Concept de non-violence chez le théologien processuel David Ray Griffin entre la guerre du Vietnam et celle d'Iraq (1968-2008)

Non-violence primarily refers to an ideology and practices which reject any form of violence altogether in our everyday lives. It has become also, however, a tool used by pressure groups or individuals to obtain whatever they wish, as long as no violence is used. Therefore, there is no concern for the common good. Non-violence is merely a means to an end. This research is written in the perspective of non-violence serving the common good and features major history events and protagonists who have used non-violence in order to free a group of people from a form of oppression which undermined their dignity. It refers more specifically to authors who have influenced David Ray Griffin throughout his own teaching and research career on a 40-year span. It stretches from the Vietnam war to the Iraq War. Dates range from 1968 to 2008. A first step was to establish what exactly non-violence is and what are its most recent interpretations so that influences on David Ray Griffin’s life and work could be pinpointed. Secondly, national and international U.S-lead events are examined in retrospect, in order to set the context in which Griffin’s evolution has progressed and how his thinking and discourse have shown through those historical, sociological and academic influences, all along his carreer. A special focus is directed towards the United States’ foreign policy as well as economic and military implications leading to Griffin’s opinion that the US are engaged in an anti-theological journey. His response is that a global, more balanced paradigmatic change is urgently needed, in which planetary resources are spent and shared with justice for all. Hence, an international court of justice and a global religion are put forward, according to a whiteheadian-hartshornian process theology perspective. David Griffin demonstrates how this has become urgent and a methodology and pedagogy are thereby stated, inferred from his 40-year experience. Based on a tradition of genuine non-violent authors, David Ray Griffin’s life features the characteristics of a peace maker whose ideals jut out over the limits of nationalism, towards a global salvation perspective triggered by the September11th, 2001 World Trade Centre attacks. Griffin not only believes that the United States have undertaken an imperialistic, demonic predation approach towards the world, but that they must, at once, stop this course, reverse it, and lead the healing process of the planet’s ecosystems, economies and nations. As he is joined by other authors who share the same view in a process theology standpoint, Griffin travels along the road of pedagogy in order to convince as much people as possible, that now is the time to act upon our destinies. A standardized reading chart is then created and used to analyze Griffin’s texts, hence giving way to a structure of his basic ideas. Finally, the process of integrating non- violence values is modelized, so that the same process can be applied to other subjects of research.

Keyphrases: non-violence, David Ray Griffin, non-violence, process theology, David Ray Griffin, common good, Vietnam War, Iraq War, globalization, American politics, Imperialism, values