“If you want peace, work for justice!” So said Pope Paul VI, and so I agree. Justice is a crucial component of peacemaking. But the struggle for justice must be placed within the overarching framework of God’s loving, reconciling purposes. In other words, the scales of God’s justice tip in the direction of loving relationships.

Everyone loves the story of the Good Samaritan. But few of us realize how mind-blowing it must have sounded in its original context. To the Jews, the Samaritans were enemies. Racially inferior. Heretics. Sounds a lot like how most followers of Christ feel about Muslims today. If Jesus told this parable to Americans I could imagine him using a Muslim as the one who demonstrated neighbor love.

Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies is at once the most radical and the most ignored command in the Bible. Many Christians think this command reflects an unrealistic and idealistic standard, so they figure out ways to dodge it.

New Testament scholars describe Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in superlatives: the quintessence of Paul’s theology, the crown of Paulinism and such. It is famous for its teaching on grace, the church and spiritual warfare. But few evangelicals realize that Ephesians is also a handbook for peace warriors.

We want to ignite a peace revolution – a peace movement! But peacemaking has gotten a bad reputation with evangelical Christians. Many think that peacemaking is the domain of liberals. Or that people who don’t really believe in the gospel veer into peacemaking instead.

I was talking about Peace Catalyst at a meeting recently, when a woman exclaimed, “But if people don’t come to Christ, everything else is worthless!” Really? Worthless? Since there are literally millions of Christians like her in the world, I feel compelled to write.

Liberty University recently demoted Ergun Caner from his role as Dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. “Factual statements that are self-contradictory” regarding his past (especially his purported involvement as a terrorist) were the reasons given for the demotion of this famous Muslim convert to Christ

I am reading for the second time a stimulating book called The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George G. Hunter III. What a movement! These fourth century Christians lived in community, practiced contemplative prayer, engaged in power ministry, emphasized social justice, contextualized their faith, loved creation, valued scholarship, and did all this in the context of obeying Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all nations.