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For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. – Col 1:19-20
Peacemaking doesn’t remove us from the possibilities of violence, but thrusts us directly into it. As a pacifist, I’ve been called weak, soft, and afraid. But nonviolence is more radical and dangerous than violence. We follow a Messiah who told us to take up our crosses and follow him. Peacemaking can be a bloody enterprise, but it is done with our own blood and sacrifices—not with the shed blood of enemies.
Consider what this might cost you. Ask God for wisdom and courage from those who have walked this road before you.
Red Letter Christians
Red Letter Christians is a non-denominational Christian movement founded in 2007 by progressive evangelical authors and activists Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne. The movement emerged as a counter-cultural reaction to the American religious right, seeking to distance faith from partisan politics and shift the evangelical focus away from a narrow set of dogmatic issues toward Jesus’s radical lifestyle commands. Guided primarily by teachings like the Sermon on the Mount, Red Letter Christians emphasize active social justice—specifically advocating for the poor, ending capital punishment, promoting racial reconciliation, protecting the environment, and practicing peace and nonviolence.