What do the gospels contribute to our understanding of nonviolent versus
violent means of conflict resolution? Many biblical scholars contend
that the gospels have little to say on this subject. Others seek answers
in ethical principles found in Jesus's teachings, which may or may not
be interpreted as accepting or rejecting violence. In Nonviolent Story
Robert Beck proposes a new way of reading the Gospel of Mark, one that
points to a challenging message of nonviolent resistance as reflected in
the story of Jesus's life and ministry. According to narrative analysis,
the message of the Gospel is found in the structure of the story itself.
Beck contends that the narrative form of Mark's gospel portrays Jesus as
a protagonist who does not avoid conflict, but enters into it without
himself resorting to violence. He thus serves as a model of the
nonviolent resistance that inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
By using literary analysis to explore Mark's gospel, Beck opens up a
counter-story that challenges the prevailing American cultural myth of
constructive violence. Beck uses the Western tales of Louis L'Amour as
the narrative essence of this pop mythology--and the total opposite of
the story told by Mark.