Pleased to find this review of The Nonviolent Messiah by Kelly Denton-Borhaug in the journal Dialog: A Journal of Theology:
“Simon Joseph develops a biblical hermeneutic of nonviolence
derived from his textual analysis of messianic portrayals in Judaism and early
Christianity. His investigation leads him to assert the originality and
centrality of Jesus’ command to love enemies . . . In this extensively researched and comprehensive study . . .
Joseph encourages a recovery of the importance of Jesus traditions of
nonviolence as a hermeneutical key for a better understanding of the historical
Jesus . . . Joseph carefully builds his argument in a way that is very
accessible to nonspecialists, almost as if he were writing a mystery novel. At
the same time, this book’s detailed footnotes and bibliography demonstrate his
meticulous care to address the concerns, intricate analyses, and discoveries of
a diverse group of biblical scholars . . . Joseph notices that not only are the
consequences of Jesus’ nonviolence ignored and marginalized in mainstream
contemporary society, even in historical Jesus research there is surprisingly
little attention to this subject.”
The full article, "Christianity: Maidservant to War?," can be read here.