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

In Honor of Civil Rights Leaders Benjamin Hooks and Dorothy Height

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 04-21-2010

The world is stubborn. It changes its thinking at a glacial pace. People fear change, and they come to hate what they fear. Powerful interests do not want to lose or to share power. The work of social justice, of affecting positive change requires persistent commitment and radical love that gives one the energy to continue the work across decades.

Why the Tea Party Movement Should be Anti-War

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 04-16-2010
What is the Tea Party position on war?

Glenn Beck's Faulty Logic

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 04-07-2010
I do not usually watch Glenn Beck's program. So many books, so little time. However, on April 6, while working on another project, my intuitive mind told me to watch Glenn Beck. So, I did.

The Radical Love of Jesus

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 04-02-2010

When I was a little girl, Easter morning in my house smelled of vinegar and cloves. We were up early, before sunrise to see the sun shout. My father would attend an Easter sunrise service with his Masonic lodge, my mother would bake the Easter ham, and I would dye the Easter eggs.

Health-Care Reform: Hallelujah and Hallelujah Anyhow

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 03-25-2010
On Saturday when the House of Representatives passed the health-care reform bill and on Tuesday when President Obama signed it into law, many of us who have been advocating for health-care reform s

Endurance in the Struggle for Health-Care Reform

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 03-15-2010
President Obama has postponed his trip to Guam, Indonesia, and Australia to work for the passage of health-care reform.

Coverage is the Main Issue for Me

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 02-26-2010
When the various cable news channels announced that they would broadcast the health-care summit, I thought this meant uninterrupted coverage. I was mistaken.

Health-Care Polls, Good Will, and the Golden Rule

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 02-24-2010

Good will is a primary element of moral conduct. This is an important idea in the thought of philosopher Immanuel Kant. A good will is good in itself because it does not depend upon whether or not the person will benefit from a particular action or not.

Obama's Attempt at a Bipartisan Health-Care Summit

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 02-11-2010

President Obama has scheduled a bipartisan meeting on health-care reform that will be nationally televised live on Feb. 25.

What Is and Isn't Socialism

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 02-05-2010
When President Obama took questions from Congressional Republicans recently, he spoke about Republican characterizations of his health-care reform plan as something akin to a "Bolshevik plot." Ther

State of the Union: Our Responsibility for the Government We Deserve

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-28-2010
My measure of a good State of the Union address is whether or not I am able to stay awake through to the end.

'Health and Fitness Are Better Than Any Gold'

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-25-2010
Life and the body require exertion. There was a time -- and this is still the case in some places on earth -- when eating required physical effort.

Now is the Time for Congressional Courage on Health-Care Reform

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-21-2010
The people of Massachusetts already have near universal health care. Too many of the rest of us do not.

Poor Folks' Food

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-20-2010
My mother loved food.

Not All Racial Comments Are Created Equal

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-12-2010
Please God, save us from hyper-partisanship and hyper-media in perpetual election mode selling us a hyperbolic public discourse.

Praying the Hand

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 12-23-2009
I do not remember where I learned the idea that the hand represents a pattern of prayer. I do not recall my mother or other teachers teaching it to me.

Faith, Hope, and the Advent of Health-care Reform

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 12-14-2009
Biblical wisdom teaches us to "give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (I Thessalonians 5:18).

Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Speech and Just Peace Theory

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 12-10-2009
If all we notice in President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Lecture is a justification of war, we will miss the 21st<

Afghanistan: Praying Our Part

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 12-04-2009
The decision has been made. The orders have been signed. The first wave of the 30,000 additional warriors heading to Afghanistan is scheduled to arrive before Christmas.

A Thanksgiving Reflection on Food

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 11-25-2009
The United States is a country that is at once overweight and hungry. There are those among us who are overweight and obese. There are those among us who live with food insecurity.