Towards a Spirituality of Peace

 

 

P.G.R. de Villiers

Professor Extraordinarius in Biblical Spirituality, Departments of Old and New Testament, Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein

 

 

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ABSTRACT

This article contributes towards designing a Spirituality of Peace within Spirituality as a discipline. It first analyses the increasing attention to violence and peace generally and within religious contexts specifically. It then critically evaluates some approaches that view violence and peace as moral issues and shows how these approaches inherently move towards a spiritual approach to peace. The article finally discusses work by Hauerwas and Levinas in order to prepare the way for an alternative, more complementary approach to violence and peace from the perspective of Spirituality as a discipline.

Keywords: Spirituality, Peace, Violence, Hauerwas, Levinas

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Trefwoorde: Spiritualiteit, Vrede, Geweld, Hauerwas, Levinas

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1 This article is an extensive reworking of part of my inaugural lecture at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, on 12 September 2007. Other parts of this lecture have been developed in more detail and are currently in print elsewhere. I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the Departments of Old and New Testament for their ongoing participation and support in the study of Spirituality. Prof. Francois Tolmie, Acting Dean of the Faculty has played a major role in promoting the discipline at the Faculty, amongst others by establishing an Extraordinary Chair in Biblical Spirituality and accommodating postgraduate training in the field.