Peter C. Craigie (1938–1985)

If I were to give this book a rating from 1 to 10 I would put it somewhere around 5. I will further explain this rating, but I must first say that despite this fact I would still highly recommend the book to anyone. Peter does an excellent job of expressing the theological and practical problems of the prevalence of war in the Old Testament. Throughout the entire book he hints at resolutions to these problems, which causes one to be hopeful and continue reading, but then in the last chapters he concedes that he has no real answers. Instead he turns from the problems entirely and instead proposes a Christian perspective on war in light of the Old and New Testaments. This is why I would highly recommend this book to anyone, because his thoughts and perspective on this are well thought out and definitely worth considering, however the book itself wanders from topic to topic and doesn't really give any helpful solution to its main problem.… (more)

This is an excellent, readable, attempt to bring answers to the problems we find when reading the frequent violence present in the Old Testament. Craigie carefully takes us step by step through the different issues, providing a cumulative set of answers or approaches.

One of the particular strengths is the way he deftly weaves contemporary (well, contemporary to the 1970s) secular discussions around war (including von Clausewitz, Churchill) as well as serious theology, and possible Christian practical responses (building on Ellul). And the other is that he doesn't shy away from the difficulties, but finds the underlying causes for the divine-inspired violence (and the human-inspired too). He brings out the Old Testament purposes of this which were to become and maintain the nation of Israel, distinguishing from Jesus' life and teaching where he received violence, in order to inaugurate a future where there will be no violence.

Definitely recommended!… (more)

How do we look at the large amount of the Old Testament dedicated to war and violence, in comparison to the non-violent nature of the Kingdom of God revealed in the New Testament? Craigie argues that violence is fundamental to the nation-state, whether ancient or modern, so that Israel, despite being a nation in covenant with and reigned over by God, was subject to the reality of war. After Israel was defeated, the prophets developed the vision of shalom, an eschatological reality. The strength of the Kingdom of God established by Jesus lies in its submission to violence, not in the exercise of violence, and it is this vision that Christians share with the prophets.

Craigie defines the ethical question as "How can we live as citizens of a nation state and also citizens of the Kingdom of God?" He rejects both the attempt to transform the state to principals of non-violence, recognizing that such a state would be crushed by other nations, and attempts to develop theological positions that allow war (Christian pacifism, Just War). Instead, he argues that we must live with both-and and hold in tension the Kingdom to come and the reality of today. Our citizenship in the Kingdom of God means we have the responsibility to work toward the transformation of the world, which we know will only be completed in the eschaton.

Craigie careful to avoid supersessionism or making simplistic contrasts between Old Testament violence and New Testament love. He shows the dependence of New Testament teachings on the Old Testament, especially the new covenant of the prophets. He recognizes that violence is ubiquitous, and even when it is used for the common good (e.g. police force) it challenges both Jewish and Christian values.… (more)