A Farewell to Mars: An Evangelical Pastor's Journey Toward the Biblical Gospel of Peace

by Brian Zahnd

Overview

We know Jesus the Savior, but have we met Jesus, Prince of Peace? When did we accept vengeance as an acceptable part of the Christian life? How did violence and power seep into our understanding of faith and grace? For those troubled by this trend toward the sword, perhaps there is a better way. What if the message of Jesus differs radically differs from the drumbeats of war we hear all around us? Using his own journey from war crier to peacemaker and his in-depth study of peace in the scriptures, author and pastor Brian Zahnd reintroduces us to the gospel of Peace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781434707925
Publisher:	David C Cook
Publication date:	06/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church, a nondenominational congregation in St. Joseph, Missouri. Brian is a passionate reader of theology and philosophy, an avid hiker, mountain climber, and authority on all things Bob Dylan. Brian and his wife Peri have three adult sons and three grandchildren.

Table of Contents

Prelude 17

Foreword Following the Prince of Peace 19

Chapter 1 "That Preacher of Peace" 25

Chapter 2 Repairing the World 53

Chapter 3 Christ Against the Crowd 73

Chapter 4 It's Hard to Believe in Jesus 91

Chapter 5 Freedom's Just Another Word For… 113

Chapter 6 The Things that Make for Peace 135

Chapter 7 Clouds, Christ, and Kingdom Come 153

Chapter 8 A Farewell to Mars 175

Chapter 9 Us and Them 197

Notes 199

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2014
Founder and pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, MO, Zahnd was a typical conservative evangelical cheering on the first Gulf War. Here, he shares his personal odyssey away from blind patriotism and toward the gospel of Jesus. Offering a brief analysis of the Bible and the modern evangelical worldview, the author contends that Jesus Christ is not simply a "prop" in our world of war or a "coming king," but is a radical Prince of Peace ruling over a new and present kingdom. He states: "Nothing unites a nation like war. But what's so tragic is when Christian leaders pretend that a rally around the war god is compatible with worshipping the God revealed in Jesus Christ." He then discusses the practical implications of devotion to the gospel of peace and exposes the danger of trying to make Christianity conform to any political agenda. VERDICT Readers of John Howard Yoder and those interested in Christian views on current politics will be challenged by this thought-provoking work that is filled with personal anecdotes. Highly recommended for public libraries.—Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI

Library Journal

05/12/2014
“War is a repudiation of the Lordship of Christ,” writes Zahnd (Beauty Will Save the World). “War is a thing of the past.” Leaning heavily into the work of critical theorist René Girard, Zahnd argues that peace—which he defines as a courageous, faithful belief that Jesus has defeated the need for humans to kill one another—is the heart of the Christian message. Zahnd outlines his transformation from an evangelical pastor who preached retribution in the aftermath of 9/11 to one willing to lay down his life for an enemy. His book shines in its readings of the Bible as well as in its sharp distinction between Christianity and nationalism, and in its passionate conviction that the Kingdom of God is not to be realized wholly in the afterlife but here, today, on earth. Written in simple, unequivocal language for a Christian audience, this work mounts a persuasive challenge to any Christian theology that supports military might. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Brian Zahnd fuses his vocation as prophet and pastor into a powerful evocation of the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Peacemaker. … And the writing is simply brilliant — not a dull sentence in the book.”
—Eugene H. Peterson, professor emeritus of spiritual theology, Regent College, Vancouver

From the Publisher