In an arrangement known as “the truce of God,” the medieval monastery of Cluny encouraged its feuding neighbors to restrict warfare to three days of the week. Centuries later, violence has scarcely receded from public life, with new acts of brutality and injustice reported almost daily. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and while his followers today may find quaint the medieval attempt at peace, Christians must continue to rise to the challenge of peacemaking.
In this freshly updated edition, The Truce of God speaks anew to the realities of life in a terror-filled world. Treating war and peace as spiritual rather than merely political issues, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, perceptively diagnoses the problem in theological terms. He begins by probing the religious dimensions of our inner fears as exposed by popular “catastrophe” films and fictions. He goes on to ask candid questions about the implications of seeing violence as something that ordinary human beings never decide to do but are forced into. Finally, Archbishop Williams reclaims the Christian sense that peace requires a decision to live as a new community rather than returning to some sort of natural harmony. Discussion questions at the books end help to make his observations an excellent basis for small group study.
Marked by the humane wisdom for which Archbishop Williams is well known, The Truce of God is a nourishing, hope-filled book that will amply reward all who read it.
