ABSTRACT
Biblical Christian anarchists argue that the teachings of Jesus imply a unique form of anarchism. Christian anarchists believe that followers of Jesus are called to a life of nonviolence, love, and forgiveness. The Sermon on the Mount is the primary biblical inspiration for the positions of many Christian anarchists. Walter Wink argues that the verb translated as “resist” is best read as referring to “violent rebellion, armed revolt, sharp dissention.” The commitment to nonviolence sets Christian anarchists apart from most of their non-Christian counterparts. However, Christian anarchists and pacifists often appeal to a prefigurative argument in support of nonviolence. Jesus’s admonition to “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” presents another possible problem for Christian anarchism. The most influential Christian socialist anarchists were largely unaware of the market anarchists, in particular since most died before market anarchism was articulated in the late 1970s and the 1980s.
