“The Risk of the Cross is an excellent resource for courageous groups and individuals seeking to learn about the danger presented by nuclear weapons, to pray and reflect together on the Scriptural call to just peace, and to act in response.”

MARIE DENNIS, PAX CHRISTI INTERNATIONAL Christian discipleship depends not on what ideas we believe but rather on a fundamental question: In whom do we place our trust? In Mark’s gospel, we find what this challenge entails when Jesus declares that the primary condition for discipleship is “to take up the cross and follow in my steps” (Mk 8:34). What does it mean to follow Jesus’ way of the cross and to place our trust in God for our true security, instead of in nuclear weapons that can destroy all life on earth? How do we find hope and courage to stand for God’s reign of love, justice, and nonviolence in a time of unprecedented nuclear danger and other global perils?

As worldwide commemorations will be held August 6-9 marking the 75th anniversary of the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and calling for nuclear abolition, this book is a timely invaluable resource for all followers of Jesus committed to bringing about peace, social justice and a disarmed world. This new edition of The Risk of the Cross will inspire Christians seeking answers to these questions today, just as the first edition helped Christians a generation ago. At its core are five small-group sessions focusing on Jesus’ call to discipleship in Mark’s gospel—all linked to appendices containing information and inspiration to help faith communities embrace the way of gospel nonviolence and to take action to avert nuclear annihilation.As worldwide commemorations will be held August 6-9 marking the 75th anniversary of the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and calling for nuclear abolition, this book is a timely invaluable resource for all followers of Jesus committed to bringing about peace, social justice and a disarmed world. ARTHUR LAFFIN is coauthor of the original The Risk of the Cross (with Elin Schade and Christopher Grannis), and co-editor of Swords into Plowshares. A member of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington D.C., he has long been active in faith-based nonviolent movements for peace and social justice.