Dr. Valerie Elverton Dixon is an independent scholar who publishes lectures and essays at JustPeaceTheory.com. She received her Ph.D. in religion and society from Temple University and taught Christian ethics at United Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Theological School.

Posts By This Author

Walter Cronkite and True Journalism

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 07-20-2009

Within the context of just peace theory, Walter Cronkite was and remains an important figure. Truth. Respect. Security. We know the truth through the hard work of scholars doing the difficult and necessary research into the past and present to help us understand the facts of any conflict. Politicians and policy makers ought to make decisions based on a careful interpretation of the facts.

Obama, Africa, and Truth-Telling

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 07-14-2009
Now that the Cold War that was anything but cold in Africa is over; now that the CIA, as far as we know, no longer pays for the overthrow and murder of democratically elected leaders as it did with

What's Done in the Dark

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 07-01-2009
Torture leaves wounds that are slow to heal.

Thank You, Michael

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 06-29-2009
Only God can or ought to judge Michael Jackson's personal life. We do not have enough information to judge his behavior, but we do know that we have lost a true musical genius.

Radical Love: A Father's Day Reflection

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 06-22-2009
Many of us understand God the Father through our relationship with our own fathers.

Obama in Cairo: A Just Peace

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 06-04-2009
Truth. Respect. Security.

Christian Soldiers in Afghanistan

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 05-29-2009
William Faulkner once said: "The past is not dead.

Let Us Pray for the World's Bad Actors

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 05-19-2009
Let us pray for Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe and for the Burmese generals. Let us send them our love. This is the counterintuitive radicality of the Christian witness.

Torture Memos: 'What Is Done in the Dark'

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 04-23-2009
Jesus taught: "For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light" (Luke 8:17). In other words: the truth will come out.

Taxes and Tithes, Contract and Covenant

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 04-15-2009
We cannot avoid death and taxes. Our own death is an event that we only face once.

Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 04-03-2009
She is a girl whose father sold her to strangers. They took her far from home, and now she is a prostitute. He works for no money paying off the debt of a long dead ancestor.

John Hope Franklin: Scholar, Activist, Truth-teller

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 03-27-2009

John Hope Franklin lived through most of the twentieth century. He was a gentle man, a scholar, an activist, and a truth-teller. He studied history and he helped to make it.

Palestinian and Israeli Former Fighters Unite for Peace

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 03-13-2009
Ishmael and Isaac, brothers of the same father and different mothers, together buried their father Abraham. Esau and Jacob, twin brother and rivals, reconciled.

Reading Peace for Lent

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 03-10-2009
I am a good person.

Lent: A Time for Peace

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 03-03-2009
Lent is a season of transition. It is a season of fasting, reflection, penance, and preparation.

Obama Continues Bombing Pakistan (A 'Just Peace' President? Part 2)

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 02-03-2009
He said he would do it.

A 'Just Peace' President?

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-28-2009
If this Gaza War teaches us anything, if the tragic history of wars in the Middle East teaches us anything, it is that when people are determined to obtain weapons and fight, war goes on and solves

The Obama Inauguration: A Singular and Unique Event

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-21-2009
The inauguration of President Barack Obama was a singular and unique event. I intend an emphatic redundancy. It was much much. Very very. Amazing.

Gaza: 'Enough of Blood and Tears. Enough!'

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-12-2009
Why do we value blood and tears so cheap? Is it because we all own them? When we grieve the various losses that life brings to us, the tears seem to flow from some inexhaustible source.

In Support of Rick Warren

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-05-2009