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Peace Behind Bars: A Peacemaking Priest's Journey from Jail
This journal, taken when John Dear was in jail for eight months after a disarmament action, allows you to enter into the world of prisoners and a committed peacemaker.
234 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1995
21 people want to read
About the author
John Dear
56 books30 followersFather John Dear (The Society of Jesus) is an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence. A Jesuit priest, pastor, peacemaker, organizer, lecturer, and retreat leader, he is the author/editor of 30 books, including his autobiography, “A Persistent Peace.” In 2008, John was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
From 1998 until December 2000, he served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the United States.
After the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, John served as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the chaplain program at the Family Assistance Center. He worked with some 1,500 family members who lost loved ones, as well as hundreds of firefighters and police officers, while at the same time, he spoke out against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.
From 2002-2004, he served as pastor of several parishes in northeastern New Mexico. He co-founded Pax Christi New Mexico and works on a nonviolent campaign to disarm Los Alamos. These days, he lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country and the world. He also writes a weekly column for the “National Catholic Reporter” at www.ncrcafe.org.
A longtime practitioner and teacher of nonviolence, John has written hundreds of articles and given thousands of talks on nonviolence. John has two masters degrees in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in California.
* BIO EXCERPT FROM http://www.johndear.org/
From 1998 until December 2000, he served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the United States.
After the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, John served as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the chaplain program at the Family Assistance Center. He worked with some 1,500 family members who lost loved ones, as well as hundreds of firefighters and police officers, while at the same time, he spoke out against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.
From 2002-2004, he served as pastor of several parishes in northeastern New Mexico. He co-founded Pax Christi New Mexico and works on a nonviolent campaign to disarm Los Alamos. These days, he lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country and the world. He also writes a weekly column for the “National Catholic Reporter” at www.ncrcafe.org.
A longtime practitioner and teacher of nonviolence, John has written hundreds of articles and given thousands of talks on nonviolence. John has two masters degrees in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in California.
* BIO EXCERPT FROM http://www.johndear.org/
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 4, 2009
On December 7, 1993 at about two in the morning, Father John Dear, a Jesuit priest and peace activist, along with three other peace activists, cut a fence at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina and walked illegally onto the base. They approached an F-15 fighter jet and began to hammer on it in an effort to symbolically beats swords into plowshares. Not surprisingly, they were arrested almost immediately. They refused to post bail and spent the next eight months locked up awaiting trial and then after being convicted awaiting sentencing. This book is Dear's journal from his time in jail.
I think this book is outstanding. And I say that as someone who doesn't necessarily agree with all of Dear's views and doesn't think that this action, and actions like it, are a very effective way of changing this country's military policy. But I have to admire their commitment and their willingness to pay the price for their beliefs. And he does not romanticize the prison experience. Dear details the humiliations and daily petty cruelties that accompany being incarcerated. In an age where too many religious leaders willingly accept war and killing, it is inpiring to me to read about people who take the Sermon on the Mount seriously and are willing to accept suffering as a result. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught that unearned suffering is redemptive and I believe that is reflected in this book.
One caveat. John Dear is a priest and views his jail experience through the lens of his faith. This book is filled with readings and discussions from scripture. If this is not your cup of tea, you probably won't like this book. But Dear wouldn't have put himself in this position were it not for his faith and I think to understand him, you need to understand his motivation.
I think this book is outstanding. And I say that as someone who doesn't necessarily agree with all of Dear's views and doesn't think that this action, and actions like it, are a very effective way of changing this country's military policy. But I have to admire their commitment and their willingness to pay the price for their beliefs. And he does not romanticize the prison experience. Dear details the humiliations and daily petty cruelties that accompany being incarcerated. In an age where too many religious leaders willingly accept war and killing, it is inpiring to me to read about people who take the Sermon on the Mount seriously and are willing to accept suffering as a result. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught that unearned suffering is redemptive and I believe that is reflected in this book.
One caveat. John Dear is a priest and views his jail experience through the lens of his faith. This book is filled with readings and discussions from scripture. If this is not your cup of tea, you probably won't like this book. But Dear wouldn't have put himself in this position were it not for his faith and I think to understand him, you need to understand his motivation.
Displaying 1 of 1 review