ABSTRACT
This chapter gives an account of the origins and fortunes of the tradition of Christian pacifism and Christian pacifism is a dissident tradition. It outlines the principled opposition to violence and military service as it developed in the early church and then considers why that opposition was eroded in the era we now call Christendom. During the first three centuries of Christian history, opposition to violence and to Christian participation in the military was widespread among Christian theologians, though not applied consistently in practice. The Christian convictions motivating Martin Luther King's advocacy of non-violent resistance in the Civil Rights movement are widely shared among Christians. Following the declaration by Emperor Theodosius in 380 that Catholic Christianity was to be the only legitimate religion in the Roman Empire, those who were not Christian became enemies of the State. The course of the Middle Ages and the modern era the pacifist position was marginalized and sustained largely by minority and sectarian groups.
