The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast
Posted Every Monday
The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast is a free, weekly thirty-minute podcast, posted on every Monday, featuring Fr. John Dear and his reflections about Jesus, Gospel nonviolence, and peacemaking, and guests who teach, speak out, organize and work for a more just, most peaceful, more nonviolent world. Through these weekly reflections, we hope to inspire everyone to follow the nonviolent Jesus more faithfully and do our part to welcome God’s reign of peace with justice on earth!
To listen, click on any link below to hear past podcast.
To hear the latest podcast, click on the most recent link at the bottom of the list.
Below that, you will see some of the platforms which also host it, including Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and Substack, as well as on the National Catholic Reporter.
On today’s episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” John Dear reflects with John Ashworth on his lifelong work for peace in Sudan. They discuss his new book, Journeying Towards Nonviolence: My life in Sudan. Originally from England, John has worked since 1982 with the church in Sudan and South Sudan, teaching and doing humanitarian work. For the last twenty years, he has been doing fulltime advocacy for peace and reconciliation. They met in Rome at the first Vatican conference on nonviolence in 2016. A former priest, John Ashworth recently retired with his wife Jane to rural Kenya. His books include Faith on the Margins; Stop Fighting, Start Talking; and The Voice of the Voiceless: The Role of the Church in the Sudanese Civil War 1983-2005.
More than 2.5 million people have been killed or died from conflict-related starvation and disease in Sudan and South Sudan in recent decades.
John Ashworth describes his years in the warzones of Sudan: “We were living on the front lines for many years with regular shellings and raids. We were kidnapped, taken hostage, sentenced to death and faced a firing squad. If I had a firearm, I would be dead. They were ready to kill, and I wasn’t. I survived because of dialogue; instead of challenging them, I was compliant, calm, peaceful, friendly, and built a relationship with them.
“What is going on in Sudan is connected with you whether you like or not. Training in nonviolence is now happening everywhere in South Sudan. We now have the language and theology of nonviolence. If nonviolence can work in Sudan, it can work anywhere. Defending Jesus with violence from being arrested, tortured and murdered seems justified, but Jesus doesn’t win by violence, only by nonviolence. We can live with nonviolence because the strength of the resurrection is greater than violence and death.” Listen in and be inspired!
- November 2. #97. John Dear Speaks with Ken Butigan on Pope Leo’s Call for an “Unarmed and Disarming Peace”
- October 26. #96, John Dear with Melissa Parke, Exec. Dir. of the Int’l Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
- October 19. #95. John Dear reflects on the life and witness of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker
- October 12. #94, John Dear speaks with Cyprian Consiglio, Sec. General of Monastic Interfaith Dialogue in Rome
- October 5. #93. John Dear speaks with Wamuyu Wachira, Pres. of Pax Christi International
- September 28. #92, John Dear with Dennis Kucinich
- September 21. #91, John Dear with Robert Jonas on Henri Nouwen!
- September 14. #90, John Dear with Fr. Greg Boyle
- September 10. #89, John Dear’s Personal Experience at 9/11
- September 7. #88, John Dear with Colleen Kelley, co-founder of Sept. 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
- August 31. #87, John Dear with Todd Walatka on St. Oscar Romero
- August 24. #86, John Dear with Tim Shriver on the Special Olympics
- August 17. #85, John Dear with David Beckmann on Abolishing Poverty
- August 10. #84, John Dear on Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, anti-war martyr
- August 3. #83, John Dear & Jack Cohen-Joppa on Resistance to Nuclear Weapons
- July 27. #82, John Dear on the Raising of Lazarus
- July 20. #81, John Dear with Catherine Meeks
- July 13. #80, John Dear with Fr. Ron Rolheiser
- July 6. #79, John Dear with Wes Howard-Brook
- June 29. #78, John Dear with Lisa Sharon Harper
- June 22. #77, John Dear with Zoughbi Zoughbi of Bethlehem, Palestine
- June 15. #76, John Dear with Mel Duncan
- June 8. #75, John Dear with Joyce Rupp
- June 1. #74, John Dear with John Dominic Crossan and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, Part 2 of 2
- May 25th. #73, John Dear with John Dominic Crossan, Part 1 of 2
- May 18th. #72, John Dear with Bishop Michael Curry
- May 11th. #71, John Dear with Prof. Kate Common
- May 4th. #70, John Dear with Bishop Mariann Budde of the National Cathedral
- April 27th. #69, John Dear’s Reflections on Daniel Berrigan for the 10th Anniversary of His Death
- April 20th. #68, John Dear speaks with Prof. Melanie Harris on “Ecowomanism”
- April 13th. #67 John Dear speaks with Prof. David Cortright on war and peace
- April 6th. #66 John Dear speaks with human rights activist Kerry Kennedy
- March 30th. #65 with Jim Finley on God and the mystics
- March 23rd. #64 with Daniel Hunter on resistance
- March 16th. #63 with Jonathan Kuttab of FOSNA.org
- March 9th. #62, with Rev. Amy Brooks Paradise of Greenfaith.org
- March 2nd. #61, Part 2 of John Dear on his new book “Universal Love”
- February 23rd. #60, John Dear on his new book “Universal Love,” Part 1 of 2
- February 16th. #59, John Dear speaks with activist Ann Wright
- February 9th. #58, John Dear speaks with Ched Myers on his new book on the Gospel of Luke
- February 2nd. #57, John Dear speaks with Emily Yellin on Rev. Jim Lawson’s Memoir, “Nonviolent”
- January 26th. #56, John Dear with actor/activist Mike Farrell
- January 19th. #55, John Dear with Rev. Andrew Young
- January 12th. #54, John Dear with Charlene Howard, Director of Pax Christi USA
- January 5th, 2026. #53, Robert Ellsberg on the Saints!
