In his ‘I see the Promised Land’ speech on the day before he was assassinated, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr articulated the critical choice he saw facing humanity – “It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.” Pope Francis echoed those words again in 2023, re-emphasising that “The choice is ours”.
Each International Day of Nonviolence (commemorated each year on Gandhi’s birthday, 2nd Oct) proves a good opportunity for me to reflect on the value of nonviolence, both as a spiritual practice and as a methodology to bring about social transformation, and my commitment to it. This year, the International Day of Nonviolence takes place in sharp relief against a rapidly deteriorating situation worldwide with increasing unrest, violence, discrimination, scapegoating of minorities, trends towards authoritarianism and fascism, and mass violence, including what a UN Inquiry Commission have now labelled a genocide occurring in Gaza. Just as disturbingly (if not more so), all this is occurring so brazenly in the glare of global media with as yet no meaningful consequences.
I have lived and worked in enough places of mass violence to no longer be an idealist, but my pragmatism and faith still call me to remain hopeful in the face of our exceedingly dangerous times. This is due largely because my relationship with God, but also because Jesus[1] preached and lived out a different way of being - one which didn’t require choosing between fight or flight, between violence and passivity – but rather a third way of nonviolence that we could live, teach, and promote as a way of building a world that is more sustainable, just and inclusive, and in which all (people and the rest of the natural world) could live well together and flourish.
Does nonviolence work when a larger power invades your country? Or when you are beaten in your own home? Or when policies prevent the group you identify with (or are identified with by others) from flourishing, or from even existing? Or when no matter what you do you cannot afford to feed your family or live with dignity? Probably not as much as I would like, given the level of pain and trauma that will have been experienced (although there are plenty of examples of those who have done so effectively). Nor do I have any right to expect or ask others to use nonviolence in those situations. But then violence hasn’t worked well either… at best it may provide a temporary ceasing of hostilities, but unless followed by intentionally addressing the root causes, that violence just leads to further pain and resentment, fuelling future conflict and violence.
Even as this reflection goes out, there is breaking news of a violent incident at a place of worship here in the UK. We so desperately need to stop this spiral of violence worldwide (with one another and the planet) before it is too late or Dr King’s prediction of nonexistence will become reality. For me nonviolence (and a culture of nonviolence) is the only answer in the long run. It not only stops escalating violence but provides a spiritual foundation and practices that focus on addressing the root causes of violence and most importantly, proactively building a society based on justice, peace and reconciliation.
“Nonviolence is a love-centred way of thinking, speaking, acting, and engaging that leads to personal, cultural and societal transformation ”.
~ The King Center
Nonviolence requires the courage to stand up and challenge the status quo of violent behaviour, systems and attitudes and yet do so in such a creative and collective way that the dignity and needs of all involved (including ourselves) are upheld and works on the love principle that no one is beyond choosing to behave differently in the future, or outside the realms of reconciliation.
Pie in the sky? Naivety? Jesus lived and died pointing to a completely different way of living – one in which we were not only called to love God, ourselves, our neighbours, but also our enemies. A life of nonviolence is not a passive one. Loving our enemies does not mean passively submitting to violence – it requires courage and non-cooperation, sometimes at a cost, it requires dialogue, not only between diplomats and political figures but between people of faith, science and civil society, and it requires all of us to go beyond the nice rhetoric of an international day and for each of us to play our part in creating a nonviolent culture of dialogue, trust, and communities that can work together on the challenges that face us all. It is not an easy path, but it may well be the only way to turn things around from the cycles and systems of violence that we are all caught up in.
For me it is the way of hope….a spiritual path that nourishes and sustains me and a set of tools that helps me engage in violent spaces and systems.
The nature of the times in which we live, means there is an urgency for us to choose the way of nonviolence before it is too late – for it to be spoken of more, for it to be better understood, for the dilemmas of it to be grappled with, and for it to be practiced.
May peace, love and nonviolence prevail in the world. And may it begin with us.
Peace and Blessings
Carolyn
[If you are interested in learning more about peace and nonviolence and how it could apply in your own life, work and ministry, please check out our 2026 Programme here for our ‘Hope of Nonviolence’ online and residential courses.
[1] Although I write from the perspective as a Christian, it is important to note that nonviolence is a beloved principle of people of many different faiths and none.
