The Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice is launching a new, hopefully at least somewhat unique, blog as one part of our literary activities that include the long-running online (and now print too) Clarion Journal of Spirituality of Justice, a new academic journal called the Journal of Peace Theology, and an anticipated book series that will explore neglected but important issues related to religion, peace and justice.
This blog has a specific mandate and defined parameters that set it apart from others. Yes, it will explore issues related to the inner transformation of a peacemaker, peace theology and social justice, the role of religion in peace and violence, and practical peacebuilding and conflict transformation. This is what we're all about at IRPJ. But we also want this to be an informal venue for "ah-ha" moments, epiphanies, turning points in our thought that hinge on a new single idea, the "final (or new pivotal) piece of the puzzle" ideas that click into place in our ongoing thought process, the thing that you finally figured out that helped you clear a major hurdle in your thinking and that you think might be able to help others do the same. This blog is therefore a kinda "get to the point," "what's the important idea you thought of" destination. In this way, this blog is not a place to convince people of something through a robust argument or compelling string of evidence (that's what Clarion Journal is for). It's a place to share a single helpful idea that authors think will be helpful to others that they too can simply plug into their way of thinking about particular issues.
So, we don't want wordy, formal, pedantic writing or traditional three-part essays. Instead, our posts are limited to about 250–300 words (ironic, since this initial post on our short blog post idea is longer than that) that get straight to the point for easy communication and easy consumption, with perhaps one line that provides at least some context at the beginning of each post. These ideas are the best of the best—the ones that helped us overcome major barriers in the trajectory of our thought or brought new clarity and relief.
While we try to post insights written by known experts in their fields, we welcome submissions from any curious and thoughtful author—especially historically marginalized and vulnerable voices. Just contact the Director, Andrew Klager.
We at IRPJ truly hope this blog will become a compendium of some of the most helpful ideas related to religion, peace and justice and look forward to all that lies ahead for us. We hope you'll join us too by contributing. And because the posts are short and "to the point," their easy consumption means that it's the perfect blog to subscribe to, which we hope you'll do.