Jesus and Nonviolence A Third Way by Wink, Walter [Fortress Press,2003]

by Walter Wink

More than ever, Walter Wink believes, the Christian tradition of nonviolence is needed as an alternative to the dominant and death-dealing "powers" of our consumerist culture and fractured world. In this small book Wink offers a precis of his whole thinking about this issue, including the relation of Jesus and his message to politics and nonviolence, the history of nonviolent efforts, and how nonviolence can win the day when others don't hesitate to resort to violence or terror to achieve their aims.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Christianity, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christian, Politics

Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Dr. Walter Wink was Professor Emeritus of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. Previously, he was a parish minister and taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 1989-1990 he was a Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace.

His newer works include:

The Human Being: Jesus and the Enigma of the Son of the Man
(Fortress Press, 2001.)

Peace Is The Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation. (Edited by Walter Wink. Orbis Books, 2000.)

The Powers That Be:Theology for a New Millennium
(New York: Doubleday, 1999)

Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999)

He is author of a trilogy, The Powers:

Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984)

Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986)

Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of
Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992)

His other works include:

When the Powers Fall: Reconciliation in the Healing of Nations
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998). Swedish edition: Healing a Nation's Wounds: Reconciliation on the Road to Democracy (Uppsala, Sweden: Life and Peace Institute, 1997)

Cracking the Gnostic Code: The Powers in Gnosticism (Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993)

Violence and Nonviolence in South Africa (Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1987). (Out of print)

Transforming Bible Study, second edition (Nashville: Abingdon, 1990) (Out of print)

The Bible in Human Transformation (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973). (Out of print)

John the Baptist in the Gospel Tradition (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1968). (Out of print)

Proclamation 5: Holy Week, Year B (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993). (Out of print)

Reviews

[Donald Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barely more than a pamphlet this is a fairly comprehensive sermon on the Christian teachings of resistance to oppression. The logic and advocacy are quite inspiring and uplifting.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, compelling argument for nonviolence in a violent world. This way is not a way of "passivity," as in some excuse to ignore reality and do nothing. This way requires strength, conviction, courage, creativity, intelligence, and patience. It requires seeing through and past things as they are and learning how to work "against the grain" of human nature. It requires recognizing the destructive nature of power plays and schemes, and their inability to create real, lasting change. This makes a way for REAL hope to come in, from unexpected places. God's ways are higher than our ways, He says, and yet we still tend to believe that what comes most naturally to us, what seems most reasonable to us, must still be the best way...
Perhaps we should all question this tendency more, and ask why we are still acting upon it... and should we be?

Wink gives extensive time to exploring the life of Christ, and how He creatively, wittily, and powerfully turned the tables on his enemies again and again. Eventually He used His enemy's ultimate weapon, death, to dismantle an entire system of bondage. Wink also gives plenty of stories to flesh out the ideas he offers, as well as some practical helps on how to begin and what to expect. He does a great job on not simply telling the readers what to think, but rather engaging us in a process of discovering WHY we think the way we do, and HOW that might be reimagined.

This is a short book but powerful! Jam-packed and worth studying.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't record on here when I read this book the first time, so I don't know how long it has been. However, I dipped back in today because I was reflecting on the eschatological nature of peace during Advent and, as it is a short book, I read the whole thing. I certainly appreciated the insights I underlined before (re-reads are always great for telling you who you used to be); however, I also came away with a renewed appreciation for the way Wink is a student of not just non-violence but of liberation theology. He gives tons of examples of Latin American resistance and critiques blanket statements of non-violence that morally equate the desperate resistance of the oppressed with the violence of oppressive systems. He also compares and contrasts Jesus' third way with Saul Alinsky's community organizing model. I found these more fruitful and helpful this time around.