- December 29th. #52, A Special Year End One Hour Episode of Highlights of the Nonviolent Jesus Podcast from 2025!
- December 22nd. #51, John Dear on the Epiphany Journey to the Nonviolent Jesus—and Civil Disobedience to the Tyrant!
- December 15th. #50, John Dear on Mary’s Advent Journey of Nonviolence
- December 8th. #49, John Dear with activist Mike Martin on beating guns into garden tools!
- December 1st. #48, John Dear with Rep. Jamie Raskin
- November 24th. #47, John Dear with filmmaker and author Gerry Straub, on his journey from Hollywood to Haiti
- November 17th. #46, John Dear with justice activist Wes Granberg-Michaelson
- November 10th. #45, John Dear Talks With Anti-Nuclear Leader Dr. Ivana Hughes
- November 3rd. #44, John Dear Talks Nonviolence with the Legendary Joan Baez
- October 27th. #43, Part 2 of John Dear’s conversation with Sr. Simone Campbell
- October 20th. #42, John Dear with Sr. Simone Campbell
- October 13th. #41, John Dear with Paul Chappell
- October 6th. #40, John Dear on “The Nonviolent Jesus and the Things That Make For Peace”
- September 29th. #39, John Dear with John Fugelsang
- September 22nd. #38, John Dear with Archbishop John Wester
- September 15th. #37, John Dear the Life and Lessons of Gandhi
- September 8th. #36, John Dear with Stanley Hauerwas
- September 1st. #35, John Dear with Rivera Sun
- August 25th. #34, John Dear with Ken Butigan
- August 18th. #33, John Dear with Brad Wolf
- August 11th. #32, Terry Rynne on Jesus the Peacemaker
- August 4th. #31, John Dear on “Love Your Enemies”
- July 28th. #30, Michele Dunne on following St. Francis and Jesus on the path of Gospel nonviolence
- July 21st. #29, Rev. Charles McCarthy on nonviolence and Christlike love
- July 14th. #28, Art Laffin on the Catholic Worker, Plowshares, and the command to love
- July 7th. #27, Cornel West on the collapse of the US empire, and the need to love our way through the darkness and cruelty
- June 30th. #26, Kathy Kelly, on Fasting for an End to the US-backed Israeli Genocide in Gaza
- June 23rd. #25, Michael Nagler on Nonviolence as the destiny of the human race
- June 16th. #24 Frida Berrigan on Remembering Hiroshima 80 Years Ago and Resisting Nuclear Weapons
- June 9th. #23. Matthew Fox on Resisting Evil & A Spirituality of Falling in Love with Life
- June 2nd. #22, Fr. John Dear on Mt. 5:39—the Most Revolutionary–and Most Disobeyed–Teaching in the Gospels
- May 26th. #21, John Dear Talks with Bishop John Stowe, head of Pax Christi, the Catholic peace movement
- May 19th. #20, Fr. John Dear Talks with Maria Stephan on Global Movements for Change
- May 12th. #19, John Dear with Bill McKibben
- May 5th. #18, John Dear with Kazu Haga, author of the new book, Fierce Vulnerability, on trauma healing and creative nonviolence
- April 28th. #17, John Dear on “Francis—the Most Radical Pope in History”
- April 21st. #16, John Dear with Martha Hennessy, longtime peace activist, member of Maryhouse Catholic Worker in New York City, granddaughter of Dorothy Day
- April 14th. #15, Eric Stoner of WagingNonviolence.org On the Growing Resistance to Trump’s Policies
- April 7th. #14 John Dear with Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder and director of Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.
