Overview

Religion is a set of beliefs and practices that help form our relationship to God and to our fellow human beings. Religion can inspire commitment to nonviolence and peaceful coexistence in a pluralistic world. However, throughout history, efforts to protect religion, the nation, and the foundations of belief have often made violence a part of religion. As a result, religion becomes a source of both violence and nonviolence. This fact about religion is a great opportunity for nonviolent religious actors to opt for nonviolent movement. Socially engaged religion teaches that people of faith have a responsibility to address and reduce suffering in all its forms, both physical and spiritual, including suffering resulting from social injustice, exploitation, oppression, false faith, and so forth. True religion engages with society to alleviate suffering and bring transformation. Hence, the ideology of engaged religion supports peace, justice, and freedom, and denounces oppression in every aspect of life. Socially engaged people of faith assume something inherently peaceful and benevolent about religion. Violence in the name of religion is a perversion of true faith. In other words, religious violence is an obscenity, a deviation from the true character of religion. Martin Luther's Theology of Two Kingdoms in Buddhist and Christian Communities examines the principle of separation between religion and politics in the context of both Buddhist and Christian communities. In predominantly Buddhist context such as Myanmar, where a reciprocal relationship between religion and politics is expected, separation is not effective. Attempts by Christians to separate religion and politics causes the church to run away from tyranny and follow the state with blind obedience. Martin Luther’s model of two distinct but interconnected systems for religion and politics creates space for each institution to give constructive advice and criticism to the other for the health of all human beings.

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9781978716681

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This is a very important work. Pa Yaw places a careful analysis of Martin Luther's theological doctrine of two kingdoms in fruitful conversation with Christians and socially engaged Buddhists in contemporary Myanmar, yielding guidelines for both as they struggle to address state oppression of religious pluralism. Pa Yaw's sensitive reading of Luther and Bonhoeffer is just as impressive as his account of the recent conflicts in Myanmar, and bringing the two together in such a creative and original way is compelling and prophetic. --Kenneth G. Appold, Princeton Theological Seminary This timely and important book addresses the complex reality of life in Myanmar today, ravaged by brutal hostility which is not just political but religious in tone and intent, with disastrous consequences for members of minority communities, especially Christians. Using the writings of Luther and Bonhoeffer, no strangers to violence themselves, this situation is addressed honestly, critically, historically, and constructively, and offers the Christian community, from which the writer comes, theological resources and ethical imperatives in living out their faith commitments in the public and private spheres even when facing the horrors of vicious hatred. It does not shy away from addressing the reality of persistent state-sanctioned aggression that has been justified on religious and nationalistic grounds and asks about what dignity and human flourishing could mean in this pluralistic society when non-violence could be restored as a virtue, not in the abstract but in the ongoing life of the communities that inhabit this land. --Rev. J. Jayakiran Sebastian, United Lutheran Seminary

This is a very important work. Pa Yaw places a careful analysis of Martin Luther's theological doctrine of two kingdoms in fruitful conversation with Christians and socially engaged Buddhists in contemporary Myanmar, yielding guidelines for both as they struggle to address state oppression of religious pluralism. Pa Yaw's sensitive reading of Luther and Bonhoeffer is just as impressive as his account of the recent conflicts in Myanmar, and bringing the two together in such a creative and original way is compelling and prophetic. --Kenneth G. Appold, Princeton Theological Seminary This timely and important book addresses the complex reality of life in Myanmar today, ravaged by brutal hostility which is not just political but religious in tone and intent, with disastrous consequences for members of minority communities, especially Christians. Using the writings of Luther and Bonhoeffer, no strangers to violence themselves, this situation is addressed honestly, critically, historically, and constructively, and offers the Christian community, from which the writer comes, theological resources and ethical imperatives in living out their faith commitments in the public and private spheres even when facing the horrors of vicious hatred. It does not shy away from addressing the reality of persistent state-sanctioned aggression that has been justified on religious and nationalistic grounds and asks about what dignity and human flourishing could mean in this pluralistic society when non-violence could be restored as a virtue, not in the abstract but in the ongoing life of the communities that inhabit this land. --Rev. J. Jayakiran Sebastian, United Lutheran Seminary This is a very important work. Pa Yaw places a careful analysis of Martin Luther's theological doctrine of two kingdoms in fruitful conversation with Christians and socially engaged Buddhists in contemporary Myanmar, yielding guidelines for both as they struggle to address state oppression of religious pluralism. Pa Yaw's sensitive reading of Luther and Bonhoeffer is just as impressive as his account of the recent conflicts in Myanmar, and bringing the two together in such a creative and original way is compelling and prophetic. This timely and important book addresses the complex reality of life in Myanmar today, ravaged by brutal hostility which is not just political but religious in tone and intent, with disastrous consequences for members of minority communities, especially Christians. Using the writings of Luther and Bonhoeffer, no strangers to violence themselves, this situation is addressed honestly, critically, historically, and constructively, and offers the Christian community, from which the writer comes, theological resources and ethical imperatives in living out their faith commitments in the public and private spheres even when facing the horrors of vicious hatred. It does not shy away from addressing the reality of persistent state-sanctioned aggression that has been justified on religious and nationalistic grounds and asks about what dignity and human flourishing could mean in this pluralistic society when non-violence could be restored as a virtue, not in the abstract but in the ongoing life of the communities that inhabit this land.

This is a very important work. Pa Yaw places a careful analysis of Martin Luther's theological doctrine of two kingdoms in fruitful conversation with Christians and socially engaged Buddhists in contemporary Myanmar, yielding guidelines for both as they struggle to address state oppression of religious pluralism. Pa Yaw's sensitive reading of Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer is just as impressive as his account of the recent conflicts in Myanmar, and bringing the two together in such a creative and original way is compelling and prophetic. --Kenneth G. Appold, Princeton Theological Seminary This timely and important book addresses the complex reality of life in Myanmar today, ravaged by brutal hostility which is not just political but religious in tone and intent, with disastrous consequences for members of minority communities, especially Christians. Using the writings of Luther and Bonhoeffer, no strangers to violence themselves, this situation is addressed honestly, critically, historically, and constructively, and offers the Christian community, from which the writer comes, theological resources and ethical imperatives in living out their faith commitments in the public and private spheres even when facing the horrors of vicious hatred. It does not shy away from addressing the reality of persistent state-sanctioned aggression that has been justified on religious and nationalistic grounds and asks about what dignity and human flourishing could mean in this pluralistic society when non-violence could be restored as a virtue, not in the abstract but in the ongoing life of the communities that inhabit this land. --Rev. J. Jayakiran Sebastian, United Lutheran Seminary

Author Information

Pa Yaw is lecturer of church history at Myanmar Institute of Theology, Insein, Yangon, Myanmar (Burma).

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