2024 Speaking Tour

Host Fr. John Dear on his 2024 Speaking Tour for his Forthcoming Orbis Book: “’The Gospel of Peace: A Commentary on Matthew, Mark and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence.” For more info, click here

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Listen on Apple, Spotify, all major platforms,
and the National Catholic Reporter

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September 15, 2025

#37, John Dear on the Life and Lessons of Gandhi

“Gandhi was one of the greatest Christians who ever lived,” John Dear says, in his reflection on the life and lessons of Gandhi.
 
By John Dear
 
On this week’s episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” I reflect on the life and lessons of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s great independence leader and the world’s foremost teacher of active nonviolence on a national, global scale. I’ve been a student of Gandhi for 45 years, and studied his collected works for my own anthology, Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings (Orbis, 2002), and consider Gandhi one of the greatest followers of the nonviolent Jesus in the last two centuries, whose teachings are well worth studying and pursuing today.
 
Gandhi was not born Gandhi, I propose. He had to become Gandhi. That’s our first clue: we too have to become our ideal selves before God. We have to change ourselves and strive to become the peacemakers we were created to be, to become the people of nonviolence stuck in a culture of violence. That life long journey of transformation takes single-minded, concentrated effort to allow God to disarm us, change us and fashion us into people of universal love and Gospel nonviolence.
 
“Nonviolence means avoiding injury to anything on earth in thought, word or deed,” Gandhi wrote early on in South Africa. Over the years, as he gained more experience, he concluded that “Devotion to nonviolence is the highest expression of humanity’s conscious state…Nonviolence is the greatest and most active force in the world… One person who can express nonviolence in life exercises a force superior to all the forces of brutality. My optimism rests on my belief in the infinite possibilities of the individual to develop nonviolence. The more you develop it in your own being, the more infectious it becomes till it overwhelms your surroundings and by and by might oversweep the world.”
 
During the podcast, I outline the chronology of his life, and then discuss various basic lessons. I recall at one point his statement during the 1922 trial, when he said, “Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good.” I share how Rev. Ignacio Ellacuria, president of the Jesuit University in El Salvador who was later assassinated with five other Jesuits in 1989, told me something similar when I first met him in 1985. “If you want to be for the reign of God, we have learned in El Salvador, you have to also be against the anti-reign of evil.” “This is a new understanding of morality and ethics,” I suggest. “In a world of institutionalized, systemic evil, it’s not enough to be a good person or to try to do ‘the good.’ We also have to stand up publicly against evil and resist it. We can’t just be for peace; we also have to be against each and every specific war.” Listen in and see what you think about Gandhi’s steadfast, persistent insistence on truth, nonviolence and peace.

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes Archbishop John Wester! For more information, visit here.

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Listen on Apple, Spotify, all major platforms,
and the National Catholic Reporter

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September 8th, 2025

Episode #36, with Stanley Hauerwas

This week on “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” John Dear speaks with renowned theologian and ethicist Professor Stanley Hauerwas. In 2001, TIME magazine named him “America’s greatest theologian.” He taught for years at the University of Notre Dame, before moving to Duke University where he was the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological ethics at Duke Divinity School. He also served at Duke Law School, and the Univ of Aberdeen. He has lectured around the world, and even been featured on “Oprah.” [see: www.stanleyhauerwas.org]
 
Stanley has written too many books to list, but his bestsellers include, “The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics;” “Jesus Changes Everything: A New World Made Possible;” “Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony;” and “Cross-shattered Christ: Meditations on the 7 last words.” Retired at 85 now, he spoke with John from his home in North Carolina.
 
“When I grew up, I didn’t know what nonviolence was. That’s because I’m from Texas,” he says with a chuckle. “I went to Notre Dame to teach Catholics and ended up being shaped by Mennonites. I discovered that Jesus and the church were mutually interrelated. To worship Jesus is to bring to the world a witness of nonviolence that otherwise could not be seen.”
 
“Jesus is nonviolence,” he continues. “Nonviolence isn’t passive, it’s vulnerable. It raises questions that demand responses. The cross is a challenge to people who say ‘Jesus is my Lord and Savior, but you have to kill someone every once in a while.’ God’s will is to live in a world without violence. God’s grace is always there making possible alternatives that would not be there without God’s presence.” Listen in an be inspired by this wise Christian teacher!

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes John Dear! For more information, visit here.

John Dear’s new book now available!

“The Gospel of Peace:
Reading Matthew, Mark & Luke
from the Perspective of Nonviolence”

For info, click here
 
To order, call Orbis Books at 1-800-258-5838
 

To invite John Dear to speak in your city, write to: john@beatitudescenter.org 

National Catholic Reporter Review of “The Gospel of Peace,” click here
 
To watch Fr. John’s interview with Dean Young of Grace Cathedral about the book, click here
 
To watch Fr. John’s sermon at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, on Jan. 21, 2024, (at the 30 minute mark) click here
 
The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast, a free weekly podcast with John Dear
click here

Recent Books

“The Sacrament of Civil Disobedience”
Revised 2022 Edition, with new foreword by Shane Claiborne,
Available on amazon, in the U.K.  To order, visit: https://labora.press/product/the-sacrament-of-civil-disobedience/

Recent Articles

The Peacemaking Life of Pope Francis

A few years ago, three French peace activists met with Pope Francis and asked him for advice. “Start a revolution,” he said. “Shake things up! The world is deaf. You have to open its ears.” That’s what Pope Francis did — he started a nonviolent revolution and invited us all to join. 

I’m grateful for him for so many reasons, but mainly because he spoke out so boldly, so prophetically in word and deed for justice, the poor, disarmament, peace, creation, mercy and nonviolence. It is a tremendous gift that we had him for 12 years, that he did not resign or retire, but kept at it until the last day, Easter Sunday.

Read More

Daniel Ellsberg, Prophet of Truth and Disarmament

A few months before he died on Friday, June 16th, famed whistle blower and peace activist Daniel Ellsberg sent an email letter to hundreds of friends announcing that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given three months or so to live. After reflecting on his life’s work for peace, he announced that he was full of “joy and gratitude” and wished the same for all of us who work to end war.

Read More

My Long Lost Conversation with John Lewis

Last summer, after Congressman John Lewis died, I posted a photo on social media of me and John from a memorable afternoon we spent together in his congressional office. It was 26 years ago. We had talked for a while, and then filmed a formal conversation on nonviolence.

Needless to say, it was one of the greatest days of my exciting life.

Read More

Recent News

“Nonviolence,” a new 147 page special edition
of Richard Rohr’s journal Oneing, now available from www.cac.org

John Dear on “Democracy Now” talking about Thich Nhat Hanh and Archbishop Tutu 

Visit
www.DanielBerrigan.org

“Jesus was totally nonviolent and calls us to practice and teach Gospel nonviolence and welcome God’s reign of peace and nonviolence, which means from now on, we work for the abolition of war, poverty, racism, gun violence, the death penalty, nuclear weapons, environmental destruction, and all violence.” – Fr. John Dear

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