The Old Testament Roots of Nonviolence

The Old Testament Roots of Nonviolence brings together a number of issues, showing how they fit together in one exciting story. These issues are: 1. War and Peace 2. The Great Commission (being missional) 3. Social justice and social change over time in the biblical setting This book reveals the continuity of the Old and New Testaments in the development of these three major themes over millenniums of time in the unfolding biblical story of God's creation, tough love, and redemption of the social order. It presents biblical faith as a providentially guided process in the community of faith resulting in global social change that can be observed and described as yeast in bread or seeds in soil as Jesus taught. ""Many seem to think that the non-violent, enemy-loving God revealed in Jesus Christ is altogether different from the God depicted in the Old Testament. With care and insight Philip Friesen demonstrates the fallacy of this type of thinking. While God had to make significant concessions to work with the ancient Israelites, he has always been a God of non-violence. Throughout the Old Testament, Friesen argues, God was laying the foundation for the full revelation of himself in Jesus. I heartily recommend this book for all who take Jesus' message of non-violence seriously."" --Greg Boyd author of The Myth of a Christian Religion and Letters From a Skeptic ""Philip E. Friesen draws from a rich and varied background to author The Old Testament Roots of Nonviolence. He employs the lotus imagery to accomplish this purpose, initially concerning the soil: exploring our fallen social order. Subsequently, regarding the root: Abraham's faith in God's trustworthiness, the stem: the monarchy and prophetic tradition, the flower: with Jesus' fulfillment, and growing seeds: as applicable to history and missions. It qualifies as a creative and provocative study."" --Morris Inch Wheaton College, Emeritus ""Can the Bible be a source for real social change in our contemporary broken world? Yes! Faithful to the biblical text, clearly written, explicitly Anabaptist, and moving beyond the theoretical to the practical, Friesen traces the human-divine interaction through the Old and New Testaments, noting where humanity's choices have led us closer to and further from God's vision for peace and social justice. Friesen's unique approach reaffirms our prayer, 'Thy Kingdom Come,' in these uncertain times."" --Steven Schweitzer Bethany Theological Seminary Richmond, Indiana Philip Friesen is a life-long teacher and missionary with experience on four continents in a variety of cultures. He serves at Stadium Village Church in ministry to the international community of scholars and their families at the University of Minnesota. Philip is also the Global Perspectives Fellow and Co-director of the Galilean Fellows, a meeting of scholars in Minneapolis committed equally to scholarship and mission.