Is There Ever a “Just” War? A Process-Relational Reframing of Power, God, and Violence | Sheri Kling
Event Type:
- Discussion, Presentation
- (Online)
Program:
- Process Explorations
Theme:
- Building Alternative Futures
Featuring:
- Sheri D. Kling
Organizers:
- Center for Process Studies
In a time of rising global conflict and polarized rhetoric, this presentation explores the enduring question, Is there ever a “just” war? Drawing on process-relational theology and engaging voices such as Alfred North Whitehead, Thomas Jay Oord, Walter Wink, Catherine Keller, and Parker J. Palmer, Sheri D. Kling, director of Process & Faith, reframes traditional just war thinking through a relational lens that challenges assumptions about power, control, and violence.
Rather than asking only whether war can be justified, it invites a deeper question: what kinds of futures are our actions bringing into being? The presentation concludes by exploring how practices of relationality, humility, and nonviolent engagement—especially within democratic life—can serve as pathways toward healing in an interconnected and evolving world.
Featuring
Sheri D. Kling, PhD is an interdisciplinary scholar who explores how human beings move from fragmentation toward belonging through soul formation, relational worldviews, and communities of spiritual practice. Integrating Jungian depth psychology, relational theology, human sciences, and empirical research on meaning and human flourishing, she serves as Director of Spiritual Formation and Research for the Center for Process Studies, where she leads the John Templeton Foundation-funded initiative Modern Meaning: Spiritual Yearning and the Quest for a Flourishing World. She is a faculty member of the Haden Institute and Graduate Theological Foundation, adjunct faculty at Claremont School of Theology, and serves in the advisory circle for the World Institute for Science, Religion, and Culture. Dr. Kling is the author of A Process Spirituality: Christian and Transreligious Resources for Transformation, has contributed to several additional volumes, and is a frequent keynote speaker who leads courses, concerts, and spiritual retreats exploring spirituality, transformation, and human flourishing. She can be found online at https://sherikling.com/.
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