When someone asks me about nonviolent resistant, so many powerful events and people twentieth century history come to mind from Gandhi’s hunger strikes to Martin Luther King Jr, the Civil Rights movement, and sit in’s. These events paved the way for so many of the peaceful marches in Fall 2014 following the shooting of Michael Brown. When I think this way, I’m reflecting on nonviolence in a cultural and literal way, but what does nonviolence mean in a Christian context?

Throughout scripture, we are reminded that our thoughts can lead us to sin even if they are not all realized into action. For instance, in the Epistle of James, James writes: “But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.”[1] The violent action of sin is preceded by the thought that tempts us, angers us, or preys upon our fears.  If sin precedes action in the form of a thought, then when does violence begin? Does it start before one draws back one’s arm to strike? According to James, yes it does! It all starts with desire, an emotional response that is poorly handled. It’s a timeless story well-told both in scripture and a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

For how highly our culture values the canon of Star Wars and the heroics of the Jedi, it is really quiet amazing how little we mind our thoughts relative to our actions. After all, the best existing paraphrase of James 1:14-15 is one of the most quoted lines from the wisdom of Master Yoda; “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Suffering leads to the Dark Side.”[2] The Dark Side: while it may be nothing more than a different point on the same spectrum from which the Jedi gain their power, the Dark Side is where that power is used without restraint or fear of consequence for how it affects others. Among the Jedi, collaborative leadership governs a hierarchical system in which the community of Jedi mentor each other in mastery of power but also mindfulness of thoughts. The thoughts they mind are not just violent ones from flaring tempers, but the seeds that grow those thoughts. Yoda cites anger as starting in fear. Throughout the episodes 1-3 of Star Wars, we hear the Jedi caution each other, and especially the protagonist-turned-antagonist-turned-protagonist Anakin, to be mindful of their thoughts. At the end of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, it is Anakin’s fear of losing his wife, Padme, that causes him to give into the Dark Side, the temptation to use his knowledge of the force without restraint.  He forsakes all he once held sacred because of a fear and countless Jedi and others die as a result, many, including Padme, die because of Anakin’s reckless thoughts run rampant and Anakin’s disregard of his fellow disciple Yoda’s advice, cautioning him of the danger within his fear of loss.

The Jedi mindfulness of thought is at the heart of their order, in which they focus on peace, seeking a diplomatic solution before drawing their swords. [I probably could have also writing about them in my paper on whether there is such a thing as a just war]. Living by their code as demonstrated in the Star Wars movies can help one live into James’s caution to be mindful of our desires and to give us the strength of resolve protestors had decades ago, when they dared to sit at the Other End of a counter and not strike back at the hateful acts of those around them.

[1] James 1:14-15 NRSV

[2] Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, directed by George Lucas (Lucasfilm, 1999), DVD (20th Century Fox, 1999).