Peace theology

Yesterday, Ryanair safely brought Eddie back from his long sojourn on the Southern Great Plain of Hungary. Just like after Kode Space Camp last summer, it felt as though he had grown a lot by the time the taxi dropped him off next to Liseberg. It was wonderful to hear his stories from those eleven days, featuring everything from crossing the Romanian border to visiting the Hagymatikum thermal baths.

With both William and me happy to have him back, the three of us took the tram to Nordic Wellness this morning for a gym session together, before topping it off with a swim in Delsjön during the afternoon. In between, I found time to read a little of Martin Modéus' Fredsteologi i krigets skugga, which Sofi recommended while we were in England.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, and the fuel crisis increasingly affects Russians at home, there is a growing risk of what one might call a "drowning man syndrome", where Putin may be willing to take ever more desperate risks to stay afloat. In such times, talk of peace can seem dangerously naïve, yet at the same time absolutely indispensable if we are to remain true to the kind of people we aspire to be. Just as with the Sweden Democrats at home, whenever we dehumanize the other, we also give up a part of our own humanity.