Bainton, Roland H. Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace. New York: Abingdon Press, 1960. The best historical treatment of Christian thinking on the problem of war. He argues for Christian pacifism on the pragmatic grounds of war’s futility and on the basis of atomic warfare’s menace.
Carter, April, et al. Non-Violent Action: A Selected Bibliography. London: Housmans, 1970. A good source for Gandhian-type nonviolent resistance approaches.
Douglass, James W. The Non-Violent Cross. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1966. A defense of nonviolent resistance from a Catholic perspective. Has a good section on Ramsey’s just war theory.
Eller, Vernard. King Jesus’ Manual of Arms for the Armless. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1973. A study of warfare in the Bible from the Old Testament to Revelation from a nonviolent perspective.
Ellul, Jacques. Violence. Translated by Cecelia Gaul Kings. New York: The Seabury Press, 1969. A good treatment on the nature and results of violence with a call for Christian radicalism as an alternative.
Enz, Jacob J. The Christian and Warfare. Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1972. Some good thoughts on the problem of Old Testament warfare.
Gregg, Richard B. The Power of Nonviolence. New York: Schocken Books, 1966. Good for showing the utilitarian benefits of nonviolence in the Gandhian-Christian tradition.
Hershberger, Guy Franklin. War, Peace and Nonresistance. Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1953. The most concise statement of Mennonite nonresistance showing its difference from pragmatic pacifism.
Lasserre, Jean. War and the Gospel. Translated by Oliver Coburn. Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1962. Excellent treatment from a French Reformed perspective on New Testament problems for a nonviolent position. Has a good section on the police function and death penalty. Poor on Old Testament problems.
Macgregor, G. H. C. The New Testament Basis of Pacifism and the Relevance of an Impossible Ideal. 6th Edition. Nyack, New York: Fellowship Publications, 1941 and 1954. A defense of pacifism from a New Testament basis and a good interaction with Niebuhr’s criticisms of pacifism.
Rutenber, Culvert G. The Dagger and the Cross. New York: Fellowship Publications, 1950. Good on biblical problems which pacifism must address. On a layman’s level.
Seifert, Harvey. Conquest by Suffering. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1965.
Sharp, Gene. Exploring Nonviolent Alternatives. Boston: Porter Sargent Publisher, 1976. Good sources for examples and suggestions for nonviolent resistance.
Yoder, John Howard. Karl Barth and the Problem of War. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1970. The Christian Witness to the State. Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, 1964. Nevertheless—The Varieties of Religious Pacifism. Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Prees, 1971. The Original Revolution. Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1972. Peace without Eschatology? Ziest, Netherlands: Heerwegen conference, 1954. The Politics of Jesus. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972. Yoder’s works are good for giving a basic framework upon which to establish a nonviolent perspective. However, he is not one for answering all the proof texts which are used against nonviolence. He does have good comments on the Old Testament problems and on the State’s sword-wielding function. Nevertheless is an excellent summary of different types of religious pacifism.
Zahn, Gordon. War, Conscience and Dissent. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1967. A sound defense of the need for pragmatic pacifism based on the futility of war and the power of nonviolence.
Journals
Childress, James F. “Nonviolent Resistance and Direct Action: A Bibliographical Essay,” The Journal of Religion, XLII (October, 1972), pp. 376-396. An excellent bibliographic essay from a religious perspective giving all the then-recent works on nonviolent resistance.
Lind, Millard C. “Paradigm of Holy War in the Old Testament,” Biblical Research, XVI (April, 1971), pp. 16-31. Some important insight into the character of Old Testament warfare.
Steve Bisset, one of the founders of the Post American, wrote his M.A. [Philosophy of Religion] thesis on nonviolence and was living in a community in Michigan when this article appeared.
