Long-time activist, author and teacher of nonviolence, Father John Dear offers here the first ever commentary on the Synoptic Gospels from the perspective of active nonviolence, in the tradition of Gandhi and Dr. King. He walks through every line of the three synoptic Gospels pointing out Jesus’ practice and teachings of nonviolence each step of the way.

Dear’s Jesus is like Gandhi and Dr. King―nonviolent to the core, a disarming, healing presence toward those in need and a revolutionary disrupter of the unjust status quo and a political threat to the ruling authorities who succeed in killing him, only to push Jesus to the heights of nonviolence through his death and resurrection.

This original commentary brings a fresh new approach to the Gospels that will help all those who preach and engage in social ministries, and inspire everyone in this time of permanent warfare, gun violence, racism, poverty and climate change.

Through this selection from his many books, journals, poems, and homilies, a chronicle of Fr. Berrigan's life and work unfolds from the early steps in his vocation, to his decision to cross the line and go to prison, his ongoing witness for peace, and his extraordinary commentaries on scripture and the life of radical discipleship.

Jesus the Rebel explores the radical life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and shows how his witness speaks directly to our contemporary world of violence, war, poverty, and nuclear weaponry. As John Dear ponders Jesus call to discipleship, he shares his own journey of Gospel peacemaking. In jails, soup kitchens, shelters, and war zones, Jesus the bearer of God 's Peace and Justice is reborn and invites us to be transformed in our homes, workplaces, churches, communities, and hearts.

David Hartsough knows how to get in the way. He has used his body to block Navy ships headed for Vietnam and trains loaded with munitions on their way to El Salvador and Nicaragua. He has crossed borders to meet "the enemy" in East Berlin, Castro's Cuba, and present-day Iran. He has marched with mothers confronting a violent regime in Guatemala and stood with refugees threatened by death squads in the Philippines. Hartsough's stories inspire, educate, and encourage readers to find ways to work for a more just and peaceful world. Inspired by the examples of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., Hartsough has spent his life experimenting with the power of active nonviolence. Engaging stories on every page provide a peace activist's eyewitness account of many of the major historical events of the past 60 years, including the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements in the United States as well as the little-known but equally significant nonviolent efforts in the Soviet Union, Kosovo, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. "Waging Peace" is a testament to the difference one person can make; however, it is more than one man's memoir: it shows how this struggle is waged all over the world by ordinary people committed to ending the spiral of violence and war.

In the fall of 1964, Trappist monk Thomas Merton prepared to host an unprecedented gathering of peace activists. "About all we have is a great need for roots," he observed, "but to know this is already something." His remark anticipated their agenda--a search for spiritual roots to nurture sound motives for "protest." This event's originality lay in the varied religious commitments present. Convened in an era of well-kept faith boundaries, members of Catholic (lay and clergy), mainline Protestant, historic peace church, and Unitarian traditions participated. Ages also varied, ranging from twenty-three to seventy-nine. Several among the fourteen who gathered are well known today among faith-based peace advocates: the Berrigan brothers, Jim Forest, Tom Cornell, John Howard Yoder, A. J. Muste, and Merton himself. During their three days together, insights and wisdom from these traditions would intersect and nourish each other. By the time they parted, their effort had set down solid roots and modeled interreligious collaboration for peace work that would blossom in coming decades. Here for the first time, the details of those vital discussions have been reconstructed and made accessible to again inspire and challenge followers of Christ to confront the powers and injustices of today. "If Thomas Merton held a retreat in the '60s on the spiritual roots of protest--attended by Daniel Berrigan, John Howard Yoder, A. J. Muste, and ten more great Christian peacemakers--would you want to be there? Gordon Oyer's exhaustively researched, inspiring story of just such a legendary retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani feels like faith on trial at the edge of the end of the world. Read it and see." --Jim Douglass, author, JFK and the Unspeakable "A meticulously researched account of a historical event whose ramifications are as apposite today as when they were first discussed, perhaps more so. The prophetic voices and the witness of the retreat participants are brought to life in Oyer's engaging narrative, echoing from the Gethsemani woods down through the ages, still struggling to be heard against the techno-babble, the inertia felt by so many, and the ever more sophisticated war machine of our world today." --Paul M. Pearson, Director, Thomas Merton Center "Three powerful faith traditions . . . converged for the first time at that legendary1964 retreat hosted by Merton. . . . Any of us who seek today to bear public witness to the gospel, justice, and political imagination are truly 'children' of that conversation a half century ago. . . . We are walking in their footsteps. Oyer has gifted us with a magnificent chronicle of the contemporary spiritual roots of protest." --Ched Myers, Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries Gordon Oyer is an administrator with the University of Illinois system and has an MA in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the past editor of Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly, has served on different regional Mennonite historical committees, and is the author of various articles on Mennonite history.

"How can we become people of nonviolence and help the world become more nonviolent? What does it mean to be a person of active nonviolence? How can we help build a global grassroots movement of nonviolence to disarm the world, relieve unjust human suffering, make a more just society and protect creation and all creatures? What is a nonviolent life?" These are the questions John Dear, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Pace e Bene staff member poses in his latest book, The Nonviolent Life. He focuses on three important aspects on the path toward becoming people of nonviolence - being nonviolent toward ourselves; being nonviolent to all others (including creation and creatures); and joining the global grassroots movement of nonviolence. After thirty years of preaching the Gospel of nonviolence John says he has never found a book that completely captures these crucial elements of nonviolent living. According to John, "most people pick one or two of these dimensions, but few do all three. To become a fully rounded, three dimensional person of nonviolence we need to do all three simultaneously." In this book, John Dear explores the powerful journey of nonviolence rooted in the Christian vision of love. He also offers discussion questions throughout the book making it ideal for study groups seeking to go deeper into the nonviolent life. Order your copy today and journey with John along the path of the nonviolence. Published by Pace e Bene Press

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