- Mar. 31st. #13 John Dear on Jesus’ Grassroots Campaign of Nonviolence, a Model for our Time
- Mar. 24th. #12 Fr. John Dear with Shane Caliborne
- Mar. 17th. #11 Fr. John Dear with Brian McLaren
- Mar. 10th. #10, John Dear with Marie Dennis
- Mar. 3rd. #9 Fr. John Dear with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 3 of 3
- Feb. 24th. #8 Fr. John Dear with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 2 of 3
- Feb. 17th. #7 Fr. John Dear with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 1 of 3
- Feb. 10th. #6, Fr. John Dear on “The Nonviolence of Jesus: 10 Essentials”
- Feb. 3rd. #5 John Dear with Fr. Richard Rohr about his new book on the prophets, “The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an age of outrage.”
- Jan. 27th. #4 The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast with Sr Helen Prejean
- Jan. 20th. #3 John Dear with Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Dr. King’s personal assistant
- Jan. 13th. #2 John Dear with actor and activist Martin Sheen
- Jan. 6th, 2025. #1 John Dear on “Living the Beatitudes”
Upcoming Podcasts
- November 16. #99. John on the Book of Jonah
- November 23, 2026. #100. Brian Terrell on a life time of peace activism
- November 30, 2026. #101. Miriam Ford and Mary Anne Ford and the 4 churchwomen martyrs
- December 7, 2026. #102. John on the Advent vision of Isaiah
The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast is a free, weekly thirty-minute podcast, posted on every Monday, featuring Fr. John Dear and his reflections about Jesus, Gospel nonviolence, and peacemaking, and guests who teach, speak out, organize and work for a more just, most peaceful, more nonviolent world. Through these weekly reflections, we hope to inspire everyone to follow the nonviolent Jesus more faithfully and do our part to welcome God’s reign of peace with justice on earth!
To listen, click on any link below to hear past podcast.
To hear the latest podcast, click on the most recent link at the bottom of the list.
Below that, you will see some of the platforms which also host it, including Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and Substack, as well as on the National Catholic Reporter.
On today’s episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” John Dear talks about the book of Jonah and its three acts—first, how God tells him to march through Nineveh and call the people to repent, how Jonah runs away, catches the next ship out, is thrown overboard, swallowed by a whale, turns to God in prayer and is finally released.
Next, Jonah walks through the great capital city of his hated enemy, Ninevah, calls them to repent, and lo and behold!, the whole city repents in sackcloth and ashes, fasts and prays, and eventually learns to live in peace with God.
In the final comical act, Jonah responds to God’s compassion by throwing a temper tantrum! “I knew you were kind and gracious and merciful,” he complains to God. He goes off and sulks and begs for death. The gentle, merciful God tries to reason with him, asking, “Isn’t it right that I care for the 120,000 people of Nineveh, who don’t know their right hand from their left, not to mention the cattle?”
It’s one of the shortest and greatest books of the Bible, but it throws a great challenge at us. If God was upset with the violent people of Nineveh, what must the God of peace think about America, its permanent warfare, corporate greed, racism, executions, fascism and plans to destroy the planet with nuclear weapons, AI and fossil fuels?
“We don’t want to end up like Jonah, bitter, resentful and vindictive,” John concludes. “We want to repent of the social sin of war and spend the rest of our lives celebrating God’s kindness, forgiveness, compassion and universal love, and get on with the mission of peace that God gives us. In the end, we find that it’s more pleasant to be people of peace and nonviolence than sitting under our dead gourd tree, nursing our rage, feeling depressed and begging for death.” Listen in and be inspired!
- November 9. #98, John Dear Speaks with John Ashworth on his journey toward nonviolence in Sudan
- November 2. #97. John Dear Speaks with Ken Butigan on Pope Leo’s Call for an “Unarmed and Disarming Peace”
- October 26. #96, John Dear with Melissa Parke, Exec. Dir. of the Int’l Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
- October 19. #95. John Dear reflects on the life and witness of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker
- October 12. #94, John Dear speaks with Cyprian Consiglio, Sec. General of Monastic Interfaith Dialogue in Rome
- October 5. #93. John Dear speaks with Wamuyu Wachira, Pres. of Pax Christi International
- September 28. #92, John Dear with Dennis Kucinich
- September 21. #91, John Dear with Robert Jonas on Henri Nouwen!
