About the Blog
This blog is a personal mapping of aspects of my engagement with philosophy, religious studies, ‘theory,’ and other areas of interest. Though its content intersects with my academic work and my academic interests, it should not be taken as an indicator of the quality, range, content, or focus of my academic life as such. The views reflected in my posts are at most strictly mine (and sometimes less than that, as many of my positions have shifted drastically over the years); they do not reflect the positions or attitudes of any organizations with which I am affiliated. Older posts may not even reflect my own current beliefs.
The Sword, both in the Bible and in other literature, is commonly used as a symbol of government power, of violence, and of war. The Cross is a symbol, conversely, of the Kingdom of Heaven, and by extension of the nonviolent gospel of Christ. These concepts, the concepts of Sword and Cross, are central to Christian ethics; they are inherently both political and theological, and open the door to many other related questions. I write about many things on this blog, but themes that I continually return to are nonviolence, Christian interaction with the State, issues of identity and allegiance for Christians, and all sorts of associated ethical, philosophical, and theological questions. Thus, though the phrase “Sword and Cross” cannot describe everything I do here, the interplay between these two ideas is central to my writing.
This blog is a member of the Christian Century blogging network.
About the Author
I am Matthew Shafer. I originally hail from Atlanta. I now reside for most of the year in New Haven, CT as a student at Yale University (Class of 2013), where I am majoring in philosophy while pursuing interests in religious studies and political theory. After college, I hope to continue to study academic philosophy and eventually enter academia.
My primary interests revolve around nonviolence theory, phenomenology & existentialism, critical theory and political philosophy (broadly construed), Christian theology, and the dialogue between religion and ‘postmodernity.’
In the summer of 2008 I attended the Youth Theological Initiative at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. That experience is tied, directly or indirectly, to most of the places that I find myself today.
I helped found the Stategic Global Prayer Initiative, and served as the coordinator of its War, Peace, and Nonviolence Issues group until the organization ceased to be active later in 2009. I worked as a Peer Liaison in the Yale Chaplain’s Office from 2010-2011, and I am the co-president of the Yale student chapter of Global Zero.
You can contact me at matt [at] mtshafer [dot] com or through my LinkedIn profile. I also have a boring twitter feed that you can follow if you really want to.
