Father Richard offers a summary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles of nonviolence:
- Nonviolence is a way of strength and not a way for cowards. It is not a lack of power which allows us to be nonviolent, but in fact the discovery of a different kind of power. It is a choice, not a resignation; a spirituality, not just a tactic.
- The goal of nonviolence is always winning the friendship and the understanding of the supposed opponent, not their humiliation or personal defeat. It must be done to eventually facilitate the process of reconciliation, and we ourselves must be willing to pay the price for that reconciliation. King based this on Jesus’ lifestyle and death and on Ephesians 2:13–22 and Romans 12:1–2.
- The opponent must be seen not so much as an evil person, but as a symbol of a much greater systemic evil—of which they also are a victim! We must aim our efforts at that greater evil, which is harming all of us, rather than at the opponent.
- There is a moral power in voluntarily suffering for the sake of others. Christians call it the “myth of redemptive suffering,” whereas almost all of history is based on the opposite, the “myth of redemptive violence.” The lie that almost everybody believes is that suffering can be stopped by increasing the opponent’s suffering. It works only in the short run. In the long run, that suffering is still out there and will somehow have to work its way out in the next generation or through the lives of the victims. A willingness to bear the pain has the power to transform and absorb the evil in the opponent, the nonviolent resister, and even the spectator. This is precisely what Jesus was doing on the cross. It changes all involved and at least forces the powers that be to “show their true colors” publicly. And yes, the nonviolent resister is also changed through the action. It is called resurrection or enlightenment.
- This love ethic must be at the center of our whole life, or it cannot be effective or real in the crucial moments of conflict. We have to practice drawing our lives from this new source, in thought, word, emotion, and deed, every day, or we will never be prepared for the major confrontations or the surprise humiliations that will come our way.
- Nonviolence relies on a kind of cosmic optimism which trusts that the universe/reality/God is finally and fully on the side of justice and truth. History does have a direction, meaning, and purpose. God/good is more fundamental than evil. Resurrection will have the final word, which is the very promise of the Jesus event. The eternal wind of the Spirit is with us. However, we should not be naïve; and we must understand that most people’s loyalties are with security, public image, and the comforts of the status quo. [1]
References:
[1] King’s language for these principles may be found online at “The King Philosophy – Nonviolence365,” The King Center.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Martin Luther King Jr.’s Principles of Nonviolence,” ONEING 10, no. 2, Nonviolence (2022): 48–50. Available in print or PDF download.
Image credit and inspiration: Toa Heftiba, untitled (detail), 2018, photo, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. Two people, different in perspective yet united in a shared value, reach across the divide—not with force but with courage, choosing the harder path of listening, of letting themselves be changed, of loving even when it is difficult.
Story from Our Community:
I have begun to use the term “active love.” In practicing active love, I try to put away all use of fighting and war-based language, but it’s difficult. Our language, as well as our institutions, rely heavily on metaphors of dominance and war. In active love, rather than focus on what I want to end or defeat, I focus on relationship and community and what actions can be taken to open a path toward justice, dignity, and trust. Sometimes I need to stand, to move, even to dance in God’s freedom according to the law of love.
—Kim V.