What is Jesus' Third Way? It isn't the moderate path between Leftist and Rightist ideologies. It is the observation that there are generally two responses people make towards injustice: (1) violent retaliation and revolution or (2) passivism. The nonviolence of Jesus is not violent, but it is also not passive. It creates a creative alternative to violence, rehumanizes the oppressor, calls us to enemy love, and breaks the cycle of humiliation.

I think Wink's work on the powers is phenomenal, and he illuminates a way to follow Jesus in our struggle for justice.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

It struck me while reading this that "nonviolence" is not the same thing as Pacifism. The latter includes the former, certainly, but the latter has political connotations that the former does not.

Wink suggests that "nonviolence" is a third way beyond Institutional Violence and Pacifism. The former, argues Wink, represents the "principalities and powers" while Pacifism simply accepts the status quo, thus further strengthening the powers. I think Wink's analysis of the situation is a bit simplistic, but he offers some unique insights on application.

Wink rebuts crass readings of Jesus and Romans 13 that urge passivity. In its context, true nonviolence "provides a way to take on the system in a way that unmasks its essential cruelty and burlesque its pretensions to justice, law, and order" (Wink 21). In other words, we are to deprive the oppressor of a situation where force is effective.

In short, Wink argues, quoting Ghandi, nonviolent revolution is a "program transforming relationships, ending in a peaceful transfer of power" (71).

So what do we make of it? In today's Big Brother state whose methods of warfare are simply beyond what we can fathom, any attempt at "armed rebellion" is essentially suicide. Jesus knew that. The apostles knew that. Practically speaking, it is. These principles of nonviolence allow for a way to deconstruct social situations that affirm the humanity of the Other, thus ending at and aiming for an ontology of peace.

This sounds good on paper, as Wink is well aware of. Most of the examples of nonviolence, while successful, were quite nervy. Most people probably aren't up for that.

This book is a marked improvement on Wink's earlier treatments, though with some shortcomings. To be sure, Wink acknowledges that Communists and Marxists have done terrible evils (he was noticeably silent in Unmasking the Powers on this point). On the other hand, Wink continually rails against "The Powers and Principalities," but we are never quite sure "who" these entities are. I realize he covered that in his earlier volume, but he could have spent two more pages explaining it here.

All in all, an enjoyable read.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing could have prepared me for learning that this man is the father of a founding member of the Blue Man Group.

Review to come! I swear, I'm gonna get my reviews together.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short, succinct overview of the principles and practices of nonviolence and pacifism. Wink draws primarily, as one would expect, on the teachings of Jesus, Gandhi--particularly Gandhi's principle of Satyagraha ("truth force")--and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wink discusses the manner in which nonviolent resistance to injustice can be carried out, and he gives numerous historical examples of how nonviolence has worked in the past, focusing especially on India's struggles against the UK, the US civil rights movement, and the Philippines' overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos.

Wink takes great pains to distinguish between passive pacifism and aggressive, active pacifism, arguing that Jesus, Gandhi, and King all advocated and practiced the latter: pacifism does not have to be a mere laying down and allowing the oppressor to wreak destruction; rather, pacifism can and should be a forceful but still nonviolent resistance.

This is a very quick and easy read that provides a condensed summary of nonviolent praxis as well as a great deal of food for thought.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walter Wink's book, JESUS AND NONVIOLENCE: A THIRD WAY starts out strong and keeps getting stronger.

Take this gem from page six: "The issue is not, 'What must I do in order to secure my salvation?' but rather, 'What does God require of me in response to the needs of others?'"

Throughout his book, Wink systematically and powerfully lays out a case for Christian nonviolence. He suggests that there are three basic ways to respond to evil - passivity, violent opposition or militant nonviolence. Wink says Jesus chose and calls us to the third option.

In light of this, faithful Sunday school attendees may be a little shocked at Wink's interpretation of Jesus suggesting that his followers turn the other cheek, give up your cloak and go the extra mile. In each case, far from being acts of passivity or acquiescence towards evil, in Wink's view, each of Jesus' statements is an example of radical, nonviolent action.

