J. Denny Weaver Forum

‘Nonviolent God’ is focus of campus events

Dr. J. Denny Weaver, professor emeritus of religion at Bluffton University, will address his 2013 book, “The Nonviolent God,” in two settings Tuesday, Feb. 11, on the Bluffton campus.

“Race, Ethnicity and the Nonviolent God” is Weaver’s title for a Bluffton forum at 11 a.m. in Founders Hall. He will then present a program on his book in the Musselman Library Reading Room, beginning with a reception at 3:45 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

“In popular thinking, God is held responsible for a lot of destruction and death,” Weaver notes. But he counters that view by arguing that what we know most specifically about God is revealed in the story of Jesus, who rejected the use of violence. Relative to his forum topic, he adds that “a loving God of nonviolent creation has given us the gift of diversity.”

“The Nonviolent God” is the most recent book by Weaver, who taught at Bluffton for 31 years. He retired from the university in 2006 and now lives in Madison, Wis., but remains editor of the C. Henry Smith book series, which is co-sponsored by Bluffton.

Weaver’s recent books also include a second edition of “The Nonviolent Atonement,” published in 2011, and “Defenseless Christianity: Anabaptism for a Nonviolent Church,” a 2009 book he co-authored with Dr. Gerald Mast, a Bluffton professor of communication. He has served with Mennonite Central Committee and Christian Peacemaker Teams and, in 2009, he lectured on atonement theology in churches and universities in the Congo and Germany.