Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence, and Peacemaking PDF
Preview Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence, and Peacemaking
BETWEEN EDEN AND ARMAGEDDON This page intentionally left blank BETWEEN EDEN AND ARMAGEDDON The Future of World Religions, Violence, and Peacemaking MARC GOPIN OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2000 by Marc Gopin First published in 2000 by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2002 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gopin, Marc. Between Eden and Armageddon : the future of world religions, violence, and peacemaking / Marc Gopin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–19–513432-X; 0-19-515725-7 (pbk.) 1. Violence—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Conflict management—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. BL65.V55G67 2000 291.1'7873—dc21 99-37478 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Acknowledgments An earlier, smaller version of chapter 2 was published as "Religion, Violence and Conflict Resolution," Peace and Change 22, no. 1 (Jan. 1997), and as "Religion, Violence and Conflict Resolution," Issue Paper No. 1, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (Oct. 1998). An earlier, smaller version of chapter 5 was published as "An Orthodox Em- brace of Gentiles? Interfaith Tolerance in the Thought of S. D. Luzzatto and Rabbi E. Benamozegh," Modern Judaism 18 (Spring 1998). An earlier, smaller version of chapter 6 was published in Hebrew as "Con- fronting the Secular/Religious Conflict in Israel: Suggested Solutions," in Religious Secular Relations in Israel: Social and Political Implications, ed. Ephraim Ya'ar and Tamar Herman (Tel Aviv: Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, Tel Aviv Univer- sity, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 1998). An earlier, smaller version of chapter 7 will be published in From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to International Peacebuilding, ed. Cynthia Sampson and John Paul Lederach (New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming). The research for the latter book was supported in part by the U.S. Institute of Peace. I would like to gratefully acknowledge the support that I received from Nancy Robson, whose faith in my work allowed me the time to do the research and activism upon which this book is based. I would also like to especially acknowl- edge the faith in me and support of my work that has been exhibited by Joseph Montville, one of the pioneers of the field of conflict resolution, who I am priv- ileged to call a friend and a mentor. The following colleagues have provided crucial support and valuable teaching to me on this journey: Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Scott Appleby, Kevin Avruch, Aviva Bock, Robert Eisen, Gordon Fellman, Wayne Froman, Ray Gingrich, Ger- shon Greenberg, Bryan Hamlin, Ron Kraybill, Louis Kriesberg, John Paul Led- erach, Julia Lieblich, David Little, Marc Ross, Jay Rothman, Richard Rubenstein, Cynthia Sampson, Michael Sells, Laurence Simon, and Barbra Wien. I want to acknowledge the vital role that the following student/friends and assistants have played in supporting me: Larissa Fast, Dena Hawes, Lynn Kunkle, Erin Mcandles, Patrick McNamara, Heidi Paulson, and Sarah Rosenberg. vi Acknowledgments My deepest gratitude to Rissa Leigh, my sister, and Jack Lewis for encouraging my path as a writer throughout many years. My wife, Robyn, has taken this journey with me, with all its hazards and risks. She has exhibited enormous patience, provided strong encouragement, and dis- played a willingness to sacrifice a secure life for the work that is the subject of this book. Together with my daughter, Ruthy, we formed a bond that allowed this book to be created. "Two are better than one.... For should they fall, one can raise the other, but woe to him who is alone and falls with no companion to raise him.... And a three-fold chord is not easily broken" (Eccles. 4:9d–12). "You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride, you have captured my heart" (Song of Songs 4:9). I dedicate this book to my parents, Sidney Jack Gopin, of blessed memory, and Pauline Gopin. Despite the difficult path that I have chosen for my life, they have supported me and respected me and my dreams since I was a small boy. I only hope that I have honored them and aided them a small amount in return. They have come, not unscathed, through the arduous odyssey of the children of Jewish immigrants in a century that has left permanent scars on the Jewish family. I dedicate this book to the healing of all the suffering and all the conflict and anger that they and their parents—and millions of others like them around the world in many civilizations—have had to endure in this century and in this millennium. Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you about extraordinary things, secrets that you have not known. For thus says the Eternal Being, the God of Israel, concerning the houses in the city and the palaces of the kings of Judah that were torn down.... I am going to bring her relief and healing. I will heal them, and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. (Jer. 33:3-6) Brookline, Massachusetts M. G. October 1999 Contents I Introduction 1 Alternative Global Futures in the Balance 3 2 Between Religion and Conflict Resolution: Mapping a New Field of Study 13 II A Critique of Current Secular and Religious Approaches to Conflict and Peace 3 Why Modern Culture Fails to Understand Religiously Motivated Violence 35 4 What Is Missing from Religious Approaches to War and Peace: Judaism and Islam as Paradigms 65 5 Modern Jewish Orthodox Theologies of Interreligious Coexistence: Strengths and Weaknesses 87 III Paradigms of Religious Peacemaking in a Multicultural and Secular Context 6 Healing Religious/Secular Conflict: The Case of Contemporary Israel 115 7 Conflict Resolution as a Religious Experience: Contemporary Mennonite Peacemaking 139 8 New Paradigms of Religion and Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of Judaism 167 viii Contents IV Conclusion 9 Systematic Recommendations for Intervention in Contemporary Conflicts 199 Glossary 229 Notes 239 Bibliography 285 Index 297 I Introduction
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