Gospel Politics Politics and social justice according to Biblical examination.

Holy moley! It has been such a LONG time since my last submission. I really must apologize for being so aloof. I’ve been spending most of my time as a student teacher intern for sixth grade science students and playing Monastery shows on weekends. Alas, the small amount of free time I’ve had, I have been doing some reading, and I’m back to share a few of the things I have been learning about Christ, justice, and governments.

First, let me begin with a warning, this blog is going to be long. However, I’m going to do my best to make it worth the read. My second warning is that the ideas presented in this blog could be considered by some radical. I might remind the reader, before he or she judges the content of the blog, radical ideas and ideals were the foundation to Christianity. After all, radical is merely a label that is established and defined by the behavior of the existing society, and could be equally positive as it is negative (if it’s negative at all).

Romans 13 is nearly always taken out of context, or I should say, almost every time I have heard someone quote Romans 13, they have done so without taking any consideration to what Paul said BEFORE Romans 13, what he said AFTER, and what was happening at the time and place it was written. However, before we are able to properly analyze what Paul might have meant, we need to outline some things that I believe to be true about some of the people and enviroments at the time and how it relates to us today.

The very first thing that I want to visit is Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Probably one of the most recognized and familiar aspects of Jesus’ ministry goes back to this very sermon, yet, it is probably one of the most IGNORED mandates that Jesus ever gave us. Let’s look at what Jesus said (for time’s sake, we will focus mostly on the beatitudes),

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5: 3-10 NIV)

What EXACTLY was Jesus saying here? Jesus goes on in the sermon on the mount to completely dismantle the “normality” that supposedly existed in society. The Jewish people were crying for freedom from a very oppressive and tyrannical Roman empire. How was this liberation going to come about? Through violence? Through sabotage? Through insurrection? No. None of these.

Jesus was talking here, and goes more into detail, about a type of passive resistance that appeals to the humanity in your enemy or oppressor. Essentially, looking past the darkness that we all fell victim to, and looking INTO the heart where G-d dwells eternally.

This was (and still is for that matter) completely contrary to how the state handled its oppressors. If this isn’t already obvious to you when you read the Bible (and all of the nice things it has to say about the empire [sarcasm]) then I believe there are two occurrences that give us an idea of the Empire’s behavior towards its citizens and particularly its enemies.

First, I believe Jesus meant it very literally when he said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36 NIV). Jesus is telling Pilate, “if my kingdom was like your kingdom, we’d be equally as violent as you, but my kingdom transcends violence”.

Second, I believe that the empire’s reaction to Jesus was a great expression of how it dealt with it’s enemies. Why did the empire crucify Jesus? Was it because of how he took care of the people around him? Was it because he was a blasphemer? No, the empire had no reason to kill a blasphemer because the empire was completely and totally Pagan, they didn’t believe in Judaism. They crucified Jesus because he was a threat to the state. Was the empire afraid of a violent uprising? It isn’t likely, considering Jesus preached passive resistance, and His followers were encouraged to be loving even to the Roman soldiers that harassed them. This leaves us to believe that the empire was THREATENED by the NON-VIOLENT movement. It is clear that non-violence is an effective tool to resistance, especially when we examine the great achievements of King and Gandhi.

What did all of this mean in the 1st century, and more specifically, what does all of this mean today?

At the time, Jesus claimed “My kingdom is not of this world”, which in turn, leads me to believe that Jesus was openly opposed to the state. I do not believe Jesus was apolitical. He was VERY aware of what was going on in Rome, and I believe that is apparent not only by his words but by his pilgrimage to the heart of the empire. Yes, I am saying that Jesus was anti-establishment, and I believe that modern day Christians should really begin to examine how “Christian” our government (and the governments of the world) truly are.

Jesus opposed class distinctions. This is clear when Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Capitalism establishes class distinctions.

Jesus opposed violence. He said, “love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” The state maintains itself through violence. This includes physical military violence, structural violence, and wage slavery.

Jesus encouraged us to approach EVERYONE with mercy and love. He said, “blessed are the merciful”, yet the state seems to regard homosexuals as second class citizens.

We are taught that G-d is present in all creation, yet the state continues to fail on protecting our environment from inevitable and certain doom.

The state encourages us to pledge our allegiance, yet, we have already pledged that allegiance to Christ.

The propaganda machine and the capitalist economy drives us to materialism, yet, we are called to simplicity.

I believe that Christianity and anarchy go hand in hand. Do I believe all Christians are called to adopt and anarchist ideology? Not at all. Do I believe that Non-christian anarchists should become Christians in order for their ideology to maintain legitimacy? Not at all.

