The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast:
The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast:
Podcast Description
🌎 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 that dares to reclaim the radical, active nonviolence of Jesus. Rooted in the wisdom of Gandhi and Dr. King, this journey isn’t just about changing the world—it’s about transforming ourselves. 💙🎙️ Featuring thought-provoking conversations with visionary leaders like Martin Sheen, Joan Baez, Martin Luther King III, Sister Helen Prejean, Rev. Richard Rohr, Dolores Huerta, Shane Claiborne, and more, we’ll explore how we can:💠 Embody nonviolence—toward ourselves, others, and our communities 🤝💠 Heal from the culture of violence—from war and racism to poverty and environmental destruction 🌱💠 Live with courage, compassion, and universal love ❤️Together, we’ll uncover how Jesus' way of nonviolence can reshape our lives and awaken a more just, peaceful world.🔥 Ready to be part of the movement? 👉Subscribe now and follow The Nonviolent Jesus !
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast centers on themes of active nonviolence, social justice, and spirituality, delving into topics such as the Beatitudes, the legacy of civil rights leaders, and the call to compassionate activism. Episodes explore practical applications of peace in modern society, with discussions on significant issues ranging from poverty and racism to the death penalty. Notable episodes include in-depth analyses of Jesus' radical message and interviews with influential figures like Sister Helen Prejean and Dr. Bernard Lafayette.
Was Jesus nonviolent?
🎙️ This Monday weekly podcast features thought-provoking, inspiring conversations with some of the greatest visionary leaders in peace and nonviolence in modern history like Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now, Gandhi), Bryan Stevenson (Just Mercy) , Cornel West (Race Matters), Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking) , Sr. Joan Chittister, John Fugelsang (Separation of Church and Hate), Rev. Richard Rohr (The Universal Christ), Shane Claiborne (Red Letter Christians), and many, many more!
Join Fr. John Dear—priest, author, activist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee—on The Nonviolent Jesus, a weekly 30-minute podcast that dares to reclaim the radical, active nonviolence of Jesus. Rooted in the wisdom of Gandhi and Dr. King, Fr. John Dear has been arrested and jailed over 80 times in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience against war and nuclear weapons in the tradition of Gandhi and Dr. King.
This journey isn’t just about changing the world—it’s about being creative, nonviolent activists and transforming ourselves. We’ll explore how we can:
💠 Embody nonviolence—toward ourselves, others, and our communities
💠 Heal from the culture of violence—from war and racism, authoritarianism and genocide, to poverty and environmental destruction
💠 Live with courage, compassion, and universal love
Together, we’ll uncover how Jesus’ Way of Nonviolence can reshape our lives and awaken a more just, peaceful world.
👉Subscribe now to The Nonviolent Jesus – change yourself, change the world.
Dear friends,
This week I speak with one of the great peacemakers of our times, my friend Mel Duncan about unarmed civilian protectors and the Nonviolent Peaceforce that has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.
Mel has been a leader in developing the practice of unarmed civilian protection for over two decades:
He started providing nonviolent protective presence along Nicaragua’s northern border in 1984 during the Contra war. In 2002 along with David Hartsough and Mary Lou Ott he co-founded Nonviolent Peaceforce nonviolentpeaceforce.org
Nonviolent Peaceforce’s “nonviolent civilian protectors” provide direct protection to civilians caught in violent conflict and work with local groups to prevent further violence and sustain peace in a variety of conflict areas including South Sudan, Ukraine, the Philippines and the United States.
Mel has represented Nonviolent Peaceforce at the United Nations where the group has been granted Consultative Status. Recent UN global reviews as well as Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions have cited and recommended unarmed civilian protection. The American Friends Service Committee nominated Nonviolent Peaceforce for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2018 Nonviolent Peaceforce received the Luxembourg Peace Prize.
Since retiring in 2023, Mel has helped organize a team of unarmed civilian protectors who are now working in Palestine as “Unarmed Civilian Protection.” He worked there for six months in 2025. For the past few months during the ICE occupation, he has been providing protective presence in St. Paul where he lives.
When I asked about Palestine, he said, “The violence has intensified greatly since the attacks on Iran and Lebanon. It’s provided a cover for Israelis to brutally attack Palestinian civilians.
What can people do? As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said, we pray with our feet. Know that the Kingdom of God is here and now; it’s a consciousness in all of us. Even when it’s hopeless, we can continue on.”
Mel tells us how thousands of people over the last 25 years have learned Nonviolent Peaceforce skills to take back to their own communities.
There are now over 60 other civil society groups now doing this kind of work in 24 areas of the world.
Mel says: “We stress the two hand approach: we resist the injustice with one hand while we reach out to the humanity in every one of us with the other.”
Listen in and be inspired to step up your Gospel nonviolence!
🌻, John
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