
#61 Part 2 of 2: John Dear on "Universal Love, Surrendering to the God of Peace": "You want me to get rid of my guns?"
From The Nonviolent Jesus by Fr. John Dear
March 2, 2026 · 49 min · Season 2 · Episode 61
About this episode
Fr. John Dear reflects on universal love and the connection between nonviolence and surrendering to God in the context of current global issues.
On today’s new episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” I offer part 2 of my reflection on my new book, Universal Love: Surrendering to the God of Peace . If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, it will be helpful to listen to last week's podcast first. There I tell how the book came about, and why I wrote it. I conclude the first episode with the story of my visit with Archbishop Tutu in Cape Town, South Africa, where he confided with me his thoughts on free will as the basis of understanding God and our work for peace, justice and nonviolence, In this 2nd episode, I’ll reflect on the connection between nonviolence and surrendering our will to God, and the political consequences of doing God’s will of peace in a world of war, I also recount many of my experiences with some of the greatest peace activists and peacemakers in the world and how surrender is vital to becoming an extension of Universal Love. In this concluding part, I explore the connection between surrendering our will to the God of universal love and living nonviolence in our daily lives. Then, I try to unpack the shocking political implications of universal love, peace and nonviolence--if we surrender our lives…
People in this episode
Host: Fr. John Dear
Topics covered
- universal love
- nonviolence
- surrender to God
- peace
- political implications
- spirituality
Keywords
- universal love
- nonviolence
- surrender
- peace
- Archbishop Tutu
- spiritual classics
- political consequences
- climate change
More episodes of The Nonviolent Jesus
- #75 John Dear in conversation with bestseller writer Joyce Rupp on her award winning book "The Years of Ripening": "The Serenity Prayer is the prayer of elderhood, not just for AA!" · June 8, 2026 · 42 min
- #74 Part 2 of 2: John Dear with authors John Dominic Crossan and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz on their new book "Jesus and Justice" and organizing work on the streets of Chicago: "We have a savage culture". · June 1, 2026 · 43 min
- #73 Part 1 of 2: John Dear with scripture scholar John Dominic Crossan:"Has God given us the freedom to destroy ourselves and the world?" · May 25, 2026 · 42 min
- #72 John Dear with Bishop Michael Curry, prophetic leader and best-selling author on the way of God and the way of life: "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!" · May 18, 2026 · 35 min
- #71 John Dear with professor and theologian Kate Common on the two of the Great Heresies, the nonviolent origins of the Hebrew community and her book "Undoing Conquest". · May 11, 2026 · 44 min
- #70 With Bishop Mariann Budde of the National Cathedral on returning to Minneapolis this January: “There was a sense of resolve, horror, exhaustion, fear and defiance. I've never been part of anything like it.” · May 4, 2026 · 37 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Nonviolent Jesus podcast page.