Simply Sharing the Short Paper I wrote for our Colloquium on the Theology of Non-Violence at De Paul University, Illinois....
A Preliminary Sketch for a Foundational Theology of Nonviolence – A Critique
Notre Dame University Graduate School & San Beda Graduate School of Laws – Philippines
I will begin by commending Prof. Cavanaugh not only for a new hermeneutics of the Scriptures vis-à-vis the issue on violence and non-violence but more so for developing a foundational theology through the Church and the Sacraments. I find the approach and the development of such theology very original and fascinating, to say the least.
No doubt, the creation narratives point to a non-violent God shaping a new creation out of the chaos or in the language of Genesis – “without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep”. (Gen. 1:2) Yes, it is by the Word of God that all things came to be and ALL God created are found to be “GOOD”. The same Word blessed the whole creation thereby establishing harmony and beauty until the “FALL” (Genesis 3).
The entry of the “Serpent” in Genesis 3 tells the other “face” of creation that popularly known as “the Fall”. God has just turned his back a while, then you have the serpent inviting humans to be like God – “… your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3: 4).
Then continuing the dialogue surrounding the “fall”, we can see clearly the following: (Gen. 3: 10 – 11)
• They knew they were naked and they hid from God;
• The man could not own his disobedience and he pointed to “the woman whom thou gavest to be with, she gave me of the tree…” And the woman pointed to the serpent that God put in the garden – “the serpent beguiled me”; and
• The coup de grace in the narrative is when God “put enmity between the serpent and the woman; and between thy seed and her seed and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruised his heel”.
There are two visages of creation. On the one hand, there is the creative Word of God that has produced ALL – establishing order, harmony and the beauty and the Good. Yet, on the other hand, there is the Serpent that beguiles; the serpent invites, in a way, humans to “become like” God and “compete” with God.
Here we see two narratives – one is the story of non-violence; and the other, which is the beginning of violence not only between man and woman but also humans versus the serpent and the whole creation is caught in the struggle.
It is NO accident that the paradigm of “dualism” has marked not only the history of salvation but equally the history of the church down to the present – good and evil; grace and sin; male and female; humans vs. the serpent, Cain and Abel, and in our present discourse, violence and non-violence.
More than ever, we now live in a very violent world that threatens humanity, the whole creation and our planet earth.
The first is the fact that our relationship with the world has been violent resulting to drastic and radical configuration of the world. Climate change is a clear manifestation that results from the violence inflicted on the land and the planet.
We have wronged God’s creation and we have betrayed his trust. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1: 27-28).
From the very beginning, we have struggled over the ambiguities of the verbs and images used – “replenish vs. subdue”; stewardship vs. dominion as against the very reality of being “Blessed” by God and thus become a blessing in return to God’s creation and of being “imago Dei” here on earth.
And because of this violence against creation, humanity is now faced with a prospect of yet another chaos or catastrophe of Noah’s flood that would, once again, destroy creation.
To prevent such catastrophic end, the call is to restore the relationship of harmony and interconnectedness in God’s creation and see that all creatures – humans, animals, all living things and the planet are intimately tied up – the future of every specie and the planet are intimately interconnected.
The second powerful manifestation of violence in our era is the emergence of Violent Religious Extremism. Often this is identified with Islam, yet the truth is the fact that a thread of extremism subsists in practically all religions. It is, indeed, a “divine” scandal bordering to “blasphemy” to invoke God’s name in the murder of fellow human on account of belief and unbelief or on account of observance and non-observance of the law.
This Violent Religious Extremism, first, shocked the world on September 9, 2001 with two planes crashed into the Twin Towers and toppling down the iconic symbol of global economy; a plane crashed also into Pentagon – the icon of USA military might; and another plane crashed landed before reaching its target “presumed” to be either the White House or the Capitol Hill – icons of USA political power.
This new phenomenon has brought to the fore the theory of “Clash of Civilization” as proposed by Prof. Samuel Huntington in his seminal work in 1996 – the Clash of Civilizations.
The confusion and the “enmity” brought about by Extremism characterized by violence, exclusion and declaring “the other” as “unbeliever” points to a culture and mentality that is both violent and radical xenophobia!
The Christian message and invitation in the midst of this violent milieu is to go back to the kingdom or the reign of God inaugurated by Jesus. It is the kingdom that excludes no one and the core message is contained both in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5; 3-11) and in the Final Judgment Day as narrated by Matthew (Chapter 25: 31 – 46).
To the poor in spirit; to those who mourn; to those who are gentle; to those who do justice; to those who are merciful; to those who are pure in heart; to those who are peacemakers to those who are persecuted in his name – to them belong the kingdom and they shall inherit the earth and be called children of God.