"Jesus suggests amplifying an injustice [by turning the other cheek, going the extra mile or giving up your cloak] in order to expose the fundamental wrongness of legalized oppression."

Within this framework, Jesus is not the impossibly meek-and-mild guy who got angry only once, overturning some moneylenders' carts in the temple. "Jesus abhors both passivity and violence as responses to evil," says Wink.

As you might expect such a stance makes for an interesting approach to handling evil. "Jesus' teaching is a kind of moral jujitsu, a martial art for using the momentum of evil to throw it," Wink writes.

Jesus being who he was, there's a lot more going on in his moral universe than good triumphing over evil. "Jesus' intent wasn't only to disarm the enemy, but to hold open the possibility of the enemy becoming just."

So just how do we, being human, hope to accomplish this mind-bending possibility on earth?

According to Link there are three rules for nonviolent engagement:
1. Honor the humanity of others,
2. Believe that God can transform them,
3. Treat others with dignity and respect

And in the end, all of these actions will disarm the myth of redemptive violence used by those who are doing the oppressing.

Towards the end of his book, Link makes this prophetic statement (writing in 2003): "Love of enemies, for our time, has become the litmus test of authentic Christian faith. Commitment to justice, liberation, or the overthrow of oppression is not enough. Love of enemies is the recognition that they too are children of God."

This whole idea of loving our enemies, says Link, leads to the central question: "How can I find God in my enemy? Salvation used to be a purely private affair [Luther's claim of] justification by faith through grace, has now, in our age, grown to embrace the world."

What is simply amazing to me is not just the depth but the clarity and timeliness of Link's message. For anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus, or is in the least bit interested in the relevance of Jesus' message, especially with today's sensitivity towards social justice, or lack of it, JESUS AND NONVIOLENCE: A THIRD WAY speaks eloquently.

[Northpapers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling and concise. Wink writes from years of experience, deep conviction, and a clear view of history.

I read this one after reading Richard B. Hays's treatment of violence in defense of justice in The Moral Vision of the New Testament. This book was an excellent companion piece.

Wink acknowledges the effort, patience, and creativity required for nonviolence, and distinguishes Christian nonviolence from other forms of resistance.

He also offers instructive stories ranging from international crises to confronting school bullies. As a minister to youth who face dire circumstances both politically and in their private lives, I found ground for hope in reading this book.

I was hoping as I read for a helpful treatment of how political activity relates to the rest of the Gospel of Jesus, but that was outside the scope of this slim book.

[Andy Littleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful and, I believe, accurate exploration of the text that leads many people to believe Christians should be passive or a “doormat” in the face of injustice. A critique of violent residence, Christian passivity, and countering evil with evil. Needed in our day! I don’t share all of Wink’s perspectives in general from what I can deduce, but found little that this little book was well considered and applied to Christians. The book suggests a much more costly and Christ-like way forward in a world filled with fighting and quest to regain power.

[Aaron Riobe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful little book. Love the history cited on the effectiveness of nonviolent resistances (and the oft ineffectiveness of violent ones). Has philosophically changed the way I approach life, and would recommend to all.

[Adam Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If God can forgive, redeem, and transform me, I must also believe that God can work such wonders
with anyone. Love of enemies is seeing one's oppressors through the prism of the Reign of God-not only as they now are but also as they can become: transformed by the power of God.”

[Adam Eveleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 'it was OK' (2 stars on Goodreads)

Wink makes great points and uses some examples from the Gospels which I hadn't seen in a nonviolent light before, so they certainly expanded how I thought about things, but overall this just didn't have as deep or as many arguments as were needed to fully persuade me that Jesus is all about nonviolence. I suspect and hope that he is, and I think Wink has actually helped me to reconcile my hope that nonviolence is right and that Jesus would support it, but I can't say more than this 'was OK' because I just wasn't fully convinced, the argumentation just wasn't persuasive enough for me. Others reading this may find different, however, so I certainly recommend this book for a read! Maybe if I read more on this topic I will become more convinced and I may come back and review this rating if so.

