The Nonviolent Jesus – Details, episodes & analysis

What does it mean to practice ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ in a world often ruled by violence?

The Beatitudes aren’t just ancient sayings—they’re a bold, countercultural call to action. In this episode, we’ll explore how nonviolence isn’t just the absence of conflict—it’s the presence of love in action and creative activism.

We can create real change, stand up to injustice, and find the courage to choose peace every single day. Together, let’s uncover how these timeless words can guide us to heal wounds, build bridges, and create a more peaceful world.

John reads from the Beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (from Matthew 5:1-11), and reflects on them not as an impossible ideal, but rather as a practical way to transform societal systems of power, justice, and relationships through Jesus’ vision of living a nonviolent life and working for a more just, more peaceful, more nonviolent world.

He will invite us to live out the Beatitudes and become people of Gospel nonviolence, peacemakers, the beloved sons and daughters of the God of peace.

Fr. John Dear is a priest, activist, and author of 40 books including The Beatitudes of Peace and The Gospel of Peace: Reading Matthew, Mark, and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence, and the founder and director of www.beatitudescenter.org

See www.johndear.org

What if the key to a more peaceful world is following the path of the nonviolent Jesus?

Join Fr. John Dear—priest, author, activist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee—for The Nonviolent Jesus, a weekly 30-minute podcast. Each episode reflects on the radical teachings of Jesus through the lens of active nonviolence, inspired by the traditions of Gandhi and Dr. King.

Featuring compelling conversations with spiritual teachers, authors, and activists like Martin Sheen, Joan Baez, Rev. Richard Rohr, Sister Helen Prejean, Dolores Huerta, Shane Claiborne, and many others, John dives deep into the practice of nonviolence to address critical issues. Together, they explore the practice of nonviolence and its power to end war, racism, poverty, nuclear weapons, and environmental destruction—all while embracing Jesus’ call to universal love, compassion, and peace.

Be inspired to reclaim the radical nonviolence of Jesus and work toward a more just and peaceful world and discover how universal love and compassion can transform our lives and the world.

Subscribe now and join us as we follow The Nonviolent Jesus!

This week’s guest is actor and activist Martin Sheen, one of our most celebrated, award-winning actors from movies such as “Apocalypse Now,” “Gandhi,” “Selma,” “The American President,” “Gettysburg,” “The Way,” “Badlands,” and many more, and the star of the TV series, “The West Wing,” where he played President Bartlett.

Martin is perhaps the most committed activist celebrity, who has been speaking out against war, injustice, homelessness, and nuclear weapons and advocating for justice, disarmament, and peace for over 4 decades.

Fr. John will ask Martin about his activism, his understanding of Gospel nonviolence, and how his movies and activism have shaped his life and his peacemaking faith journey.

This week’s guest is Dr. Bernard Lafayette, one of the great heroes and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement who was also Dr. Martin Luther King’s assistant.

He is an activist and organizer who was part of the Nashville student movement with Rev. Jim Lawson, John Lewis and Diane Nash; one of the Freedom Riders; played a leading role in the Selma voting rights movement; and then served as Dr. King’s assistant until his death.

He worked closely with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. An ordained Baptist minister, Bernard Lafayette later founded the Center for Peace and Nonviolence studies at the Univ. of Rhode Island which has offered thousands of workshops and talks on Kingian nonviolence and continues to offer a wonderful summer institute each year.

Listen as John and Dr. Bernard Lafayette discuss Dr. King’s 100th birthday and the basics of Kingian nonviolence, and Dr. Bernard recalls his experiences and impressions during his ground breaking work with Dr. King and his own personal hopes for us today.

Our guest this week is Sister Helen Prejean, a spiritual powerhouse and one of the world's leading voices against the death penalty. Sister Helen’s journey into activism began in the shadows of death row, and her relentless pursuit of justice has captured hearts around the globe. Sister Helen is a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille, and is one of the most well-known Catholic leaders in the modern era.