- September 14. #90, John Dear with Fr. Greg Boyle
- September 10. #89, John Dear’s Personal Experience at 9/11
- September 7. #88, John Dear with Colleen Kelley, co-founder of Sept. 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
- August 31. #87, John Dear with Todd Walatka on St. Oscar Romero
- August 24. #86, John Dear with Tim Shriver on the Special Olympics
- August 17. #85, John Dear with David Beckmann on Abolishing Poverty
- August 10. #84, John Dear on Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, anti-war martyr
- August 3. #83, John Dear & Jack Cohen-Joppa on Resistance to Nuclear Weapons
- July 27. #82, John Dear on the Raising of Lazarus
- July 20. #81, John Dear with Catherine Meeks
- July 13. #80, John Dear with Fr. Ron Rolheiser
- July 6. #79, John Dear with Wes Howard-Brook
- June 29. #78, John Dear with Lisa Sharon Harper
- June 22. #77, John Dear with Zoughbi Zoughbi of Bethlehem, Palestine
- June 15. #76, John Dear with Mel Duncan
- June 8. #75, John Dear with Joyce Rupp
- June 1. #74, John Dear with John Dominic Crossan and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, Part 2 of 2
- May 25th. #73, John Dear with John Dominic Crossan, Part 1 of 2
- May 18th. #72, John Dear with Bishop Michael Curry
- May 11th. #71, John Dear with Prof. Kate Common
- May 4th. #70, John Dear with Bishop Mariann Budde of the National Cathedral
- April 27th. #69, John Dear’s Reflections on Daniel Berrigan for the 10th Anniversary of His Death
- April 20th. #68, John Dear speaks with Prof. Melanie Harris on “Ecowomanism”
- April 13th. #67 John Dear speaks with Prof. David Cortright on war and peace
- April 6th. #66 John Dear speaks with human rights activist Kerry Kennedy
- March 30th. #65 with Jim Finley on God and the mystics
- March 23rd. #64 with Daniel Hunter on resistance
- March 16th. #63 with Jonathan Kuttab of FOSNA.org
- March 9th. #62, with Rev. Amy Brooks Paradise of Greenfaith.org
- March 2nd. #61, Part 2 of John Dear on his new book “Universal Love”
- February 23rd. #60, John Dear on his new book “Universal Love,” Part 1 of 2
- February 16th. #59, John Dear speaks with activist Ann Wright
- February 9th. #58, John Dear speaks with Ched Myers on his new book on the Gospel of Luke
- February 2nd. #57, John Dear speaks with Emily Yellin on Rev. Jim Lawson’s Memoir, “Nonviolent”
- January 26th. #56, John Dear with actor/activist Mike Farrell
- January 19th. #55, John Dear with Rev. Andrew Young
- January 12th. #54, John Dear with Charlene Howard, Director of Pax Christi USA
- January 5th, 2026. #53, Robert Ellsberg on the Saints!
- December 29th. #52, A Special Year End One Hour Episode of Highlights of the Nonviolent Jesus Podcast from 2025!
- December 22nd. #51, John Dear on the Epiphany Journey to the Nonviolent Jesus—and Civil Disobedience to the Tyrant!
- December 15th. #50, John Dear on Mary’s Advent Journey of Nonviolence
- December 8th. #49, John Dear with activist Mike Martin on beating guns into garden tools!
