Restoration Dialogues

"Jesus took sides. He was very political. Jesus is aware that when the poor hear the good news, some people don't like that. Some people find that very upsetting, and go hostile against somebody that is preaching good news to the poor. This vision sees Jesus as the opponent of empire.” Addison talks to Scott and John about Christianity as it relates to peacemaking, racism, and empire. Coming of age in the south at the birth of the civil rights movement, and teaching at an all-black college opened Addison's eyes to the way Christianity is historically used as an arm of the empire, and simultaneously to the power of Jesus' teachings to inform us as peaceful resistors to the oppressive tendencies of the powerful.

John talks to Scott about his book, Active Peace: A Mindful Path to a Nonviolent World. "Restorative activism – despite all of the effort going into social change right now, more people, more groups than ever, if a significant amount of that activism isn't transformed into an approach that prioritizes relationship, that attends to real not-violence - consistent non-violence, then were not going to survive.”

Amina talks to Scott and John about the collective intelligence of groups and the restorative potential inherent in the group field.

"The truth that we work for is really for connection - for love - for healing, and that goal actually supersedes all political and economic agendas.” Stephen talks to Scott and John about the importance of integrating spiritual intelligence into our daily lives and our efforts to affect change in the world.