[Katie Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding Jesus as a brown, Jewish Aramaic-speaking man who undoubtedly participates in the rabbinical tradition of his cultural and religious context has shifted my faith significantly over the past few years. It is this localization that has helped me to experience Jesus as a liberator and identify Jesus as part of the stream of non-violent prayerful action against acts of oppression. Due to this being my orientation already, Wink’s book did not necessarily give me new information as much as it clearly articulates ideas and thoughts that I have been experiencing internally for awhile.

I like Wink’s distinction here that the commitment of Jesus is to the dismantling of oppression, but not with the same destructive tools of the oppressor. This sense of a third way - one beyond fight or flight - is not unique to the Christian tradition, but a good argument can be made for its existence in the literature. With the merging of empire with religion, this sense of liberation from oppressive power structures loses the place of prominence that it certainly appears to have had early on. The explanation Wink gives of how Jesus’ teachings are actually invitations to turn the power of oppression on itself is intriguing. It is a difficult thing to acknowledge that we must find creative ways to resist evil without dehumanizing those who commit it. This orientation requires being deeply grounded in love and peace as well as patience as one reimagines not just the eradication of the current oppression, but a world in which oppression is unable to exist. This is why our approach matters as much (if not more) than our goal. In our approach, we are writing the script for what it is we value most and therefore what the world will look like on the other side of the change we desperately long for.

This idea of transformation is a powerful one. Seeing ourselves (and therefore seeing God) in the other may be one of the hardest practices one ever chooses to engage with. This idea that everyone wins is counter to the dominant narrative that assumes there will always be winners and losers, but again is a testament to the idea that a third way is possible. This is the depth of true love - a love that is so strong and so deep that it reaches to those who cannot return that love to us in the hope that in the receiving of love they too will experience the necessary transformation to become the conduits of love that they are capable of being. This comes at a great cost to the love-giver, and says something about the suffering of God who continually demonstrates this generous love towards all of God’s creation. The dismantling of oppression will not be complete until the hardened hearts of those who understand no other way have softened by the receiving of radical and undeserved love. This is why the picture of a God who would rather suffer death and shame than inflict punishment and anger is such a compelling one. It is an invitation to look to God as the ultimate role model of justice seeking through suffering love rather than justice seeking by power plays.

If acknowledging the humanity in those who dehumanize us was not hard enough, the awareness required to see the same propensity within oneself might be the most painful of all. Humanizing those who stand against us requires us to also acknowledge the violence of our own inner worlds. The culture that we live in and the things we have experienced are deeply ingrained in our subconscious thought. They form patterns of behavior and thought that do not always seek the good of the other. In addition to this, as members of a communal humanity we each also bear the marks, receive the privileges, and carry the responsibility of the acts of others. This collective reckoning does not allow us to point the finger towards anyone, but towards us all. Acts of violence at their core are failings of the collective as much as the individual. I perceive myself as a nonviolent person, but the reality is I type this on a computer made with parts likely obtained through slave labor and experience the privilege of an education denied to others due to my location, race, and class. This makes me a participant in the very system that perpetuates violence and that I say I want to change. This is a difficult reality to face but also a liberating one because it allows me to face all that is broken (including the ways I myself am as well) which becomes the vulnerable place where healing begins and conversations start. Collective reimagining of a better world starts with a collective truth telling (and repentance) for the ways things currently are. Nonviolence is not just an idea, it is a way of living that points to the possibility of a new way - for all of us.

