The Mind of Christ: A Paradigm Toward a Biblical Theology of Transformational and Proactive Responses to Violence

Abstract

Christianity seems to be losing focus on violence and the Christian response. Therefore, this work sought for responses to violence found in the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ and His apostles, that honor the Godhead, are faithful to the Bible, relevant to, and redemptive in the context of violence; sensitive both to victims and victimizers of violence; are theologically healthy and give voice to the sufferers of violence. It employed the historical-grammatical method of exegesis to study the Biblical (especially the New Testament) data on violence and the interdisciplinary method to analyze and construct a paradigm for a biblical theology of violence. It discovered that 1) in the Mind of Christ, Christians can unlearn the logic and mentality of violence; 2) proactive engagement of the structures of violence can transform violence for redemptive purposes; 3) although prevalent in African experience, scholars have not done enough to explain violence in African worldviews and religions and show its role and relationship to human existence; nor have they shown how to respond to violence in African religions and worldviews; 4) the conflagration of violence in African Christian experience is a menace that if not taken seriously, will hinder effective future Christian witness; 5) the implications of the logic and operations of violence for Christian education, theology, ethics and mission, particularly, require the Church to be more proactive against violence. Finally, the work proposed a paradigm located in the “Mind of Christ,” for doing the sort of biblical theology of violence it discovered should be done to help the Church remain the “salt and light” of a violent world.