(Ir)religiosity

Here is the continuation of the story from last week:

Coldplay is slated to release their newest album, “Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends,” on June 13.  I’m pretty excited.  They unveiled the first single (“Violet Hill”) on the album on BBC radio earlier today. You can listen to it here. [Ht. James Kingsley]

Click here for a super-awesome high quality version!

[Ht. Jeremy Smith]

Part I | Part II

Enter Jesus. The second section of the book is called “A New Kind of Commander and Chief” and it deals with the story of Jesus. Finally, after growing tried of watching humanity be seduced by power and privilege, God decided to get involved. God got local. God got contextual. God became human.

Claiborne and Haw’s (who I will affectionately refer to as C&H from now on) view is basically this: Jesus story, from start to finish, stands over and against that of the empire and Caesar. From his birth (which C&H refer to as a ‘divine conspiracy!’), to his message, to his death and resurrection, Jesus challenged the illegitimate authority of the empire with the kingdom of God. Jesus re-imagined the throne and Caesar was not on it, God was

Like any narrative, Jesus’ story must be situated within it’s context. C&H spend a great deal of time explaining Jesus socio-political setting within the Roman empire. This is key. In fact, it is key throughout the rest of the book because in their words, “Rather than shaking us to the core, [Jesus' story] has been tamed” (66). I would agree

First, all our cutesy religious words, words like: gospel, Savior, evangelion (root word of evangelism, evangelical and all other things evangel-), Lord, kingdom, Messiah, Son of God, ekklesia (church), faith, and parousia (second coming). All those words were popular words that Jesus (and others) took directly from the Roman imperial lexicon and basically turned inside out. They re-imagined the world. A reality were God was on the throne not Caesar

So our domesticated, exclusively religious and pious language wasn’t always as diluted as it is today. During Jesus time that language was deeply political and deeply religious

Jesus spins the language and calls out Caesar. Jesus was basically an atheist (as were other Jewish resistors) in that he refused to believe in the emperor as God. He spoke of the kingdom of God (or the empire of God) as antithetical to the empire of Caesar, not synonymous; which, was quite a subversive statement. Even more important for C&H, who are basically echoing Yoder and Hauerwas et al, Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God not as a better version of of the kingdom of this world, but as a distinct reality itself. A peculiar, unique, set-apart community. I am fine with this, but I began to be concerned when it is pushed it full limit. More on that later.

Jesus’ first sermon (his inaugural address as C&H call it) in Luke sums his message: liberation of the oppressed, freedom of the captives, proclaiming the year of the great jubilee. Which of course effectively canceled all debts and closed the gap between the rich and the poor. Jesus proclaiming the coming of an alternative economy, one that took place right under Caesar’s nose. Jesus spoke of a throne, but Caesar did not sit on it. He brought the words of the ancient prophets–words of liberation, justice, equality, and blessing–to the forefront of his people’s collective consciousness. Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if someone proclaimed that message today

So what did Jesus teach? Obviously C&H emphasize Jesus teaching on enemy love and nonviolence, specifically found in the Sermon on the Mount. Here they rely heavily, as have I, on the work of Walter Wink (see “The Powers that Be,” and “Engaging the Powers”). I won’t go into the specifics here other than to say that if you have not read any of these nonviolent interpretations, you should probably drop what you’re doing and read some right now. You will read Jesus’ sayings about turning the other cheek and going the extra mile in new light. Jesus finds creative avenues to interrupt the cycles of redemptive violence in which his society was deeply embedded.

Why does Jesus teach the love of enemies and nonviolence? The easy answer is because that is the very nature of God, to love all humanity because all humanity bears the divine image. But C&H raise a very interesting point, “Jesus not only cared for the poor, but he cared of the powerful.” (98) Obviously Jesus is very much concern with those on the underside of power but Jesus also understood that enemies too remain captive to imperial myths and framing stories.

So, Jesus recognizes the presence of evil and empire, but chose to deal with them though active nonviolent resistance and hope. Rather than participating in short, flash-in-the-pan violent revolutions (which were happening all the time and had been proven futile), Jesus chose a different way that affirms the humanity in all persons. Besides, Jesus wasn’t interesting in overthrowing the government, he was interesting in the kingdom of God, an alternative reality that grows more like a weed than a mighty cedar tree

Speaking of the kingdom of God, it seems that Jesus message of the kingdom sets itself up on a collision course with ethno-nationalism (which is usually disguised as patriotism these days). I don’t want to spoil the fun later, because the second half of the book is definitely the best. But it’s here that C&H begin to lower the boom:

“In regard to Christian politics, some might say, “Sure my citizenship is in heaven, but I have to live in the ‘real’ world now.”…This interpretation basically comes to mean that my citizenship in heaven means nothing in the real world….But the problem is that Jesus’ kingdom was about the real world, here and now. It was about allegiance. Jesus and Paul were telling the people that they must live here with their identities as aliens…And to claim that one’s citizenship is in heaven is to say that you pledge allegiance not to any of the kingdoms of the world but to Jesus and the body of those who take on his suffering, enemy-loving posture toward the world….For those who pledge allegiance to the kingdoms of this world, Jesus preached good news: repent and become born again, see the kingdom, and find a new identity.”

