FAQs

According to Jesus (John 14:8), Paul (Col. 1:15), and the author of Hebrews (Heb. 1:3), God is exactly like his son. I believe this means that God is as enemy-forgiving, neighbour-loving, self-sacrificing, nonviolent, and Christlike as Jesus.

I use the phrase "a nonviolent God" to highlight how Jesus is the ultimate revelation of a God who never wields violence to save or punish. Ever.

No, I'm not. The last thing I want to do is dismiss or ignore the violence the Bible bears witness to. There's a reason why the violence is there and why it's repeatedly attributed to God. However, I don't believe it's because God himself is violent.

Our articles seek to address how all Scripture, including the violent parts, point to the nonviolent Jesus (Luke 24:27) and, despite appearances, reveal God to be as nonviolent as his son.

I can say God is nonviolent because the New Testament teaches us that God is one hundred percent like Jesus (see Col. 1:15 and Heb. 1:3). And both Paul and the author of Hebrews declared this despite being Jews who had read and studied (and probably even memorised) the entirety of the Old Testament.

Therefore, I think a better question to ask is: how did their reading of the Old Testament reveal a nonviolent God when ours doesn't? That's what we'll be learning to do within the articles published on A Nonviolent God.

If you're looking for a confession of my faith, please check out the Nicene Creed. You can read a copy of it on Britannica or Wikipedia.

There are two reasons for this.

1. It's good to read multiple translations because it helps us see things we may have missed from an over familiarity with a single translation.
2. Every Bible translation has a fair-use policy. To honour this, I use multiple translations.

Yes, you can! Please check out the following three articles to help you decide whether to subscribe.

1. The harmful way we read the Bible
2. How can we accept God's violence?
3. Noah's Ark and a nonviolent God

I decided to make all of my articles free to read with a Content Member subscription for two reasons. The first is that it makes content about a nonviolent God more accessible to curious readers. The second reason is I want publish some of the series I write as paperback books, so it didn't feel right to charge people a monthly fee for content they could buy as a book later.

Put simply, A Nonviolent God is only viable with financial support from you, my readers. This is because publishing an article a week that is unique, well-researched, and well-written is a part-time job in and of itself. With your donations I can cover the cost of running the website plus give myself a basic wage so I can continue to write great articles instead of working more hours in my other job.

Once the number of paid subscribers reaches a point that makes A Nonviolent God viable long-term, I can then start dreaming about adding more authors to the site, holding live events, or even adding a Community Membership tier.

No. Whatever you pay for your subscription today, will be what you pay for it for life or until you unsubscribe.

I have 46 articles in 6 series planned for the launch year of 2025 (over half of which are ready to go).

Year one will include four longer series (8 to 12 articles long) exploring the book of Lamentations, Creation (Genesis 1 and 2), Climate Change, and the book of Job. There will also be shorter series (4 to 5 articles long) based upon Encounters with Jesus and an advent series.

Content wise for 2026, I'm currently planning three longer series on the subjects of Guiding Prayer, the book of Revelation, and Homosexuality, plus four other smaller series that are yet to be confirmed.

My three big roadmap dreams for future years are:
(1) I want to offer Q&A livestreams and perhaps other live events to paid members.
(2) I want to add more authors (and therefore new perspectives) to A Nonviolent God and pay them for their work.
(3) I want to create an online community for paid members to enable you to connect with each other.

If you have any ideas you want to share with me about my future roadmap, please get in touch using the support email found on your account page.

A Nonviolent God is a password free website.

All you need to sign in is the email address you signed up with and access to your email inbox. A login link will be emailed to you.

I'm unable to setup a password system on A Nonviolent God due to the website building app I use.

1. Open the navigation menu by clicking on the "hamburger" style button to the left of our logo.
2. Click on the "Sign In" button found underneath the primary navigation.
3. Enter your email address.
4. Click on the pink "Continue" button.
5. Go to your email inbox.
6. Open the email from "A Nonviolent God" with the subject line: "🔑 Secure sign in link for A Nonviolent God."
7. Click the pink "Sign in to A Nonviolent God" (or copy and paste the URL into your browser).
8. Welcome back! You'll find yourself back on A Nonviolent God and signed in.

