Non-Violence: a hallmark of Christian moral life An analysis of Stanley Hauerwas´ theological reflection on non-violence

Abstract

This study analyses Stanley Hauerwas´ reflections on non-violence. In a society where violence and force are marks of the attempt to promote justice, it is required that the Church and the Christian community develop an understanding of their role in society being witness to the message of the Gospel. It is necessary for the church to act and prove that justice can be promoted without resorting to violence and force. A central point in this change of perspective is how the church is going to help individuals to understand the positive and negative aspects of the society, subsequently guiding them to participate in the world in a way that shows the ethics taught by Jesus. The Christian ethics provide individuals with the understanding about what is the nature and basis of the Christian life, being that either descriptive and normative. This ethics is incomprehensible without the community that carryon the story of God, and this community is God’s alternative to war, namely the Church.