Peace and War in the name of God: what can we learn from these Biblical stories?
with Helen Mathis
A three-session (2 hours each) class via Zoom on
Saturdays, July 12, 19, 26, 2025
1 pm Eastern time (12 noon Central, 11 am Mountain, 10 am Pacific, GMT -5hrs) Can't make it live? Everyone enrolled will have access to the video replay.
(LCHM003)
Click on the link below to watch a video sample (6 mins):
Overview:
Our Bible is a mix of teachings and stories some of which are supportive of peace and others which tell of war and violence – all in the name of God. We will look closely at the Genesis origin stories, Joshua and holy war, the evolution of apocalyptic thought, and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with its ideals and applications then and now. Our purpose is to explore deeper, more multivalent understandings of these texts to become more spiritually equipped to fortify our prayer and activism for peace.
Helen Mathis - After living with her family in Swaziland in southern Africa for nine years, Helen returned to the U.S. for graduate school where she earned her Master’s degree in Biblical Studies at the Pacific School of Religion in 1998. What an enriching experience it was studying the Bible among those training for the ministry while attending the nine seminaries belonging to the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. After earning her degree, she spent four years as Director of the Foundation for Biblical Research in New Hampshire which provided workshops for lay people conducted by leading Bible scholars, as well as professional development opportunities for clergy and other church leaders. Since then she has spent decades teaching the Bible to Christian Scientists throughout the country, including three years teaching the Bible and Christian history at Principia College. During that time she was also editor-in-chief for a Bible study curriculum series with the nonprofit, Bible Study Seminars
