JESUS' THIRD WAY

Walter Wink posits 16 ways Jesus taught and nonviolently responded to injustice and evil.

• Seize the moral intiative.
• Find a creative alternative to violence.
• Assert your own humanity and dignity as a person.
• Meet force with ridicule or humor.
• Break the cycle of humiliation.
• Refuse to submit or to accept the inferior position.
• Expose the injustice of the system.
• Take control of the power dynamic.
• Shame the oppressor into repentance.
• Stand your ground.
• Force the powers into decisions for which they are not prepared.
• Recognize your own power.
• Be willing to suffer rather than retaliate.
• Force the oppressor to see you in a new light.
• Deprive the oppressor of a situation where force is effective.
• Be willing to undergo the penalty of breaking unjust laws.

-- From The Impossible Will Take A Little While, edited by Paul Rogat Loeb. Walter Wink is one of the most outstanding living theologians.  His work on "the powers" is required reading for anyone trying to make a difference in the world today.  These points--and their full Biblical bases--are found in Jesus and Nonviolence: The Third Way.

In the spirit of dialog, I welcome comments and/or questions. Click on "responses" below to post. They're moderated only to reduce incivility.