So for those that claim to follow the way of Jesus, hope and allegiance lies not in our governments, though we live within them, but in God and God’s alternative reality, a kingdom that is “not of this world.” Which doesn’t mean it is not in this world, it simply means it does not operate in the same way our governments and power structures do. This kingdom rules with love and compassion, not coercion and force. Another quote from the book:

“When Jesus said, “My kingdom if not of this world,” he wasn’t saying that his kingdom was apolitical, rather he was saying how it is political. He clarified his statement right after he made it: the essential difference is that in my kingdom, we do not fight to maintain the kingdom….the kingdom Jesus spoke of is a real political kingdom that is unique, confusing, and unheard of. His kingdom is not of this world because it refuses power, pledges a different allegiance, and lives love.”

So, I don’t claim to be an American, though I happen to live within the American empire. I claim to be a Christian, a follower of the way of Jesus and one that seeks to, among all his faults, realize and nurture God’s dream for the world.  And when it comes to the God of the empire, I, like Jesus, am an atheist.

Now, this raises some curious questions for me.  Questions I’ll have to address later.  Questions like: if these things are true, what is the proper interplay and interaction between a Christian and government? And, to what degree, if any, can a follower of Jesus be involved with the activity of the state?

I think I will stop there. This is getting pretty long. I’ll write one more post on the “Jesus section” and then we’ll get down to the good stuff–the last two sections of the book

Despite his being unarmed and shot at over 50 times on his wedding day, Sean Bell’s murderers were acquitted today on all counts. And we wonder why Jeremiah Wright and every other prophet in history have had reason to speak truth to power. [Ht. Postmodern Negro]

So my friend Josh is experimenting with a new type of micro-lending scheme via blog clusters and hubs. Sort of in the style of Kiva or Relational Tithe, but much smaller, more contextual, and most importantly friendship-driven, galvanized by local narratives. Awesome.

The first project is the “Indian Taxi Fund.” Josh’s friend Amit is a church planter in India working to keep his feet on the ground via a local taxi business so he can continue to teach people the way of Jesus. Josh tells Amit’s story HERE. So, please stop now and read it. It’s really moving. Seriously, go read it right now. You can come back when you’re done. I’ll still be here.

I mean it. Click the link.

Ok, so you’re back. Here’s the deal. Through the wonderful tools of social networking and web2.0, Josh is collecting funds to loan to Amit so he support himself and his family and continue to participate in God’s kingdom and process of creativity and restoration. The goal is $7500. There’s not really a strict time frame though I’ve heard Josh say a month would be cool.

So, if you’re willing can contribute please do. You can donate via PayPal here. Later on today I’ll throw up a sidebar for all this so if you want to give over the course of a period of time you won’t have to look around for this post. If you’re a blogger and are willing, you can also promote it on your site. Josh has more about that here and I’m sure he’d be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

Also, Josh runs a sweet design company, Red Cowboy Designs. So if you need anything done in that area, scoot on over there. He does really great work. And if you hurry, you can get a 20% discount with some of the profits going directly to the Indian Taxi Fund. See more about that here.

Ok last thing. I know this seems like a lot, but this is for a really good cause. Josh and another fellow blogger and friend, Nick, have a really nice podcast. Seriously, it’s one my favorites. Good stuff. Check it out here. Well worth a listen.

That’s all.

Thanks in advance for the support!

As I mentioned last week I am, along with some others, reading and eventually reviewing Pete Gall’s memior, “My Beautiful Idol.” It is absolutely amazing. Pete’s story is beautiful. Further, his story is our story. It is everyone’s story. I’ll save the rest for my review, which unfortunately may be a little later than I’d originally planned. But it’ coming!

Until then, here are some excerpts:

“There’s an inherent immorality in advertising that shows itself in phrases like “create a need.”…Likewise, there is something inherently immoral about using a gift for ability for the good of something you don’t believe in. It’s a prostitution….”

“I don’t know how the word is used in the Bible, but to my marketing mind and idol is a god you can put in your pocket. It’s something you can control, pull out when you need a does of insurance or magic, and then put away while things click along well. Oh, and an idol will always choose your death over its own. This is true of careers, relationships, doctrines, fears, hiding places, and even the choices we make to “believe in ourselves.” Even the idol of me will choose my death over its own. It happens with suicide, but it also happens in a million ways too. We die in favor of the idols of ourselves anytime we can’t admit the truth to ourselves. And we’re all addicts to that on, I’m afraid.”

