from his long-term, fruitful project of reconfiguring theology in light of biblical nonviolence. This accessible and forceful call to a substantive engagement with nonviolence challenges us to embody Jesus' way of peace in thought and deed--consistently and practically. A timely and coherent message for the twenty-first century."" --Ted Grimsrud, Author of Instead of Atonement: The Bible's Salvation Story and Our Hope for Wholeness ""Drawing upon his groundbreaking work in narrative theology in The Nonviolent Atonement and The Nonviolent God, J. Denny Weaver has now written a practical, accessible guide for ordinary Christians on its implications for the most important issues of our day: economic justice, racism, gender equality, and care of creation. This book is a must-read for any serious Christian concerned about living the way of Jesus in the midst of our violent world."" --Scott Anderson, Executive Director, Wisconsin Council of Churches ""In this fresh and superb work, J. Denny Weaver challenges the church to loop back, again and again, to our Christian roots found in the story of Jesus. By some miracle he was able to write an accessible resource and also intertwine several of his key theological contributions from former books into one text. Read this book with others, and expect a meaningful conversation to open around how we can embody the narrative of Jesus for our time."" --Drew G. I. Hart, Assistant Professor of Theology, Messiah College; Author of Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism J. Denny Weaver is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Bluffton University, Ohio. Among his recent books are Becoming Anabaptist (2nd ed., 2005); Defenseless Christianity (co-authored, 2009); The Nonviolent Atonement (2nd. ed., 2011); The Nonviolent God (2013); and John Howard Yoder: Radical Theologian (co-authored, 2014).

An updated edition showcasing the social health of the least religious nations in the world Religious conservatives around the world often claim that a society without a strong foundation of faith would necessarily be an immoral one, bereft of ethics, values, and meaning. Indeed, the Christian Right in the United States has argued that a society without God would be hell on earth. In Society without God, Second Edition sociologist Phil Zuckerman challenges these claims. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews with more than 150 citizens of Denmark and Sweden, among the least religious countries in the world, he shows that, far from being inhumane, crime-infested, and dysfunctional, highly secular societies are healthier, safer, greener, less violent, and more democratic and egalitarian than highly religious ones. Society without God provides a rich portrait of life in a secular society, exploring how a culture without faith copes with death, grapples with the meaning of life, and remains content through everyday ups and downs. This updated edition incorporates new data from recent studies, updated statistics, and a revised Introduction, as well as framing around the now more highly developed field of secular studies. It addresses the dramatic surge of irreligion in the United States and the rise of the “nones,” and adds data on societal health in specific US states, along with fascinating context regarding which are the most religious and which the most secular.