WAGING PEACE

Christian Theory and Practice of Satyagraha

Prepared by Alexandria SkinnerOctober 31, 2010

Gandhi

A key theorist and practitioner of nonviolent revolution

Gandhi’s development of this concept was deeply informed by

the Gospel: "The message of Jesus as I

understand it,is contained in the Sermon on the Mount unadulterated and taken as a whole...

If then I had to face only the Sermon on the Mount and my own interpretation of it, I should not hesitate to say, ‘Oh, yes, I am a Christian’ …”

If then I had to face

only the Sermon on the Mount and my own interpretation of it, I should not hesitate to say, 'Oh, yes, I am a Christian.'

What is Nonviolence?It is not possible for the English word "nonviolence" to communicate the meaning of what is commonly referred to, in English, as "nonviolence"!  To understand this, we turn to Sanskrit.

Sanskrit: Satya & Agraha

Gandhi coined the

term

satyagraha,

which is a derivative of two other words:

Satya means a truth which equals love.

Agraha means force. 

The term "Satyagraha" combines these two concepts into one word. 

In coining the termSATYAGRAHA

Gandhi means to convey the concept of an active, powerful force of moral truth, a truth which is indistinguishable from (and characterized by) altruistic love. 

A semantics problem:

The term "nonviolence" is incapable, linguistically, of capturing the active and powerful nature of the concept of Satyagraha. 

The term "non," coupled with "violence" implies mere absence of violence. 

Because of this linguistic problem, use of the term "nonviolence" is actually discouraged.  

A semantics problem:

The term "nonviolence" is incapable, linguistically, of capturing the active and powerful nature of the concept of Satyagraha. 

The term "non," coupled with "violence" implies mere absence of violence. 

Because of this linguistic problem, use of the term "nonviolence" is actually discouraged.  

A semantics problem:

The term "nonviolence" is incapable, linguistically, of capturing the active and powerful nature of the concept of Satyagraha. 

The term "non," coupled with "violence" implies mere absence of violence. 

Because of this linguistic problem, use of the term "nonviolence" is actually discouraged.  

• Satyagraha is not merely the absence of violence. 

• Satyagraha is a positive and powerful force in its own right. 

• It is a counter measure, an opposite, to oppression and violence. 

satyagraha is an active verb

violence

active truth force

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., studied Gandhi and brought satyagraha back to Christians

Martin Luther King in jail after being arrested for requesting service at the segregated restaurant in the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida. Photo taken on June 11 or 12, 1962.Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection, LC-USZ62-116774.

Bringing this back to Christianity …

• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., translated Satyagraha as "soul force" (in his "I Have a Dream" speech).

• Satyagraha could also be called "love force" or "truth force". 

As enunciated and modeled by Gandhi and King, satyagraha is the active, and often physical, employment of a powerful spiritual and moral weapon. 

Compassi

on

Non-compassio

n

And the source of that morality?

Rembrandt, Return of the Prodigal

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/rembran/painting/biblic3/prodig2.html )

I John 4:7-9 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”We love as we have been loved …

John 3:16

We love, as we have first been loved by God:

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION, SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

John 3:16

For God so loved the world …

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION, SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

John 3:16

For God so loved each one of us …

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION, SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

COMPASSION

is the ability to see an OTHER as God sees that OTHER

He Heals the Lame (Il guérit les boiteux), by James Joseph Jacques Tissot (courtesy Brooklyn Museum via wikimedia commons)

Matthew 18 • The lost sheep

• The brother who sins against you

• The unmerciful servant

WHAT IS A COMMON THREAD RUNNING THROUGH THESE STORIES?

An imperative that we treat others with compassion:

Parable of the lost sheep

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

Matthew 18:12-14

Parable of the brother who sins

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

Matthew 18:15-17

(Query: How did Jesus treat pagans and tax collectors?)