Speaking as someone who finds my own home in the Christian tradition, I think that conversations about nonviolence also have to talk about the ways that Christians have historically not lived into that identity with tragic consequences for so many. While it is natural for us to want to put distance between ourselves and those that articulate rhetoric that is destructive - we have to acknowledge that our position has been the minority one (and in many ways continues to be) and affirm the weariness of those who have been dealing with violence in the name of Christ for a very long time. Quick, dismissive statements that try to separate “us from them” are an invitation for us to consider how we build bridges to transform by love those who share the same religious tradition but ideologically are farther from us than some of those who are part of other religious traditions. Just as Wink talks about the individual coming to terms with finding the enemy in oneself, as a Christian tradition we also need to become more truthful about the ways we have become the greatest enemy to our shared commitment to loving God and neighbor.

Overall, a fantastic little primer that makes a strong case for Christian nonviolence.

[Matias Uusisilta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clearly written book that shows that Jesus never taught the oppressed to cheerfully turn the other cheek but to rise against the powers that be in a strategic way that is neither fight nor flight. Wink arguments for this Third way in a comprehensive way and gives a thorough list of examples from the recent history of successful nonviolent revolutions. The book really made me think about how natural it is for us humans to consider violence when confronted by oppression or injustice, when it is arguably more ethical and pragmatic to use nonviolent means. This being said, Wink manages not to take a moral high ground that condones all violence, but to merely argue that, in most cases nonviolence is the more effective and human approach, when demanding change. A good read for Christians and nonreligious activists alike.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It’s my first time reading anything by Walter Wink and now I want to read his books about the “powers.” In this short book on non-violence Wink helpfully disambiguates non-violence from total pacifism. He gives clear, helpful explanations of Jesus’ sayings about non-violence as well as numerous historical and contemporary (to 2003) examples of violence or non-violence used to overthrow oppressive governments. I found this book inspiring not only for social engagement but also how I live my life. I am encouraged to try to “embody the better life [I] seek ahead.” (102)

[cynthia long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pacifism or choosing ‘neutrality’ in a situation of oppression or grave injustice, is choosing to prioritise yourself, your sense of innocence, guiltlessness, righteousness and piety, over the needs of others and standing with them against their oppressors.

Antistenai translated in Matthew 5:38-41 as do not resist an evildoer. But in Greek, it refers to lethal disturbance/ violent revolution. Jesus is saying not to retaliate violence with violence. He was not opposed to opposing evil, but had a clear image of how to do this. Jesus’ 3rd way is militant non-violence.

The third way breaks apart the binary or violence or passivity; submission or revolt.

Original translation was a tool by a sovereign monarch (King James) to have the Bible prop up his monarchical absolutism, mandating people to not revolt against his authority.

‚Turn also the right cheek’ would require the inflictor to use their unclean left hand/ back of their right hand to strike. This was regarded as inferior, punishable even. It would humiliate the offender to do this, robbing them of further power to humiliate: turning the right cheek also would indicate that the victim is denouncing the humiliating power of the first blow, stripping the oppressor of the power to dehumanise the victim.

Example with the debtors, giving the outer and inner garments to humiliate the creditor… is that not manipulation?

Jesus giving ways that oppressed people can assert/ recover their dignity in a situation which seemingly can’t be changed. Eg taking back the power of choice by carrying the pack 2 miles, not the upper legal limit of 1. These are examples of loving confrontation. Revolting against the fight or flight principles of natural selection.

Turning the other cheek as the impetus for finding a creative alternative to the fight or flight binary.
Non-violence is not the final objective; it is a lifestyle that can lead towards humanity.

Use of the law as a tool to expose the enemy/ oppressors eg by highlighting the extent of illegality they’re willing to go to, to maintain their privilege. It is cowardly to continue obeying laws that are unjust.

Need for a constructive alternative - Jesus’ was the Reign of God: establishing a counter-community to the one under the reign of the Roman Empire.

Jesus’ non-violence is not just about resisting the oppressor, but about holding open the possibility for them becoming just. Thus the injunction to pray for our enemies’ transformation and bless them with God’s love. Not using any tool against the enemy, which we wouldn’t want them to use against us.

