164 - Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives for Justice and Peace

Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives for Justice and Peace
By Glen H. Stassen
Louisville, Kentucky, Westminster/John Knox, 1992. 288 pp. $16.95.

Glen H. Stassen, a Baptist professor of Christian Ethics, calls on a variety of scholarly resources and practical experiences in order to produce a book that not only mediates between pacifist and just war theories but also serves the cause of shalom in many other ways. The theme that unifies Stassen's reflections is his discussion of transforming initiatives, which are a series of practical and realistic teachings that Stassen exegetes from the New Testament and applies to situations ranging from addiction to international politics. Stassen's arguments, grounded in reason and experience as well as Scripture, not only can serve both academic and non-academic readers but can also be used in both explicitly Christian and generally public debates. Pastors who have experienced tension between their academic training and the interests of their congregations and between the commands of the New Testament and the demands of church growth will find this book especially useful. Stassen's non-judgmental tone, arising perhaps from his confession to workaholism, is merely one of the several outstanding virtues this book displays.

Joel Kok
Unity Christian Reformed Church
Ames, IA.