But, as I’ve said, I believe the two are far more closely related than a lot of people realize. Does this mean that all of the kingdoms of the world are fundamentally evil and overcome by darkness?

When Jesus is tempted in the desert, Satan offers Him “all of the kingdoms of the world”. Jesus does not accept this offer, but, he also does not hesitate to inform Satan that those kingdoms do not belong to him. In order for anyone to offer anything to anyone, they must first be in possession of it. That’s common sense. Does Satan dwell within the governments of the world? I think John of Patmos, the author of Revelation, would respond with a loud and resounding, “YES!”

So what does this mean? If Jesus was opposed to the state, and if Christianity and anarchy go hand and hand, what was Paul saying in Romans 13? In my next blog I will break down Romans 13 verse by verse, and explain what I believe Paul was saying. Until next time, go in peace to serve the Lord.

FOOTNOTE: I am not calling into question the faith of any politician who considers themselves Christian. I am simply suggesting the politics is a dangerous game which may, at times, compromise Christian morals. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that.

As a vegetarian, one has to expect to receive a lot of criticism.  It seems that the people around you are so flabbergasted by your choice to abstain from meat; that they must take every occasion to tell you why you’re unhealthy, too thin, missing out on a “decent” dinner, or just an idiot. While I suppose I understand this coming from a greater portion of society, I can’t seem to understand the response that I receive from many of my Christian brothers and sisters. While it seems that most of the criticism is simply an argument of personal satisfaction; some of my Christian brothers and sisters seem desperate to find some sort of Biblical justification for the consumption of meat. In this essay, I intend to examine and present Biblical support for vegetarianism, while also explaining some of the commonly misunderstood texts that supposedly support G-d’s joy for meat.

First, it is important that I say, I have no problem with people who consume meat. I do not believe that the consumption of meat is a sin, but I do believe that the ill treatment of livestock in factory farms IS a sin. I also believe that the tremendous impact it has on the environment, and the fact that the overwhelmingly large amount of grain going to feed livestock could feed millions of starving people is a tremendous diservice to humanity.

To begin, I want to assert that “In the beginning”, before the fall of man, Adam and Eve WERE vegetarians. In fact, not only were Adam and Eve vegetarians, but so were all of the ANIMALS. Genesis 1:29 says:

“Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.

In response to this, Christians who so fervently believe that meat consumption is the will of God would respond with a common complaint:

“God gave Adam dominion over the animals”.

This statement is true, but taken wildly out of context. First, the “dominion” God gave Adam over the animals can be looked at in one of two ways. One could say that such a dominion is that of a tyrannical king who takes what he needs without concern for the people or the environment around him. In contrast, one could say that such a dominion is similar to the dominion in which Christ holds over humanity. This type of reign is one where the King cares for his people, in fact, becomes a servent for them and speaks for those who can’t speak for themselves. In consideration to the fact that the entire Hebrew scripture is foreshadowing of the Messiah, I’d attest that the latter is true of Adam’s “dominion”.

A second common scripture that people often cite in support of meat consumption is Paul’s statement, “the weak man eats only vegetables.” (14:2). What is Paul saying here? Is he claiming that vegetarians are weak in faith? This certainly would not make any sense, and this scripture is often read without any regard as to what was happening when Paul wrote this.

When Paul wrote that, “the weak man eats only vegetables.” this was in reference to something that was happening in Rome. At the time, most Jewish people were banned from Rome, and it would’ve been impossible for a kosher butcher to establish a business within the city. This made it simply impossible for Jews to obtain kosher meat, thus, many of them would abstain from meat altogether in fear that it had been offered to pagan gods. Paul was claiming that meat consumption, even if the meat had been offered to pagan gods, was of no spiritual concern. This is because the pagan gods didn’t exist. Paul was calling these individuals “weak in faith” because they had failed to realize that sacrifices made to fictitious gods were meaningless.

But, why would God detest meat eating when even Jesus ate fish. I would assert that at the time when Jesus consumed fish, there were no factory farms. Factory farming takes away from God what is his, and what He regards as beautiful, and turns it into product. This is nothing but human selfishness and greed. It is far removed from natural, and I’m certain that God frowns upon the groans of his creation. Furthermore, the implications that factory farming has on the world are great and numerous. People go without food for the sake corporate factory farms.

As I stated above, I do not feel that meat eating among Christians is a sin. However, I do encourage Christians to rethink their diets. One step would be to consume LESS meat. Another would be to buy organic and free range meats. Whatever the method, I truly believe this is an issue that Christians should begin to consider more seriously.