Simultaneous affirmation of our own humanity and the humanity of our enemies. A dual assertion of dignity.

Ezer

Chapter 4
Comparison of violent vs non-violent struggles and the comparative deaths caused. But what about eg the deaths caused by auxiliary factors of eg the non-viol civil rights movement? How are they counting? Are some deaths not just discounted bc of lack of direct connection to the movement?

Non-violence is hard work and requires organising, preparation and discipline

Love of the enemy = recognising that the enemy is also a child of God, containing within them the possibility of transformation
Loving the enemy as the key to human survival and to deep personal transformation

Have to show and love the good within people before being able to point out their errors.

Gandhi’s Satyagraha ‘truth force’ as freeing the oppressor from their oppressive actions. Acknowledging their victimhood to powers beyond themselves, forcing them to act in oppressive ways (but what about agency?)

Jesus’ non-violence doesn’t presuppose a threshold of moral decency in people, but something of God in everyone. Viewing all people through the lens of the reign of God - possible to be redeemed, forgiven, transformed. Responding to them in violence would be like denying them the possibility of change by perpetuating the kingdom of evil.

The third way uses means it wants to see expressed in the new order. Nonviolent revolution isn’t a power seizing program but a way to transform relationships, leading to peaceful transfer of power.
Violence reproduces the patterns of the existing order but doesn’t disrupt or change it.

Civil disobedience coupled with deep respect for law…. Hm how. It is because of respect for the principle of law, that we challenge unjust laws.

Engaging evil is a spiritual act as it requires us to confront that very same evil within ourselves. Spiritual discipline required to neutralise the oppressor within - the force within us that does not want to be redeemed. Internal work is always the starting point for challenging injustice.

Shouldn’t judge the oppressed resorting to violence because it’s not the main problem, just a symptom of an unjust society.

‘Peace is not the highest good; it is rather the outcome of a just social order’

Non-violence as something you can’t arrive at rationally, but what you inherit spiritually, through grace. It is something that must be collectively practiced.

Jesus’ way of the cross was him identifying with victims of oppression AND dealing with these evils.
But the way of the cross requires courage because it’s likely people will die along the way and positive outcomes are not straightforward or inevitable

[Marilyn Chilcote · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is it

5 short chapters clarify and sum up my faith as a Christian, and how all of us humans of any or no religion might find hope working together in and for this earth.

Simple, straight -forward, direct. The best of the 22 books I've read this year on NV resistance.

[Shalom House]

Revolutionary, if lived out! What a great thing to strive for.

[Drick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book gives a clear overview of Jesus' third way of nonviolence. A great summary!

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Violence simply is not radical enough, since it generally changes only the rulers but not the rules. What use is a revolution that fails to address the fundamental problem: the existence of domination in all its forms, and the myth of redemptive violence that perpetuates it?”

Though I’m agnostic, I have found some good company and even solace over the course of the pandemic in peace-oriented religious groups meeting online. Recently, one of these groups discussed Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way by Walter Wink. Members of the group emphasized to me the book is a short read and well worth it. So I donated my Sunday morning this week to reading straight through. I’m grateful I did.

Wink, an author with academic, pastoral, and activist credentials, provides a concise and thoughtful call to action. Nonviolence, popularized by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., remains a valid and effective way to produce meaningful change in society. Wink provides biblical and historical examples of this. He also offers a practical acknowledgment of the inevitable pervasiveness of violence, whether perpetrated by governments or vigilantes. Wink grants that nonviolence is neither a natural impulse nor a convenient strategy. Indeed, it requires creativity, practice, patience, and endurance.

No one could or should mistake me for a pavement-pounding activist, let alone a thoroughgoing Christian. Still, I recommend this book as a way to keep nonviolence in our minds and hearts, as a motivation to stay engaged in seeking progress. This is a very good, quick, and worthwhile read.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To risk confronting the Powers with such harlequinesque vulnerability, simultaneously affirming our own humanity and that of those whom we oppose, and daring to draw the sting of evil by absorbing it in our own bodies…is not likely to attract the faint of heart. But I am convinced there is a whole host of people simply waiting for the Christian message to challenge them, for once, to a heroism worthy of their lives.”