Once you're signed in, you can access your account by clicking on the "My account" button. This is found under the primary navigation within the hamburger navigation menu (in the same place you clicked on the "Sign In" button).

You can also access your account from this link.

There is a "Sign out" button in the bottom left of your account page.

On your account page, click "Change" to access your payment details.

The website building app I use only supports charging for subscriptions in a single currency. I chose £ Pound Sterling (GBP) because I'm based in the UK.

Many banks will handle currency conversion when using their debit and credit cards, sometimes even with a zero conversion fee. Please check with your bank.

Yes, your subscription will auto-renew for the same monthly or annual amount you previously selected, unless you cancel your subscription before the end of the applicable monthly or annual period.

If you're on an annual payment plan, my payment partner, Stripe, will send you an email 7 days before your renewal date to remind you about your upcoming payment and give you an opportunity to check your bank balance or change your mind.

The renewal date of your subscription is stated at the top of your account page or in the footer of all our email newsletters.

On your account page, your membership plan is listed underneath your name and email address.

On your account page, click the pink "Change" link to change, upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your subscription.

Yes, of course you can. On your account page, click the pink "Change" link to change your subscription plan from monthly payments to an annual payment, or vice versa.

Any unused time on your previous plan will be credited to your account, and the charge for your new plan will be prorated.

Any unused time on your previous plan will be credited to your account, and the charge for your new plan will be prorated.

I'm sorry, I do not offer refunds. All subscription payments are final and refunds will not be provided for any reason.

The only exception to this no-refund policy is that I may offer a partial refund or credit if, by my own fault, I fail to meet the stated quota for publishing content. Please see section 2(g) of our Terms of Use for full details.

On your account page, you will see your name and email address. To the right of that is a pink "Edit" link. Click "Edit" to change your email address. Click the pink "Save" button once you're done.

Sorry to hear you're having trouble! Here are a few things to check:

Check spam & promotions folders
Make sure emails aren't accidentally ending up in the Spam or Promotions folders of your inbox. If they are, click on "Mark as not spam" and/or "Move to inbox."

Check your email subscription preferences
Sign in to A Nonviolent God, go to your account page, and click the pink "Manage" link. This will enable you to view your email preferences and make sure you're definitely subscribed to the email/s you were expecting to receive.

Create a new contact
In your email client add our address to your contacts list. This signals to your mail provider that emails sent from this address should be trusted.

Reply to newsletters
When you respond to an email you receive, your inbox treats that as a signal that emails to-and-from this address should be trusted.

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If you have a corporate or government email account, reach out to your IT department and ask them to allow emails to be received from our address.

If you've done all this and you're still having trouble, let me know. You can reach me via the support email on your account page.

No, I think looking over your shoulder to see if you read my emails is rude. It's entirely up to you whether you decide to open my emails or click on any links within them. That information is not recorded.

I send out two different newsletters.

1. The "New Articles" newsletter delivers each new article from your subscription tier direct to your inbox on a Tuesday morning at 5am.
2. The "Monthly Newsletter" informs you about upcoming content and updates, highlights what you may have missed, and offers you a brief look behind-the-scenes. It will also contain the date of the next Content+ Q&A Livestream. It's delivered to your inbox on the last Sunday of every month at 1pm.

Yes, you are automatically subscribed to two email newsletters when you become a member of A Nonviolent God. You can unsubscribe from these newsletters at anytime.

If you're a Content or Patron Member, you will receive one email from me a week plus one additional email each month.

I send the "New Articles" newsletter out every Tuesday.

I send the "Monthly Newsletter" out on the last Sunday of every month.

On your account page, click the pink "Manage" link to update your email preferences. Toggle on or off the email newsletters you want to receive.

There is an "unsubscribe" link at the foot of every email I send. Clicking on this will enable you to unsubscribe from that particular newsletter.

Alternatively, you can set your email preferences within your account by clicking on the pink "Manage" link. This will enable you to unsubscribe or resubscribe to any of the email newsletters.

Please note, Content and Patron Members are sent two different newsletters. If you don't want to receive either of them, you'll need to unsubscribe from both of them in this way.

