Religion without Violence: The Practice and Philosophy of Scriptural Reasoning

In 1992 Peter Ochs and a few Christian and Muslim colleagues began to gather small groups in and outside the classroom to practice close and attentive reading of the sacred Scriptures of the Jewish Muslim and Christian traditions. The hope was that members of different religions could hear one another through the patient respectful reading of each others Scripture. Hearing each other participants might enter into interreligious relationships that might point a way to the peaceful engagement of religions--especially those who after September 11 2001 too often found themselves at each others throats. It was a hope for religion without violence. Nearly thirty years later this practice of study-across-difference has seeded an international movement now named Scriptural Reasoning. The movement nurtures cooperative study among students scholars and congregants devoted to distinctly different religious and value traditions. In Religion without Violence Ochs reflects on the practical and philosophic lessons he has learned from hosting hundreds of Scriptural Reasoning engagements. He introduces the scriptural pragmatism of Scriptural Reasoning. He painstakingly recounts instances of successful scriptural reasoning and warns where and how it might fail. He provides guidance on how to introduce and facilitate Scriptural Reasoning in the classroom. He shows how reading out of the hearth of a faith can contribute to peace building across religions. And drawing on the resources of rabbinic tradition Augustine and Charles Peirce he moves beyond practice to reflect on the implications of Scriptural Reasoning for discerning what kinds of reasoning best address and help repair societal crises like religion-related violent conflict.