“Loving confrontation can free both the oppressed from docility and the oppressor from sin.”

This little book is a revolution! Theologian and activist Walter Wink provides cultural and historical context to explain how some of the most compelling arguments for non-violence through the words of Jesus have been mistranslated and misinterpreted. I was awed and joy-filled to become reacquainted with the Jesus I thought I knew. Wink’s Jesus is a playful, creative, brilliant activist who taught oppressed people to assert their dignity, confronting oppressors with their sin while honoring the image of God in every person. He gives biblical and historical examples of non-violence used strategically and effectively.

This book showed me again how the biases of Bible translators and scholars have impacted my understanding of scripture. I felt simultaneously betrayed by those I wish would have taught me more accurately about Jesus and relieved to see a better version that I had dared to imagine. I’m inspired to learn more about nonviolent activism, but more importantly, I’m more in love with Jesus than before I read it.

[Cralls · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this short book. It was short and sweet and gave good encouragement as well as practical advice for disarming oppressive forces non-violently.

My only real complaint is that I feel the book was organised backwards!

I felt a tad uneasy through the first four chapters of the book. His interpretation of the sermon on the mount could definitely be taken as nothing more than 'be passive aggressive to get what you want'. Scattered throughout were phrases explaining that the point was not revenge but to help the oppressors, but, as it seems to me that many people who participate in peaceful protests do so with an air of superiority or violence (just not physical violence), I felt more emphasis should have been on the mindset of loving ones enemies.

The last chapter was mainly focused on why we are using non-violence and how we should mentally and spiritually prepare for it. I think this should be read first as the actions suggested in the rest of the book should be grounded in this mindset. How it was set up made the peaceful mindset seem like available afterthought instead of the central idea.

[Janet Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading and quoting from this book for well over 10 years. Raised as an American, whose Dad was a First Lieutenant in WWII who bombed Germany (a place where his own ancestors grew up for a "good cause," to kill Nazi's and stop Hitler). I was raised in a traditional mainline Christian Church, I never really focussed on the nonviolent words and actions of Jesus. Jesus was not passive (not a pacifist) but spoke and acted against the powers and principalities of cruelty of his day. He stood for nonviolence in the wake of his very violent Jewish- Palestinian world dominated by the cruelty of the Romans. Today, I believe I am called to learn more and act out the ways of Jesus' nonviolence. Nonviolence takes courage. Today in the US too many "Christians," are toting too many guns and not following Jesus' Way. Militarism and state violence is killing us all. This book gives Scripture that show how courageous and nonviolent Jesus was in his life. We must learn this Way in order to save our communities and our world from mass extinction and destruction. This book is a guidebook for those seeking to do actions of nonviolence, not be passive.

[jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was going to say this little volume “packs a punch” and then I realized what a weird slip that would be. 😀!!
I read this once years ago, thought of it, and reread it.
I love the message that non violence as exemplified in some of Jesus’s stories is not what we think it is. It is not merely passive, namby pamby stuff but it is deeply meaningful, revolutionary and subversive. “Turn the other cheek “ which has been terribly misused to keep women in
violent marriages is one example Wink explains. He also alludes to the uses of humor in both Jesus’s teachings
and how it has been employed by movements throughout history and in literature. i think of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, a play written in the year 411 B.C.E., in which women stage a sex strike to force men to stop the Peloponnesian War.
Wink was a Biblical professor who wrote many books about power imbalances such as “Naming the Powers” He was a teacher of non violence but also realized the time when it was necessary as in the time when Lutheran pastor Dittrich Bonhoeffer was part of a plot to assassinate Hitler.
A great short read on an important subject.

