I’ve known Christians who claim to adhere to pacifism, as well as seen protest signs with "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" painted on them. But Bart Gingerich, critiquing Methodist professor and theologian William Abraham’s new book, notes that this supposed "cure" for war may just be as bad, or worse, than the disease. Of the book "Shaking Hands with the Devil: The Intersection of Terrorism and Theology", Gingerich writes.<\/p>\n
\nAbraham admits that pacifism superficially offers moral arguments against terrorism, but its medicine is worse than the disease by disallowing defense of the innocent. He opines: \u201cIt requires a very special kind of intellectual malfunction and self-deception to sustain pacifism over time.\u201d And he specifically challenges the particularly fashionable form of \u201cpragmatic pacifism\u201d espoused now by Glen Stassen of Fuller Seminary as \u201cjust peacemaking,\u201d which he decries for failing to address terrorism seriously. Its pseudo-scientific claims he calls \u201cbogus and misleading.\u201d Although maybe offering occasionally useful \u201cpartisan\u201d policy proposals, just peacemaking ultimately aims to shut down the case for force, can offer \u201cfalse hope,\u201d and ultimately may only fuel further terrorism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n