No, your member plan is separate from your email preferences. You can unsubscribe or subscribe to the email newsletters at any time without it affecting your membership.

No, you'll still receive emails containing the secure "Sign in" link, even though you'll no longer be receiving some or all of the newsletters.

Simply click on the "Contact support" button in the bottom right of your account page to send us an email to me.

I aim to reply to all emails as soon as possible within 72 hours or three working days. Emails sent over the weekend may take me slightly longer to respond to. I'll let you know in advance through the "Monthly Newsletter" when I'm going on holiday, as email response times are likely to lengthen at those times.

ANE = ancient Near East/Eastern
BCE = Before Common Era
CE = Common Era
c. = circa (approximately)
ch. = chapter
chs. = chapters
ed. = edited by
e.g., = exempli gratia (for example)
i.e., = id est (that is)
NT = New Testament
OT = Old Testament
p. = page
pp. = pages
v. = verse
vv. = verses

The Bible is made up of 66 smaller books. These are then sub-divided into chapters and then again into verses. This makes it easier to find the exact section you're looking for.

When we reference Bible books we refer to the book first, then the chapter, then the verse (differentiated from the chapter with a colon). Below are some examples of the kind of references you'll find on A Nonviolent God and how to decipher them.

Lam. 1:9 = The book of Lamentations, chapter 1, verse 9

Lam. 1:9c = Lamentations chapter 1, verse 9, line 3 (helpful when referencing poetry)

Lam. 1:9-11 = Lamentations chapter 1, verses 9 to 11

Lam. 1:9 & 11; 2:20 = Lamentations chapter 1, verses 9 and 11, and Lamentations chapter 2, verse 20.

Lam. 1-3 = Lamentations chapters 1 to 3

Lam. 1:9-2:11 = Lamentations chapter 1 verse 9 to chapter 2 verse 11

A Nonviolent God uses the following ten translations or paraphrases.

CSB = Christian Standard Bible
ESV = English Standard Version
MSG = The Message
NASB = New American Standard Bible
NET = The NET Bible
NIV = New International Version
NKJV = New King James Version
NLT = New Living Translation
NRSV = New Revised Standard Version
TPT = The Passion Translation
VOICE = The Voice Bible

View the Permissions page for copyright information regarding the Bible translations we use.

Gen. = Genesis
Ex. = Exodus
Lev. = Leviticus
Num. = Numbers
Deut. = Deuteronomy
Josh. = Joshua
Jdg. = Judges
Ruth = Ruth
1 Sam. / 2 Sam. = 1 or 2 Samuel
1 Kgs. / 2 Kgs. = 1 or 2 Kings
1 Chr. / 2 Chr. = 1 or 2 Chronicles
Ezra = Ezra
Neh. = Nehemiah
Est. = Esther
Job = Job
Ps. / Pss. = Psalm / Psalms
Prov. = Proverb
Eccl. = Ecclesiastes
SoS. = Song of Songs
Isa. = Isaiah
Jer. = Jeremiah
Lam. = Lamentations
Eze. = Ezekiel
Dan. = Daniel
Hosea = Hosea
Joel = Joel
Amos = Amos
Oba. = Obadiah
Jonah = Jonah
Micah = Micah
Nahum = Nahum
Hab. = Habakkuk
Zeph. = Zephaniah
Hag. = Haggai
Zech. = Zechariah
Mal. = Malachi

Matt. = Matthew
Mark = Mark
Luke = Luke
John = John
Acts = Acts
Rom. = Romans
1 Cor. / 2 Cor. = 1 or 2 Corinthians
Gal. = Galatians
Eph. = Ephesians
Phil. = Phillipians
Col. = Colosians
1 Thess. / 2 Thess. = 1 or 2 Thessalonians
1 Tim. / 2 Tim. = 1 or 2 Timothy
Titus = Titus
Phlm. = Philemon
Heb. = Hebrews
James = James
1 Ptr. / 2 Ptr. = 1 or 2 Peter
1 John / 2 John / 3 John = 1 or 2 or 3 John
Jude = Jude
Rev. = Revelation

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