“I think the church has become a toothless lion. And the teeth have been pulled out by church people who don’t really believe what they say they believe. They don’t serve the people they say they’ve been called to serve; they don’t trust the truths that say they trust; they don’t love the people they say they love; they don’t keep the promises they say they’ll keep; and they don’t point to the sort of God they say they point to. People from within the church have made errors in judgment…and those errors have diminished the church’s credibility; and the more credibility has been diminished, the more people within the church have capitulated with society’s efforts to relegate the church to some quaint, outmoded superstition; and the more that has happened, the more the church has been left with little to show for itself but the arcane bromides of its small, dark existence.”

Got a lot going on right now. I wanted to publish my next post on Jesus for President today, but it’s not quite done.

I couldn’t resist. A friend of mine alerted me to this the other day and I just had to post it. Maybe I should’ve just skipped this post and let this speak for itself.

(Click here for full-size image)

One of my favorite sections of Tony Jones’ “The New Christians” (my review here) was the story of Trucker Frank.  It is such a beautiful and powerful story.  Worth buying the book if you ask me.  Here’s part of the story:

Check here for realtime updates (in central standard time) as the results come in.

6:33 PM CST: The polls close in about 30 minutes.  Unfortunately I’ll be in a meeting at that time so I won’t be monitoring the news, but I’ll have wifi access. Check back later on.  

7:04 PM CST: Polls just closed.  NBC declares the race too close to call. ABC cannot project a winner.  No word yet from CNN.

7:21 PM CST: Still no word on the hard numbers.  The Huffington Post estimates voter turnout at 52% and the exit polls, Obama: 52, Clinton: 48. Obama: 48, Clinton: 52. 

7:23 PM CST: This is funny. Apparently Chris Matthews got a little trigger-happy and declared the polls closed about 30 minutes too early. 

7:30 PM CST: Full CNN exit polls here.  Looks pretty divided. Obama is doing well with first-time voters and Clinton better with old-timers. No big surprise. Pretty predictable. 

7:37 PM CST: Early numbers: Clinton is ahead by 30% over Obama with 0% reporting.  Still too close to call (NBC). No networks projecting a winner yet.

7:50 PM CST: Clinton: 60, Obama: 40 with 1% reporting.  All networks aside from CNN project Clinton the winner.

7:57 PM CST: New numbers.  With 3% reporting, Clinton: 55, Obama: 45.

8:01 PM CST: 5% reporting. Clinton: 53, Obama: 47.  Cutting the lead. That’s what I’m talking about.

8:09 PM CST: 7% Reporting: Clinton 52, Obama 48

8:33 PM CST: I’m back home from my meeting and can devote more attention to this now.  Nothing much has changed.  Clinton’s lead fluctuates from 5-7% and I suspect it will end up being 5-6% at the end of the night.  All in all I think Obama can definitely claim a victory given the early predictions. Hard numbers now: Clinton 53, Obama, 47 with 21% reporting.  

8:38 PM CST: CNN finally makes their projection.

8:41 PM CST: CNN has a county map up.  Interesting, Clinton has virtually swept middle PA, but many of the populous counties are not in yet and they are Obama favored. Hard numbers: with 32% reporting, Clinton: 54, Obama: 46. 

8:52 PM CST: It’s not looking as good now.  With 42% reporting Clinton has swept the Pittsburgh area and is now up on Obama 55-45.  Hopefully the lead narrows more.

9:00 PM CST: The numbers haven’t really changed.  +1 in favor of Obama with 47% reporting.  I find it especially humorous that Chris Matthews thinks he know everything since he’s from Pennsylvania.

9:14 PM CST: The margin of victory as widened back to 10%.  Clinton is preparing to address her crowd.  The Philadelphia area still waits to be tallied. 

9:17 PM CST: Are they really chanting, “Yes she can!”?  Lame.  

9:50 PM CST: The lead is back at 10% in favor of Clinton with 78% reporting.  Obama is speaking to supporters in Indiana. Chester county outside Philadelphia is still not reporting. 

9:55 PM CST: Obama: “After 14 months it is easy to forget what this campaign is about.”  Word.

10:06 PM CST: Obama never ceases to inspire me in his speeches.  But he just had to end with “God Bless America.”  I hate that.  

10:26 PM CST: Well, I guess I was wrong.  It looks like Clinton is holding on to her 10% margin.  With 88% reporting she least Obama 55-45.   That’s too bad.  But it’s still far from over. North Carolina will be interesting, especially given some of the stuff like this going on.  

10:50 PM CST: I think what troubles me the most about all this is the very divisive exit poll data (see link above).  And of those sets the most troubling is this: 95% of Clinton supporters said the believe Obama would be the Democratic nominee and 98% said they would not vote for Obama in November.  Yikes.