You may know her as the author of the best-selling book Dead Man Walking, which not only became an Oscar-winning movie starring Susan Sarandon (as Sr Prejean) and Sean Penn but also inspired a powerful opera recently performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

Her courageous and compassionate work has been shared through other critically acclaimed books, including the best-sellers The Death of Innocents and River of Fire: A Spiritual Memoir.

Through her incredible life and ministry, Sister Helen has accompanied eight men to their executions, bearing witness to the dignity of every human being—even in the darkest moments.

Today, she joins us from her home in New Orleans to share her wisdom, her faith, and her enduring hope for a world without the death penalty.

So, sit back, take a deep breath, and prepare to be inspired by one of the world’s most compassionate and courageous voices for justice.

🔥 Spiritual seekers, this is an episode you won’t want to miss! 🔥

This week on The Nonviolent Jesus, we welcome Fr. Richard Rohr, one of the most influential spiritual voices of our time. A beloved Franciscan priest, best-selling author, and prophetic teacher, Fr. Richard has guided millions—including Oprah, Bono, and even Pope Francis—toward a deeper, more transformative faith.

As the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, his teachings on mysticism, contemplation, and social justice have shaped the way we see faith in the modern world. His books, including The Universal Christ, Falling Upward, and The Divine Dance, have become essential reading for spiritual seekers worldwide. His daily reflections reach over half a million subscribers hungry for wisdom in a divided world.

Now, Fr. Richard returns with his most urgent book yet: "The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage." In a time of chaos and division, what can the prophets teach us about courage, hope, and speaking truth to power?

Join Fr. John as he sits down with Fr. Richard for a powerful conversation on faith, justice, and the prophetic voices we need now more than ever.

🎧 Listen in, be inspired, and discover why Richard Rohr remains one of the most beloved spiritual teachers of our time.

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast

🎙️ Episode #6: Fr. John Dear on “The Nonviolence of Jesus: 10 Essentials”

📅 Drops Feb. 10, 2025

What if Jesus wasn’t just a teacher of love, but a radical, nonviolent activist challenging empire, oppression, and injustice? What if his message wasn’t about passive faith but fearless resistance rooted in love?

In this episode, Fr. John Dear breaks down 10 essential lessons on the nonviolence of Jesus—a message more urgent than ever in our world of war, division, and systemic injustice. From the Sermon on the Mount to his bold civil disobedience in the Temple, from "Put down the sword!" in Gethsemane to the radical new covenant at the Last Supper (“My blood shed for you, do this!” — a total rejection of violence), we’ll explore how Jesus wasn’t just preaching peace—he embodied it in action.

This is more than theology—it’s a call to action. If you’re serious about peacemaking, activism, and following Jesus in a way that actually challenges power and transforms the world, this episode is for you.

Fr. John Dear is a renegade priest, activist, and author of 40+ books, including The Beatitudes of Peace and The Gospel of Peace. He’s been arrested for standing up against war and nuclear weapons, and he’s here to invite you into a new way of living the Gospel—one of courage, justice, and relentless nonviolence.

🔥 Are you ready to follow Jesus in a way that shakes the world? Tune in now.

👉 More from John Dear: www.johndear.org 👉 Join the movement: www.beatitudescenter.org

#Nonviolence #JesusTheActivist #RadicalChristianity #Peacemaking #SocialJustice #GospelAction

🎙 Episode #7: Fr. John Dear & Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes” (Part 1 of 3)

📆 Drops Feb. 17, 2025

What if the Beatitudes weren’t just comforting words, but a blueprint for a way of life? What if Jesus wasn’t just offering hope, but a call to action in a world of injustice, violence, and oppression?

In this powerful first episode of a three-part series, Fr. John Dear sits down with the legendary Sr. Joan Chittister to unpack the Beatitudes—not as prayers, but as bold, countercultural ways of living that challenge systems of power. "The 8 Beatitudes of life are actually the 8 attitudes for life!" Sr. Joan says. Together, they dive deep into:

💠 Blessed are the poor in spirit– What does it mean to let go of ego and privilege in a world obsessed with power?

💠 Blessed are those who mourn– How do we turn grief into action in the face of war, climate collapse, and social injustice?

💠 Blessed are the meek, humble, and gentle– Why is humility a revolutionary force for peace?