Parable of the unmerciful servant“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who

wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. (con’t next page)

Matthew 18:23-35

Parable of the unmerciful servant“. . . 29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him,

'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.  32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 18:23-35

Matthew 5:23-24

As we have been

forgiven

We forgive others

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “

John 3:16

COMPASSION

Forgive us ourDEBTS

As we forgive ourDEBTORS

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION,

SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

John 3:16

COMPASSION

Forgive us ourDEBTS

As we forgive ourDEBTORS

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION,

SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

COMPASSION

Forgive us ourDEBTS

As we forgive ourDEBTORS

Ghandhi: “[I] want to tell others

what I feel so particularly keen about, namely what is called non-resistance, but what is essentially nothing other than the teaching of love undistorted by false interpretations…

This law . . . has been expressed most clearly of all by Christ…”

http://jesusgodgoodetcnjay.blogspot.com/2007/05/gandhi-quotes.html

Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.‘ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

Skye Jethani

Judgment causes us to see the other not as a person, but as a thing, as less human and therefore less valuable. And once we do that to a person or a group of people, it opens the door to all kinds of terrible evil -- segregation, injustice, abuse, even genocide.

Jesus is warning us about excluding anyone, or seeing ourselves or our group as inherently better than any other. We may disagree and discern another person or group to be wrong, but when that discernment causes us to value another person or group less, then we've crossed the line into judgment, condemnation, and exclusion.

(from blog, http://www.skyejethani.com/judge-not/595/)

Skye Jethani

Judgment causes us to see the other not as a person, but as a thing, as less human and therefore less valuable. And once we do that to a person or a group of people, it opens the door to all kinds of terrible evil -- segregation, injustice, abuse, even genocide.

Jesus is warning us about excluding anyone, or seeing ourselves or our group as inherently better than any other. We may disagree and discern another person or group to be wrong, but when that discernment causes us to value another person or group less, then we've crossed the line into judgment, condemnation, and exclusion.

(from blog, http://www.skyejethani.com/judge-not/595/)

Skye Jethani

Judgment causes us to see the other not as a person, but as a thing, as less human and therefore less valuable. And once we do that to a person or a group of people, it opens the door to all kinds of terrible evil -- segregation, injustice, abuse, even genocide.

Jesus is warning us about excluding anyone, or seeing ourselves or our group as inherently better than any other. We may disagree and discern another person or group to be wrong, but when that discernment causes us to value another person or group less, then we've crossed the line into judgment, condemnation, and exclusion.

(from blog, http://www.skyejethani.com/judge-not/595/)

Skye Jethani cont’d

When we see other people as wrong, not just about what they believe, but in their core identity as people, then it's easy to convince ourselves that we don't have to love them, that we don't have to serve them, and that we don't have to respect them. This exclusion and condemnation of others fuels so much of what's broken in our world today. It's what convinces one group to kill another, or one person to abuse another.

But Jesus says, not so with you. Not among my people. The Christian is never to judge, never to condemn, never to exclude, never to see anyone as without value or dignity, even the person he or she disagrees with most. . . .  “

Skye Jethani cont’d

When we see other people as wrong, not just about what they believe, but in their core identity as people, then it's easy to convince ourselves that we don't have to love them, that we don't have to serve them, and that we don't have to respect them. This exclusion and condemnation of others fuels so much of what's broken in our world today. It's what convinces one group to kill another, or one person to abuse another.

But Jesus says, not so with you. Not among my people. The Christian is never to judge, never to condemn, never to exclude, never to see anyone as without value or dignity, even the person he or she disagrees with most. . . .  “

Gandhi on application of this principle:

In the application of satyagraha, I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on one’s opponent but that he must be weaned from error by patience and compassion. For what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other. And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth, not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but on oneself.

Gandhi on application of this principle:

In the application of satyagraha, I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on one’s opponent but that he must be weaned from error by patience and compassion. For what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other. And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth, not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but on oneself.

Gandhi on application of this principle:

In the application of satyagraha, I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on one’s opponent but that he must be weaned from error by patience and compassion. For what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other. And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth, not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but on oneself.

Michelangelo Buonarroti, PietaIf anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25

Gandhi said:

“A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.”

