On Friday, March 28, 2014, David Bercot and Dean Taylor will be participating in a debate/panel discussion on the topic of "Should Christians Participate in War?” The event will be held between 7:00 ”“ 9:00 p.m. at historic Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston. David Bercot and Dean Taylor will be presenting the case for nonresistance. Representing the Just War position will be Peter Kreeft and J. Daryl Charles. Drs. Kreeft and Charles are both university professors who have written numerous books on theology and Christian ethics.
If you would like to listen to the debate/panel live, you can call in on the conference line.
The primary call-in number is: +1 (646) 307-1717
Access Code When Prompted: 189-747-580
If the primary call-in phone line is filled, please try to dial in the overflow call-in number:
Overflow Call-in Number: +1 (712) 432-0070
Access Code When Prompted: 9991#
The debate is being sponsored by Followers of the Way, a Kingdom church in Boston. The moderator of the debate/panel discussion will be Finny Kuravilla. Here is the announcement from the Followers of the Way website:
Upcoming event -- Debate on "Should Christians Fight?” Friday, March 28, 2014 (7-9 pm)
On Friday, March 28, we are sponsoring a debate on the question, "Should Christians Fight?" in historic Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston. There is no charge for admission. However you are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early in case seating reaches capacity; there will be no overflow room.
Speaking in favor of Christians engaging in just war will be:
Peter Kreeft (Ph.D. Fordham University) is professor of philosophy at Boston College. He is the author of over 67 books on philosophy, theology and Christian apologetics. A gifted thinker and speaker, he speaks at universities and churches all over the world. He draws inspiration from influential figures such as Socrates, Thomas Aquinas, and C. S. Lewis. His books include Making Sense Out of Suffering (Servant Books, 1986), Socrates Meets Jesus (InterVarsity Press, 1987), and a Handbook of Christian Apologetics (InterVarsity Press, 1994).
J. Daryl Charles (Ph.D., Westminster Theological Seminary) teaches in the Honors Program at Berry. He has written 14 books on ethics, Christian engagement in the public square, and just war. He is widely regarded as a leading authority on the Christian just war tradition. His books include Between Pacifism and Jihad (InterVarsity Press Academic, 2005), War, Peace, and Christianity (Crossway, 2010), and The Just War Tradition (Intercollegiate Studies, 2012), and America's Wars (forthcoming).
Speaking against Christians in war will be:
David Bercot is an attorney (J.D., Baylor University), author, and speaker. He has numerous books on the subject of the early church, where he emphasizes the simplicity of biblical doctrine and early (pre-325 AD) Christian teaching over what he would call the complex and compromised body of theological understandings built up over the centuries that have come to be thought of as orthodoxy. His most well known books are Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up? (Scroll Publishing, 1989), and A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs (Hendrickson, 1998).
Dean Taylor and his wife Tania were both in the U. S. Army when they realized that, as committed Christians, they had to come to grip with Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount on loving one's enemies. They ultimately left the Army in a new and sincere quest for truth, determined to follow Jesus Christ under the banner "no compromise.” Mr. Taylor is a widely sought speaker who regularly addresses the question, "What if Jesus really meant every word He said?” His best known book is A Change of Allegiance (Radical Reformation, 2008).
Faneuil Hall is a very short walk from the State Street or Government Center subway stops (blue line and green line, respectively). For more information, please write to:
info@followers-of-the-way.org