"Dr. Vanderhaar's unmatched love for peace and nonviolence is beautifully expressed in Personal Nonviolence. It is a book that everyone needs to read so that we may become the change we wish to see in this world."
--Arun Gandhi, Founder/President, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, Memphis, TN
"I cannot exaggerate my enthusiasm for Dr. Gerard Vanderhaar's posthumous book providing 'a practical spirituality for peacemakers.' As followers of Jesus, we are called to wage peace on every level of life--from the personal to the international. Dr. Vanderhaar will inspire you to do it and show you the way."
--Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace
In this book, a compilation of much of his decades-long work on nonviolence, the author explains how a spirituality of nonviolence provides methods and guidance in everyday activities such as speech, leadership, and dealing with difficult people or even those who might be seen as enemies. He outlines how this spirituality helps us to understand both our gifts and our shortcomings and to deal with the challenges of life in the twenty-first century. Understanding nonviolence can guide peacemakers to a practical spirituality based on the nonviolent Christ, our guide and inspiration. |
This is a singularly distinctive "how-to" book that creatively connects the ordinary activities of our lives with the extraordinary vision of a peaceful world championed by the great advocates of nonviolence in our century. Active Nonviolence is an original, enriching, and authentic resource for those who wish to integrate peace in both their personal and public lives. |
Vanderhaar shows how figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and others have taken the example of the Nonviolent Christ as their guide for living and working justly and courageously in the world. He then offers suggestions for incorporating gestures of peace and words of compassion and justice into our daily dealings at home, at work, with difficult people, and as part of the political process. *Follow the link to look inside! |
"In Why Good People Do Bad Things, Gerard Vanderhaar moves this moral claim from the abstract world of synod documents to the lives of 'good people' who are trying to not 'do bad things.' I recommend it highly."
--Most Rev. Walter F. Sullivan, Bishop of Richmond
Why Good People Do Bad Things sheds new light on the ethical dilemmas of modern life. It shows how people of good will who are generally thoughtful, caring, and reasonably well balanced can unwittingly contribute to the evils present in our social systems. In exposing these situations, this book also offers the hope that these same "good people" can take a fresh look at the world around them. In doing so, they can then see the potential of our world as well as its defects, and determine to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. |
This compassionate book describes the making of enemies in our personal, social, and national lives. It goes on to outline a nonviolent approach to resolving enmity wherever it arises. It taps the rich resources of Jesus' two-thousand-year-old formula, "Love your enemies," with the help of our contemporary understanding of Gandhian active nonviolence. The author offers a life-changing, habit-breaking approach of understanding, focusing, and negotiating as a positive alternative to the usual flight-or-fight response to enemies. |
This book assesses the terrible realities of the Nuclear Age and sophisticated weapons systems in light of the biblical teachings about idolatry. Then it presents the life of Jesus as a model upon which women and men of good will can pattern a lifestyle of nonviolence. Christians and Nonviolence in the Nuclear Age proposes a new vision of self, country, and the world that measures up to the demands of the times. In light of that vision, the book suggests specific actions individuals and groups can take to change the course of our world from self-destruction to mutual understanding and cooperation. |