John 3:16

For God so loved even the enemy …even the oppressor …

Can we bring ourselves to do likewise?

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION, SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

John 3:16

For God so loved even the enemy …even the oppressor …

Can we bring ourselves to do likewise?

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION, SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

John 3:16

For God so loved even the enemy …even the oppressor …

Can we bring ourselves to do likewise?

AS GOD RESPONDS TO US WITH COMPASSION, SO WE ARE TO RESPOND TO OTHERS

Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.‘ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

We displa

y compassio

n

Will they respond in kind?

The opportunity The risk

Jethani concludes: “The Christian's job is to agree with God that every person you meet was worth Jesus dying for. We cannot ascribe that kind of value and dignity to people and condemn them as worthless at the same time. It's just not possible.”

Watts, The Good Samaritan

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Good_Samaritan_(Watts).jpg

The individual employing satyagraha is armed not with physical power, but with moral power. 

Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong. 

It is a weapon consisting of truth and love. 

U.N. Building Swords Into Plowshares, photo By Rodsan18 at en.wikipedia, from Wikimedia Commons

Abraham Lincoln “Am I not destroying my enemies, when I make friends of them?” 

Satya Agraha eschews violence because the peacemaking response seeks to address the conflict in a way that doesn’t harm the one confronted.

“People Power Revolution”

Manila, 1986: Two Million people took to the streets, shutting down government, and put Corazon Aqino into power. This image is from http://www.paraisophilippines.com/category/metro-manila/quezon-city/

“Saffron Revolution”

Burma 2007

In the theory of Satyagraha, the means and ends are seen as inseparable.  Violence can never be used to achieve justice, because whatever method is used to achieve a result will become embedded in that result.

For example, if a war is won by military means, then the military will become embedded into the new order, and that order will thusly be reliant on presence of the military. 

In the theory of Satyagraha, the means and ends are seen as inseparable.  Violence can never be used to achieve justice, because whatever method is used to achieve a result will become embedded in that result.

For example, if a war is won by military means, then the military will become embedded into the new order, and that order will thusly be reliant on presence of the military. 

Yeltsin 1991Yeltsin stood on top of tank and faced down army guns. Under the glare of publicity, the Russian government backed down

The oppressor

• Oppression also dehumanizes the oppressor, even though he may not realize it.

• The oppressor always lives in fear. He must build walls to protect himself.

• Nonviolent revolution also frees the oppressor from the chains under which he operates

Tehran 2009The army dealt swiftly and powerfully against protesters, did not flinch

King responds to charges that nonviolent action is too extremist:

And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label.

Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God."

And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience."

And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free."

And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ."

Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God."

And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience."

And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free."

And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ."

Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God."

And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience."

And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free."

And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ."

Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God."

And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience."

And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free."

And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ."

Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God."

And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience."

And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free."

And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ."

Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God."

And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience."

And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free."

And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ."

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.”

“Will we be extremists for hate or for love?

Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?”

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.

Will we be extremists for hate or for love?

Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?”

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.

Will we be extremists for hate or for love?

Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?”

The Merciful Christ c. 1603 by Juan Martinez Montanes

Jesus Christ was an extremist, too, for this powerful force of truth and love

  There is nothing cowardly about waging peace.  The sword of truth is a mighty weapon, wielded against the forces of oppression and injustice. 

But direct action is also a war in which participants can be wounded and die. It is not for the faint of heart. 

Ethnic Uyghur woman confronts Chinese security forces, Urumchi 2009.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/07/ethnic_clashes_in_urumqi_china.html

Father in Urumqi, 2009NY Times, July 19, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/world/asia/20xinjiang.html?_r=1

The End

If time allows, please enjoy this 9 minute video combining Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, with film footage and music of Sarah McLachlan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=wjdIOtZ12Nk&vq=small

And this video of Mother Teresa set to the music of U2

http://vodpod.com/watch/2482297-u2-grace-mother-teresa

Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, Jr.: two heroes of peace, in these videos are shown demonstrating the power of compassion, the active engagement of love, thereby illustrating the meaning of , and power of, satyagraha