[paul holzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didactic. Providing discussion questions to reflect in a group about non-violence and certain interpretations of its practice based on the Christian gospels. Historical and practical, this tiny 100 page book is a must for any interested in satyagraha or the non-violent teachings of the Jesus. Walter Wink is precise and polemicizes the absolute failure of historians and history itself of siding with the violent winners, never accounting for the successful accounts of non-violent resistance and transformation (not victory) in Romania, the Philippines, and El Salvador to name a few. He debunks the misconstrued interpretations of Jesus' teachings and demarcates the night and day difference between the miens of passivism and pacifism. The author comes from a background of non-violent training and found himself in networks of kindred spirits from the discipline, and essentially, the spiritual practice of non-violence. Worth a second and I dare say, perpetual read.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for Christian & non-Christian activists alike

I am certainly more than glad that I have now read Walter Wink's 'Jesus and Nonviolence' & will almost certainly seek out more of his books.

I find his writing somewhat beautiful at times & it feels that some ideas are repeated where they need not be, hence my rating of 4 stars. Having said that this book is full of exciting, and challenging, ideas, which is exactly what I would expect from such a title, and the real life examples and quotes offered are both inspiring and helpful. There were times when a sentence quite took me aback with its power, and that is always a wonderful when reading.

But, whatever the ideas offered, and however occasionally convoluted the writing, I have seen my friends in Christian Climate Action quietly reading this book whilst surrounded by police during non-violent protest, and if it offers strength in moments like that then it is a fine book indeed.

[Jacqueline]

Essential reading for activists, Christian & non-Christian alike.

I am certainly more than glad that I have now read Walter Wink's 'Jesus and Nonviolence' & will almost certainly seek out more of his books.

I find his writing somewhat beautiful at times & it feels that some ideas are repeated where they need not be, hence my rating of 4 stars. Having said that this book is full of exciting and challenging ideas, which is exactly what I would expect from such a title, and the real life examples and quotes offered are both inspiring and helpful. There were times when a sentence quite took me aback with its power, and that is always a wonderful when reading.

But, whatever the ideas offered, and however occasionally convoluted the writing, I have seen my friends in Christian Climate Action quietly reading this book whilst surrounded by police during non-violent protest, and if it offers strength in moments like that then it is a fine book indeed.

[Ryan Dufoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short, sweet book about nonviolent resistance to oppression in the way of Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and, as the author argues, Jesus. I personally came into this with a hope that it would talk about the Western self defense cult, but Wink's words about the theology of non-violence transcended my finite hopes for this book and helped inform and flesh out my thinking about biblical nonviolence as a whole.

The first 4 chapters were much more statistical and pragmatic in pursuing justice through nonviolence, but if you hang on, chapters 5 and 6 delightfully tie it all together and help you see these strategies on the macro level, aiming for the goal of both loving the oppressed and the oppressor into a world that further respects the Image of God present in us all.

[Andrew Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful text I will be returning to in the future. Wink’s convincing argument on the third way between violence and absolute pacifism- nonviolence- is more faithful to the Way of the Cross and active. I especially appreciate his engagement with contemporary realities and stories, naming the challenges and promises of this nonviolent approach to life and social change, and his biblical exegesis that adds critical context to proof texts that have often been used to demonize active opposition to oppressive structures (see especially Romans 13 and Matthew 5-7). Highly, highly recommend this text for any who feel called to a nonviolent way of life and have been hungering for a holistic account of what it looks like and from where it emerges.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The populace must be made to believe that there are two alternatives and only two [to injustice]: flight or fight...Jesus abhors both passivity and violence as responses to evil. His is a third alternative...Instead of the two options ingrained in us by millions of years of unreflective, brute response to biological threats from the environment, Jesus' Third Way marks a historic mutation in human development: the revolt against the principle of natural selection. With Jesus a way emerges by which evil can be opposed without being mirrored."