The Line in the Sand
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Our Guests
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B.A. (Philosophy), Univ of MN
M.Div. Yale Divinity School
Ph.D. Princeton Theological Seminary
Senior Pastor - Woodland Hills Church (1992-present)
President/Founder - Reknew Ministries
Adjunct Professor - Northern Seminary (2017-present)
Professor of Theology - Bethel University (1987 - 2004)
Author/CoAuthor of 23 books
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Dr. Ronald J. Sider was the founder and President Emeritus of Evangelicals for Social Action and was the Distinguished Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry and Public Policy at Palmer Theological Seminary. He was the author of numerous books, including the Early Church on Killing and the bestselling book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. We interviewed Dr. Ronald Sider a few months before his passing in 2022.
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Cyndy Warkentin is the pastor of Saturday Night Church in Landmark, Manitoba.
Links and Resources
Books
The Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Greg Boyd
The Early Church on Killing, by Ronald J. Sider
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, by Ronald J. Sider
Nonviolent Action: What Christian Ethics Demands, but Most Christians Have Never Really Tried, by Ronald J. Sider
If Jesus is Lord, by Ronald J. Sider
Music
First Communion, Dane Joneshill
(Spotify | YouTube Music)
House of Peace, Steve Bell
(Spotify | YouTube Music | Apple Music)
Notable Quotes
Where is the line?
And I think it's true that pacifism and just war Christians are closer to each other than what's been the typical popular expression of the church, namely a crusade or a kind of unthinking nationalism. No, I still don't agree with the just war, but at its best, it's insisting on very careful criteria for saying when it would be just to go to war. ~Dr. Ronald J. Sider
I think that if I believe in loving and living at peace with all people, then I'm compelled to address conflict in ways that lead to resolution. ~Cyndy Warkentin
The primary focus must be Jesus. That should be where we are drawing this from, from his life and his teachings, from his death and resurrection, that forms a model for us and how we respond to violence. So that needs to be the starting place for where we draw our line. ~Jesse Penner
How do we treat those who draw their line in a different place than we do?
We need to humble ourselves to listen and to be curious about someone else's perspective. And I think it's really important that even though we feel, I feel like I'm on the right track in terms of where that line is for myself, that I also recognize that I still have more to learn. I haven't arrived. ~Cyndy Warkentin
In our polarized society, if Christ followers aren't standing in the gap and we're finding some middle ground to reach out to people on every side, then we're failing in our calling. We're supposed to look different. We're not supposed to look far right or far left or whatever, however, you want to define those things, right? We're supposed to be unique, and I don't think that looks loud and obvious for most of us. I think it means just faithfully reflecting the love and grace of Jesus to each person that we encounter. And that's our calling. And it's really easy to say, and it's really hard to do. ~Cyndy Warkentin
Our job is never to judge people, to never look down on them. For every person we see, we have to agree with God that they were worth Jesus dying for. ~Dr. Greg Boyd
I always tell folks that if you're in a debate and winning the debate becomes more important than reflecting love towards the person you’re debating, then do the Kingdom of God a great service and shut up. Because you can win the argument that you're losing because loving is more important than being right. Live and love as Christ loved us. That's how you respond to people who don't see things the way I see. ~Dr. Greg Boyd
Love doesn't monopolize, it dialogues. ~Dr. Greg Boyd
Any kind of theology is really the most profound when it is consistently lived out, not only talked about—when we walk the talk and not only talk the talk. ~Kevin Wiebe