Sr. Joan doesn’t hold back—"The Beatitudes are not prayers of supplication: they are the reality of everything we could get out of life right now". She speaks truth to power as a fierce advocate for justice, peace, and human dignity. A Benedictine sister, activist, and author of 60+ books, she’s spent her life challenging the Church, political systems, and all of us to live out our faith with courage.

🔥 This is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

🎧 Listen now. Get inspired. Change the world.

Sr. Joan Chittister is an internationally known lecturer and teacher, a columnist for The National Catholic Reporter, and the author of 60 books including The Time Is Now; Becoming Fully Human; Radical Spirit; Aspects of the Heart; The Gift of Years; and The Rule of Benedict. She has served as Benedictine prioress and Benedictine federation president, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women.

👉 Learn more about Sr. Joan Chittister:joanchittister.org

👉 Join the movement for nonviolence:beatitudescenter.org

#Beatitudes #RadicalFaith #NonviolentResistance #JesusTheRevolutionary #Peacemaking

Episode #13 – "Jesus is a nonviolent general leading a peace revolution:" How to Build a Nonviolent Movement Today with Fr. John Dear

Jesus wasn’t just a teacher—he was a movement builder, a grassroots organizer, and a radical leader of nonviolent resistance. This week on The Non-Violent Jesus, John Dear unpacks Luke 10, where Jesus sends out 72 disciples in pairs—not to conquer, but to disarm, disrupt, and dismantle empire through radical peace.

What if following Jesus meant joining a real, organized, strategic movement of nonviolence?

What does it mean to be “lambs among wolves” in a world of rising fascism, white supremacy, and war? How do we mobilize like Jesus, Gandhi, and MLK to create real change today?

"Jesus isn't just a community organizer," Dear says. "He's a nonviolent general leading a peace revolution. But instead of war, he wages peace." Like Gandhi’s Salt March and MLK’s Selma-to-Montgomery march, Jesus calls us to get moving, start organizing, and take action.

Are you ready to step into the movement? Listen now and learn how to carry on Jesus’ campaign of daring, active nonviolence.

For more, check out John Dear’s book, The Gospel of Peace.

Learn more at www.johndear.org beatitudescenter.org

#JesusTheOrganizer #NonviolenceNow #GrassrootsResistance #TheNonViolentJesus #FaithInAction #ResistEmpires

🎙Bryan Stevenson: "If I am successful at all, it is because I got close to a condemned man and heard his song."

This week on “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” John Dear speaks with the legendary lawyer, founder and executive director of Equal Justice Initiative, professor of law at New York University law school, and author of the best-selling book, JUST MERCY, which was made into a great movie of the same name starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.

Bryan graduated from Harvard and moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where he started a non-profit to serve those on death row, the poor, the wrongly condemned, and those trapped in the furthest reaches of our criminal injustice system. He tells us that "going to death row completely changed me" and at the heart of his story is Walter McMillian, an innocent man sentenced to die for a notorious murder he did not commit.

After a profound struggle, Walter was released.

Bryan has won relief for dozens of condemned prisoners, argued five times before the supreme court, and won many awards, including the MacArthur Foundation Genius grant. A few years ago, he raised millions of dollars and built 2 museums in Montgomery: the National Museum of Peace and Justice, the nation’s first comprehensive memorial dedicated to the legacy of Black Americans who were enslaved and terrorized by lynching; and “the Legacy museum: from Enslavement to Mass Incarceration,” which displays the history of slavery, racial lynchings, and segregation.

Archbishop Tutu called Bryan “America’s young Nelson Mandela,” and deservedly so.

John asks Bryan for his take on the current national crisis under Trump, the rise of fascism, racism, and ongoing systemic injustice, as well as his understanding of nonviolence, what he has learned from so many unjust incarcerated people, and where he finds hope. “

The politics of fear and anger are reigning. We need to become hopeful, courageous, faithful truth-tellers,” Bryan Stevenson says. "Truth is the antidote to the abuse of power: the truth will set us free." Join us!

beatitudescenter.org

eji.org

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4916630/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Mercy_(book)