Nonviolence

Roots of Christian Nonviolence

Scholars debate about the role of nonviolence in early Christianity. It may have been a common and important part of Christian life from the beginning. Within a few decades of Jesus’ death, the author of the Gospel of Matthew recalled that the early followers of Jesus claimed that he admonished his followers to “love your enemies” and, if struck on one cheek, to “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:25–27). However this teaching may not have been a central tenet of the young religion. While some early Christians died as martyrs without resisting—and gave the early Church a reputation for pacifism—others served as soldiers in the Roman army.

After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century CE, there continued to be some Christians who tried to follow the teaching of “love your enemies” by refraining from all violence. However, they were a rather small minority. Christian leaders and theologians generally found ways to legitimate war (using theories of a “just war”) and other forms of violence sanctioned by the government.

The first organized Christian groups strictly committed to nonviolence that left a strong mark on the historical record emerged in the 1520s, the early years of the Protestant Reformation, in German-speaking lands. They called themselves Anabaptists (“baptized again”) because they believed that religious faith must be a free choice of the individual, not bestowed or mediated by any agent of the church.

The Anabaptists split into numerous groups, including Mennonites, Hutterites, Brethren, Amish, and others. They intended to live by all of Jesus’ teachings, including the one in Matthew 5 about nonviolence. Seeing no hope of changing the sinful ways of the world, they withdrew into their “gathered” communities so that they could pursue perfect love and peace, which they thought was possible for them since (they believed) they had been saved from sin by their faith. Thus, they generally stayed out of political involvement or movements for social change. However, they were rarely left in peace by [Page 926]the authorities; they often had to move to escape persecution. These churches, sometimes called the “historic peace churches,” are still found all over the world today, though some have become more involved in society and politics in recent years.

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