- December 1st. #48, John Dear with Rep. Jamie Raskin
- November 24th. #47, John Dear with filmmaker and author Gerry Straub, on his journey from Hollywood to Haiti
- November 17th. #46, John Dear with justice activist Wes Granberg-Michaelson
- November 10th. #45, John Dear Talks With Anti-Nuclear Leader Dr. Ivana Hughes
- November 3rd. #44, John Dear Talks Nonviolence with the Legendary Joan Baez
- October 27th. #43, Part 2 of John Dear’s conversation with Sr. Simone Campbell
- October 20th. #42, John Dear with Sr. Simone Campbell
- October 13th. #41, John Dear with Paul Chappell
- October 6th. #40, John Dear on “The Nonviolent Jesus and the Things That Make For Peace”
- September 29th. #39, John Dear with John Fugelsang
- September 22nd. #38, John Dear with Archbishop John Wester
- September 15th. #37, John Dear the Life and Lessons of Gandhi
- September 8th. #36, John Dear with Stanley Hauerwas
- September 1st. #35, John Dear with Rivera Sun
- August 25th. #34, John Dear with Ken Butigan
- August 18th. #33, John Dear with Brad Wolf
- August 11th. #32, Terry Rynne on Jesus the Peacemaker
- August 4th. #31, John Dear on “Love Your Enemies”
- July 28th. #30, Michele Dunne on following St. Francis and Jesus on the path of Gospel nonviolence
- July 21st. #29, Rev. Charles McCarthy on nonviolence and Christlike love
- July 14th. #28, Art Laffin on the Catholic Worker, Plowshares, and the command to love
- July 7th. #27, Cornel West on the collapse of the US empire, and the need to love our way through the darkness and cruelty
- June 30th. #26, Kathy Kelly, on Fasting for an End to the US-backed Israeli Genocide in Gaza
- June 23rd. #25, Michael Nagler on Nonviolence as the destiny of the human race
- June 16th. #24 Frida Berrigan on Remembering Hiroshima 80 Years Ago and Resisting Nuclear Weapons
- June 9th. #23. Matthew Fox on Resisting Evil & A Spirituality of Falling in Love with Life
- June 2nd. #22, Fr. John Dear on Mt. 5:39—the Most Revolutionary–and Most Disobeyed–Teaching in the Gospels
- May 26th. #21, John Dear Talks with Bishop John Stowe, head of Pax Christi, the Catholic peace movement
- May 19th. #20, Fr. John Dear Talks with Maria Stephan on Global Movements for Change
- May 12th. #19, John Dear with Bill McKibben
- May 5th. #18, John Dear with Kazu Haga, author of the new book, Fierce Vulnerability, on trauma healing and creative nonviolence
- April 28th. #17, John Dear on “Francis—the Most Radical Pope in History”
- April 21st. #16, John Dear with Martha Hennessy, longtime peace activist, member of Maryhouse Catholic Worker in New York City, granddaughter of Dorothy Day
- April 14th. #15, Eric Stoner of WagingNonviolence.org On the Growing Resistance to Trump’s Policies
- April 7th. #14 John Dear with Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder and director of Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.
- Mar. 31st. #13 John Dear on Jesus’ Grassroots Campaign of Nonviolence, a Model for our Time
- Mar. 24th. #12 Fr. John Dear with Shane Caliborne
- Mar. 17th. #11 Fr. John Dear with Brian McLaren
- Mar. 10th. #10, John Dear with Marie Dennis
- Mar. 3rd. #9 Fr. John Dear with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 3 of 3
- Feb. 24th. #8 Fr. John Dear with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 2 of 3
- Feb. 17th. #7 Fr. John Dear with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 1 of 3
- Feb. 10th. #6, Fr. John Dear on “The Nonviolence of Jesus: 10 Essentials”
- Feb. 3rd. #5 John Dear with Fr. Richard Rohr about his new book on the prophets, “The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an age of outrage.”
- Jan. 27th. #4 The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast with Sr Helen Prejean
- Jan. 20th. #3 John Dear with Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Dr. King’s personal assistant
- Jan. 13th. #2 John Dear with actor and activist Martin Sheen
- Jan. 6th, 2025. #1 John Dear on “Living the Beatitudes”
Upcoming Podcasts
- November 23, 2026. #100. Brian Terrell on a life time of peace activism
- November 30, 2026. #101. Miriam Ford and Mary Anne Ford and the 4 churchwomen martyrs
- December 7, 2026. #102. John on the Advent vision of Isaiah
The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast is available on these other platforms too!
(In the Opinion Section - Guest Voices)
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The Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus is a 501c3 Nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible.
The Beatitudes Center
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John Dear’s 15 previous “Peace Podcast,” recorded 2020-2021.
Click a link below to open the podcast in a new window.
The Life And Teachings Of Daniel Berrigan
The Beatitudes of Peace and Nonviolence
The Nonviolent Sermon on the Mount
Jesus’ Campaign of Nonviolence
The Raising of Lazarus as Nonviolent Revolution
Walking With the Nonviolent Risen Jesus
Mary and the Advent Journey of Peace and Nonviolence
Gandhi’s Lessons on Nonviolence
Dr. King’s Teachings on Nonviolence
The Nonviolent Life of Dorothy Day
The Nonviolent Life of Franz Jagerstatter
Thomas Merton’s Teachings of Nonviolence
The Psalms of Peace and Nonviolence
75 Years After Hiroshima, My Stories of Nonviolent Resistance (August, 2020)