The word “peace” conjures up different things to different people. I am a child of the sixties, so my generation links peace with hippies, anti-Vietnam war protests and free love. Others think of beauty queens declaring their hope for “world peace” (I can’t help but picture Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality). And many conservative evangelicals assume peace is for liberals (whether theological or political).
Other evangelicals, who appreciate the Bible’s emphasis on peace, tend to have a narrow view of God’s peace purposes, focusing primarily on interpersonal peacemaking among believers. For them, peace is unrelated to the gospel, the Kingdom of God, or the pressing social issues of the day. No wonder so many Evangelicals minimize peacemaking or feel that the concept of “peace” is wimpy.
But is peace just for hippies, beauty queens and liberals? Is peace only relevant for “the faithful few”?
Jesus didn’t think so! Peace is a major piece of the Bible! It’s BIG.
Are you one of those evangelicals who need to get converted to peacemaking? If so, you should watch the following video of my presentation on peacemaking at the Society of Vineyard Scholars.
Here I describe the church as a “reconciling community” and reflect on the comprehensive and multi-dimensional nature of peacemaking. If you are a reader, you can find this paper here.
You can help us set the table for peace in 2018! By bringing Christians, Muslims, and others to the table, you help create peace in our world by dissolving stereotypes, bridging divides, and turning fear into friendship. Here's how...
Photographer, visual peacemaker, and Peace Catalyst staff member, Andy Larsen has spent a good amount of time in the Holy Land and has collaborated with Emmy award-winning producer John Yeager to produce the movie Blessed Are The Peacemakers to document Andy's journey through the Holy Land and to tell the stories of real people living life there.
Peace Catalyst President Rick Love spoke at this year's Christ at the Checkpoint conference in Bethlehem, and you can now watch the video of his talk. It's about 30 minutes long but worth watching to better understand the situation in Israel/Palestine. Enjoy!
In our world filled with negative images and stories from around the world, it's as important as ever (or maybe even more important than ever) to tell the positive stories. Which is why we're so excited about this upcoming project by Peace Catalyst's own Andy Larsen.
PCI's Martin Brooks has been making a series of short video interviews with his friend Imam Wasif. They discuss a wide range of issues concerning Christian-Muslim relations, and today they talk about how Imam Wasif and his family respond to discrimination as Muslims in the U.S.
Peaceworker Sami Awad describes how nonviolence empowers people to deal with injustice and oppression, and breaks down the barriers that prevent people from relating to each other. Sami is the founder and Executive Director of Holy Land Trust, a Palestininan non-profit organization established to promote nonviolent resistence and work toward peace in the Holy Land.
PCI's Martin Brooks created this video conversation with his friend Imam Wasif about what it looks like for Muslims and Christians to be friends, given that we have both similarities and differences in our faiths. This is an incredibly powerful picture of peacemaking and what we're all about at Peace Catalyst. Feel free to leave comments. We'd love to hear your thoughts and your experiences with friendship like this.
PCI's Martin Brooks has been making a series of short video interviews with his friend Imam Wasif. They discuss a wide range of issues concerning Christian-Muslim relations, and today they talk about what happens after death according to Islam.
PCI's Martin Brooks has been making a series of short video interviews with his friend Imam Wasif. They discuss a wide range of issues concerning Christian-Muslim relations, and today they talk about the treatment of non-Muslims in Muslim-majority countries.
Together we're making a difference in our world. Here are the kinds of things you make possible every day. Peace begins with us, and it begins with you. But it's multiplied when we work together. Thank you for waging peace with us and changing our world from one of hate to one of peace. Become part of the movement, and let the work continue in 2017!