A New Revolution

The more knowledge of certain issues that I acquire, sometimes it seems as though the angrier I become.  It is easy to assume in the "present evil age", to quote George Eldon Ladd, New Testament theologian, that we will all grow weary and tired of pursuing the fullness of being enveloped in love to some extent in our lives.  Normally in my blog posts, I would say something like; "We talk about the fullness of community, yet still live isolated, we talk about global crisis, yet still have bills to pay, we talk about the idealistic objectives of the "renewal of God's creation", yet pursue jobs which provide security and safety, remaking us into people who are satisfied with the status quo," but for some reason today, Jurgen Moltmann's article, "The Crucified God", has captured my attention.  Through my alleged pursuit of revolutionary activity, it seems to simply get me angry at others' apathy, yet being someone who naturally dislikes apathy, I feel very apathetic myself.  Moltmann talks about the coldness which the God of success gives to his people.  It is not the God of love found in the theology of the incarnation, cross, and resurrection.  When Moltmann went walking through a Concentration Camp in Poland, he said, "The shame I felt for what my country had done, I wished the earth swallow me up, if I didn't believe that they (the victims) will rise again."

This brings me back to the dominant underlying issue concerning my over-reaction against the Evangelical Church in the U.S..  In American Evangelicalism, the over-arching premise is its implicit stand with nothing, and yet everything, so I therefore, react. I react harshly and say, "You have no backbone, you talk about injustice, (and sometimes never talk about injustice) yet perpetuate injustice by your lifestyle, you are apathetic and do not understand systems of power, which are so clear in the way you operate."  The only problem is, "I am them!" 

I react against the John MacArthur's of the world, who say, "God is not concerned about slavery, because slavery is something 'of this world'"!  I do not need to give a rebuttle to this statement, since it is not deserving of my reaction, but I can not help myself.  John MacArthur went on Larry King and spoke these exact words and subsequently drives a wedge between those who already are disgruntled with Evangelical Christianity, and those who actually follow the words of MacArthur.  The followers of MacArthur, i.e. those who attend his church, actually believe that he is attesting to God's Word.  I would urge John MacArthur to "only live by the spiritual Word of God", which he claims is what humanity needs to live, because I am fairly confident that he enjoys some of the finest food, the nicest clothes, and lives a somewhat luxurious lifestyle. I do not like to harp on race, but once again, "Why is it so difficult for white Christians to understand that they have directly benefited from social programs in the U.S."? From the numerous conversations that I have been involved, most who identify with whiteness in the U.S., believe that they have "earned" what they have, coming the the next logical conclusion, that which is "earned", is then theirs to do with it whatever they desire. Why are we so ignorant?

Getting back to my own journey, I would quote Miroslav Volf at this point and say, "The exact evil that we are fighting against, robs us of our innocence towards violence and recreates us into the image of violence, making us violent ourselves," quoting Dorothy Suchocki.  I understood this perspective when I was a police officer as part of a governmental system which survived as great Leviathan, which feeds upon incarcerating poor people for addictions, but as a Christian leader, I do not want to survive upon others' misery! So, it is important to ask the question, "How vulnerable am I"?  How willing am I myself to stand beside others when no one else does?  Do I still want a "piece of the pie?"  I probably do, and I thank God that I have this recognition, so that I do not venture to acquire these opportunities at the expense of my brothers and sisters.  Are these opportunities wrong?  Not as long as others have equal access to the same opportunities, but until that time, we should not be pursuing them at the expense of others.  

The question now is, "But when will everyone have the same opportunities"?  Jesus said that we will always have the poor.  Dueteronomy 15:4 in regards to the canceling of debts affirms that, "There should be NO poor among you, for in the land the Lord God is giving you, he will richly bless you."  So, the earth has the natural ability to produce an abundance?  Why then do the poor not have access to this abundance?  Sin?  Laziness? Or do the wealthy hoard, pushing the poor farther into the fringes and taking the sweetness of the core for themselves? We have a somewhat abstract concept of unequal disparities between rich and poor and most Christians have a difficult time articulating what the disparities look like in "Real time and real language."

Doesn't everyone benefit from the systemic injustices, which are the natural forms of life in the U.S.? "Should not we all participate, attempting to gain what is rightfully ours?"  It is not that Christians do not participate with the abundance of the earth, but we participate in a new way. No longer do we participate in ways which identify with the elite classes who whore the land. I heard Dr. Michael Eric Dyson in a documentary called, Black in America talk about the prophetic voice, "Which stand outside the structures", calling these structures back to their intended vocation. (my words)  This documentary brought us to the ghettos of inner city Houston, which could be inner city U.S. to look at the blight and poverty.  I always have a difficult time allowing one side, predominantly white America projecting their own apathy

It is not difficult to understand my natural inclination towards revolution and here is what scares me though about veering away from my revolutionary tendencies.  I fear then people would not want to think about injustice and say, "See, really Jesus is not concerned with those "social" issues, he is concerned with simply lovin' up some people."  "After all, Jesus said nothing about social or political issues."  Once again, I want to tell those people that they are the DIRECT recipients of social programs which they have benefited from and have utilized for the past 200 years, which makes them socialists, but simply ignorant socialists.  Here is the most dangerous supposition about our lack of understanding regarding somewhat invisible social programs.  We perceive God in regards to the earth, since we are directly connected Read David Roediger's, Working Towards Whiteness; How America's Immigrants Became White; The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the Suburbs.

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Here then is the main issue in what I am discussing: Vulnerability.  I think that Moltmann knows about this process, since he also reacted against what he thought was Karl Barth's somewhat negative stance towards social action, in favor of a more existential Christianity and instead pursued Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings to gain a more nuanced view towards a gospel of liberation.  Bonhoeffer wrote that the Nazi's did not care about Christian's preaching the gospel on Sunday, because it did not affect their programs, but it was only when Bonhoeffer realized that standing with the oppressed, i.e. the Jews, did the Nazi's take notice. Moltmann has also come out of the Enlightenment's, "Myth of human progress", whereby humanity could simply make more logical choices and change the earth.  

The theology of the cross completely debunks that myth, because if Yahweh was incarnate into Israel's story, then Yahweh was also found in death in Israel's hope, but hope is embodied in a cross of shame and the Enlightenment does not allow the cross to have an existence.  The embodiment of love then is found in suffering, through the death of Jesus on a cross, next to two criminals.  Therefore all the other programs and action must be found in Christ on the cross.  Too many times though the cross is separated from the incarnation.  The incarnation of Yahweh becoming Jewish flesh, is the affirmation of life, the affirmation of Yahweh's faithfulness to his covenant promises.  As I read the O.T. prophets, I can't help but think that all the harsh statements of the prophets towards Israel, Yahweh decided that he would actually bear the prophetic injunctions against his people into his own body, then afforded us the opportunity in which we now participate in the bearing of suffering for the sake of humanity, because when all is said and done, we believe that "they (the victims) will rise again" and in that age, again to quote George Eldon Ladds', "the age to come", the resurrection will vindicate the evil suffered and that is The New Revolution.

After writing this blog post, I have decided to write a book, which a certain friend has been suggesting to me.  Thanks.