Faith and Violence: Christian Teaching and Christian Practice

Mertons classic Faith and Violence makes a powerful case for a theology of resistance that speaks with enduring urgency.

Violence in the modern world is a complex matter. The majority of the worlds most egregious acts of violence are not perpetrated at the level of the individualrather, they occur at the hands of systematically organized bureaucracies. It is this white-collar violence that Merton addresses in Faith and Violence. Writing at the height of the Vietnam war, Merton masterfully illustrates the disastrous consequences of wielding and promoting violence. As an alternative, he proposes that Christians retrieve and embody a conception of love that seeks to win over ones adversaries as collaborators rather than crushing or humiliating them. Mertons poignant reflections deal with issues ranging from the Vietnam War to the civil rights movement and the mid-20th century Death of God movement.