Jesus and the Empire
So I have this friend…
Actually I have several friends who are currently reading a Book entitled, “Jesus for President” by Shane Claiborne (check out the video promo below). I think that a lot of people are starting to wake up and see that the Jesus of the scriptures looks nothing like our “american” (a term which in itself shows a lack of awareness) christianity. This past week in my Old Testament class, I introduced the students to a major theme of the OT: the empire.
It dawned on me this week that the Bible was never written from above the empire, but always from below, looking up. The only exception that we can note of this fact is when Israel, under the rule of Solomon, came to prominance as a superpower. The one problem is that the “superpower” built by Solomon did not and could not have lasted because it was built upon certain tradeoffs. Walter Brueggemann lays out a great case for these trade offs in his book, “The Prophetic Imagination.” The tradeoffs are as follows: economics of equality give way to economics of affluence, the politics of justice are replaced with the politics of oppression, and the religion of God’s freedom gives way to the religion of God’s accessability. The Israelites have to be constantly reminded that God is the God who brought them “out of Egypt.” God’s deliverance is complete but yet the Israelites find themselves, under Solomon, back under an oppressive regime; all for the sake of progress for the empire. The more I read about both the glory and downfall of Solomon the more fearful I am of our present condition in this “christian nation.” How are we as a nation building our empire? Whose backs are being broken for our progress? What kid worked in a sweatshop so that I could have affordable clothes? I only pray that this present empire is allowed a chance to address such issues before we find ourselves learning to live in exile.
Shalom.
