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Overcoming Evil God's Way: The Biblical and Historical Case for Nonresistance
We live in a world wracked with violence and despair. Does that mean that every act of violence must be met with an equal or greater counterblow? Overcoming Evil God's Way asserts that the biblical message offers hope of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation in place of hatred, vengeance, and fear. This book looks at both the historical and the biblical evidence for the nonresistant lifestyle of the Christian. Some of the themes the book deals with:
Why do Christians disagree among themselves about war?
What is the overarching narrative of the Bible, and what does it have to say about peace?
What is the Christian's right and just battle?
What is the biblical model for the Christian life?
How have Platonism and Islamic thought weakened the church's grasp on nonresistance?
What place does the gospel of peace have in winning Muslims and others who have discounted the Christian message, life, and community?
Overcoming Evil God's Way includes a Study Guide which makes it useful for personal and group study and discussion.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 29, 2024
Wow, my generation needs to read this book. Mr. Russell addresses the issue of violence and nonresistance by diving deep into the history of the Church, early to current. This book also indirectly addresses the topic of Christian identity as a conservative anabaptist. My takeaway... In order for us live rightly in today's world we need to evaluate our experience living in it, out of a Christocentric worldview. Our commitment to a biblical nonresistance really just stems from this worldview. In essence, this would be our correctly oriented identity as renewed sinners now made sons and daughters bringing Christ's kingdom of love to the everyday. As conservative anabaptists we have an advantage because the two kingdom concept is one of our deeply held beliefs. Nonresistance as a piece of this concept is a beautiful way to show Christ's true nature to the world and is not something to be ashamed of. Incompletely or incorrectly understood, nonresistance can seem weak, stupid, or wrong, especially when confronted with hypothetical scenarios. Instead it is God's way, the only way, to bring healing and reconciliation to the way this broken world operates. I'd definitely recommend this to any Menno looking to put a little zeal behind our unique and special faith tradition.
July 25, 2010
Stephen Russell writes of the Biblical and historical case for nonresistance in this book. Russell is a member of the Anabaptist tradition and writes from that point of view. Initially I was put off by much of the “born again” language and other non-inclusive phrases, but I came to appreciate his book anyway.
He starts off with defining nonresistance and explaining why he wrote the book. The definition I enjoyed the most was; “Wehrlosigkeit” Which in German means defenselessness. Defenselessness is a good way to sum up nonresistance. His reasons for writing have mostly to do with his Anabaptist tradition, and so have very little meaning to me. Though I appreciate them, and am glad he shared his reasoning.
Stephen goes through the Old and New Testaments and argues that nonresistance was taught from the beginning. He makes a compelling argument. Actually for the teachings of Jesus I don’t see how anyone can come away with anything other than nonresistance. He did breeze through the difficult passages, and did not really over any compelling argument, though I agree with Russell that the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of nonresistance.
The portion of the book dealing with nonresistance in the church’s history was the most fascinating parts of the book to me. I have not studied Anabaptist history before, and it was good to hear from an insider’s point of view.
You can definitely tell that Russell is a teacher from his writing style. He is repetitive and feels the need to summarize often. The target audience seems to be those still in school. The book is not too academic, and it is not mere fluff. Good easy reading that is clear.
Well worth the time to read. I will take time to consider the argument. Personally I agree that nonresistance is a lifestyle that Jesus wants for his people. Not sure I agree with the nonparticipation in politics, but peaceable living is what we should aim for.
He starts off with defining nonresistance and explaining why he wrote the book. The definition I enjoyed the most was; “Wehrlosigkeit” Which in German means defenselessness. Defenselessness is a good way to sum up nonresistance. His reasons for writing have mostly to do with his Anabaptist tradition, and so have very little meaning to me. Though I appreciate them, and am glad he shared his reasoning.
Stephen goes through the Old and New Testaments and argues that nonresistance was taught from the beginning. He makes a compelling argument. Actually for the teachings of Jesus I don’t see how anyone can come away with anything other than nonresistance. He did breeze through the difficult passages, and did not really over any compelling argument, though I agree with Russell that the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of nonresistance.
The portion of the book dealing with nonresistance in the church’s history was the most fascinating parts of the book to me. I have not studied Anabaptist history before, and it was good to hear from an insider’s point of view.
You can definitely tell that Russell is a teacher from his writing style. He is repetitive and feels the need to summarize often. The target audience seems to be those still in school. The book is not too academic, and it is not mere fluff. Good easy reading that is clear.
Well worth the time to read. I will take time to consider the argument. Personally I agree that nonresistance is a lifestyle that Jesus wants for his people. Not sure I agree with the nonparticipation in politics, but peaceable living is what we should aim for.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews