What About Hitler?: Wrestling with Jesus' Call to Nonviolence in an Evil World

Those who critique pacifism usually ask one simple question: what about Hitler? Brimlow, an associate professor of philosophy at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., grapples with that question as he reviews the philosophy and implementation of just war theories. The major difficulty, he argues, is that just war theory can be used to justify any war, including the ones against Hitler and Osama bin Laden. To those who argue that pacifism isn't effective in combating evil, Brimlow counters that by secular definitions, Jesus' nonviolence wasn't successful either. Brimlow argues that the Gospels are very clear: what Christians are called to do is to repay evil with good, even when doing so leads to death. A life of prayer and attention to God's presence in everyday life, as well as practicing peacemaking daily, are the spiritual practices that prepare Christians to turn the other cheek, and even die, when the time comes. Brimlow's treatise is carefully argued in academic fashion, even as he admits to personal difficulties living out the gospel as he understands it. The result is a lucid and thoughtful analysis that doesn't gloss over or minimize the outrageous demands of the Gospels. (Oct.)