Most Christians desire nonviolence, yes; but they are not talking about a nonviolent struggle for justice. They mean simply the absence of conflict. They would like the system to change without having to be involved in changing it. What they mean by nonviolence is as far from Jesus’ third way as a lazy nap in the sun is from a confrontation in which protesters are being clubbed to the ground. When a church that has not lived out a costly identification with the oppressed offers to mediate between hostile parties, it merely adds to the total impression that it wants to stay above the conflict and not take sides. The church says to the lion and the lamb, ‘Here, let me negotiate a truce,’ to which the lion replies, ‘Fine, after I finish my lunch.’
Walter Wink, “Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way” (Fortress Press)