In a similar vein, Matthew chapter 25 reminds all sundry, that, ultimately, when all is said and done what truly matters in God’s eye is feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; shelter to the strangers; clothing to the naked; caring for the sick; and visiting the prisoners – in short, the excluded and those in the periphery shall find their reserved places in the kingdom.
The kingdom inaugurated by Jesus continues to unfold and Dan Schulte’s song - A Time will Come for Singing, captures the marks of the kingdom.
Yes, the time for singing comes “when all tears are shed; when sorrows chains are broken and broken hearts will mend; the deaf will hear your singing; when silent tongues are freed; the lame will join your dancing, and when blind eyes learn to see.
A time for singing has, indeed, come when men lay down their armor and gather their swords into plough; when the beggars live as princes and orphans find their home; and when prison cells are empty, and hatred has grown old”.
Meanwhile, the whole creation groans and we are caught in between the dynamics of the creation and the kingdom, on the one hand; and sin and violence, on the other, until the end of time. I believe that the children of the original creation narrative and of the kingdom are the witnesses of the creative and dynamic creative word and the power of the kingdom that destroys the power structure that dominates and alienates people from their roots and grounding. And we believe and proclaim that this would happen in the end of time and when the fullness of the kingdom shall come to fulfillment.
I have always been in Southern Mindanao, and most of my ministry even today involves living with and establishing friendship with Muslims – ordinary citizens, rebels and those with Philippine Government – both in the Armed Forces and in Civilian Government
I began my ministry during the time of the great battles between the Philippine government and the Moro Rebels – first with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and then later with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), as well.
It was in this setting when I began to grapple with understanding God's peace. It is not the peace that offers pacification, nor is it the peace that only involves the absence of conflict. As Isaiah puts it, it is peace that is the fruit of righteousness, the peace that comes over dwelling places and the security of homes after "justice dwells in the desert and righteousness lives in the fertile land (Is. 32:16). It is peace, where the vision of peace and wholeness is grounded in the work of justice. It is that peace which has been "brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ" through whom the "dividing wall of hostility has been broken" and by whom we have all been made one (Eph. 2:13 ff.).
I grappled with the question what it meant for me to bear witness to this peace and be minister of it amidst the sufferings and struggles of people? What did it mean for me to be instrument of God's peace amidst the many wars and conflicts among nations and peoples, and in the light of the painful and tortuous struggle to build and establish a new community based on human equity, dignity and freedom? What did the peace of God mean amidst the incredible despoilage of environment and the rape of our forests and lands? These questions were not only a matter of theological clarification; they also demanded a critical analysis of what was going on.
I was in this crisis when the “lightning” struck! On July 14th, 1976 at about 9 a.m. in Notre Dame of Dulawan in Maguindanao Province – the very heartland of the Moro Community, when the “rebels” lobbed two grenades into the two classrooms of second year high school. One was a dud; the other exploded in the middle of the classroom. I was in office of the Community Service Extension when I heard the big explosion, I rushed to the classroom and saw HELL - 7 dead and 35 wounded and bleeding. I carried the nearest wounded and ran into the nearby clinic… but before reaching the clinic the boy expired in my arms; I was full of blood; laid the boy on the ground and I went back to the classroom to pick another wounded. Hell literally broke loose with all the wailings; lamentations; and panic.
The Muslim boy’s name was Abdulrahman Tungao and the other one that I buried few days after was Samuel Chio. Was it a ‘coincidence” or an “accident” that two of the “fallen” that became intimately tied to me were a Muslim and a Christian?
Yes - a mixture of Muslim and Christian blood physically “stained” me – marks that have remained in me even today and for the rest of life.
Peace, non-violence and ministry are no longer something that is studied in books or in classrooms or meditating in churches. They have the smell of blood and gunpowder and explosives. In that Hellish and traumatic experiences that shattered my whole being, I vowed – never again!
It was NO accident that after that experience, I devoted my time to peace and justice advocacy thus when Government and Liberation Fronts were looking for someone to monitor the ceasefire agreement they chose me to head the team. It was no easy task, especially to stay in the middle of warring armies trying to establish and delineate “safe distance” between them. I had been asked several times why go through all these dangers and don’t I get tired or frustrated or discourage in the work for peace.
My painful reply had always been the vow I made on that fateful day of July 14, 1976 where I experienced HELL and said unto myself – NEVER AGAIN! Like a mantra during the difficult times, I kept reciting that saving even ONE life gives meaning to our work. Yes! The work for peace makes sense, Yes! My work makes SENSE even often times, the work goes NOWHERE!
The vow holds me together – never again the HELL and the bloodshed and the enmity that mar the relationship between and among humans; between and among communities! The work for peace and the work for friendship and fellowship – no matter what - make SENSE! And I believe that a time is coming for singing when the serpent narrative would be no more!
