Grace Over Guns: Pursuing Peace in a Militarized World

by Ben Daniel

We need to talk about the reality of warWar remains a clear and present evil, yet North American Christians often don’t feel equipped to talk about it. When a US Air Force drone drops a bomb on a wedding party in Yemen, for example, few of us have the language to talk about that violence. When our military invades a territory or when we fight proxy wars through other countries, our response to military violence tends to follow our political beliefs rather than our religious convictions.Our allegiance to military might goes beyond ongoing global conflicts. The United States boasts a bloated military budget, which includes displays of patriotism at sporting events and military recruitment directed at children in public schools. As nationalism and warfare trend around the globe, people seeking peace are compelled to question the mania for militarism and violence.Grace over Guns challenges readers to think through common justifications for military violence and to consider how those justifications might not measure up to the teachings of Jesus. Drawing on story and Scripture, pastor Ben Daniel offers a prophetic call to reject the sin of military violence and embrace the grace of Christian pacifism. 

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 16, 2026

About the author

Ben Daniel is a Presbyterian minister in San Jose, California. His writing has been translated into four languages and has been published by a variety of local, regional, national, and international broadcast and print media. His work has been published widely online. His opinions have appeared on The Huffington Post since 2010. He is a graduate of Westmont College and of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Ben Daniel is the author of Neighbor: Christian Encounters with “Illegal” Immigration (Westminster John Knox Press, August, 2010), winner of ForeWord Review's 2011 religion book of the year award. In 2013, The Search for Truth About Islam, which explores misconceptions of Islam, was published by Westminster John Knox Press.