The Struggle for Justice is Also the Struggle for the Kingdom of God

I’m currently reading “A Theology of Liberation,” by Gustavo Gutierrez, and I came across 13631512_566337586879887_1216705277669166885_nan extraordinary passage today. Gutierrez is discussing the tendency of those opposed to the work of social justice by the Church to argue that temporal justice is not a prerequisite for God’s Kingdom, and thus eschatologically unnecessary. Gutierrez disagrees, and writes
the following:

The prophets announce a kingdom of peace. But peace presupposes the establishment of justice: “Righteousness shall yield peace and it’s fruit [shall] be quietness and confidence forever” (Isa. 32:17; cf. also Ps. 85). It presupposes the defense of the rights of the poor, punishment of the oppressors, a life free from the fear of being enslaved by others, the liberation of the oppressed. Peace, justice, love and freedom are not private realities; they are not only internal attitudes. They are social realities, implying a historical liberation. A poorly understood spiritualization has often made us forget the human consequences of the eschatological promises and the power to transform unjust social structures which they imply. The elimination of misery and exploitation is a sign of the coming of the Kingdom. It will become a reality, according to the Book of Isaiah, when there is happiness and rejoicing among the people because “men shall build houses and live to inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit; they shall not build for others to inhabit nor plant for others to eat…My chosen shall enjoy the fruit of their labor” (65:21-22) because they fruit of their labor will not be taken from them. The struggle for a just world in which there is no oppression, servitude, or alienated work will signify the coming of the Kingdom. The Kingdom and social injustice are incompatible (cf. Isa. 29:18-19 and Matt. 11:5; Lev. 25:10ff. and Luke 4:16-21). “The struggle for justice,” rightly asserts Dom Antonio Fragoso, “is also the struggle for the Kingdom of God.”

Wow. This whole passage stopped me short in my reading (you can see, in the picture, I underlined the entire paragraph.) What an amazingly well-worded defense of the need for social justice! Without it, without the betterment of the world and our fellow humans, God’s Kingdom is not possible. It’s not just God’s duty to bring it; it is ours as well.

The Republicanization of American Christianity, in One Benediction

There were a lot of low points these last week at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, but perhaps the lowest of lows came the first evening, when prosperity gospel preacher Mark Burns offered up a benediction that quickly veered into blasphemous and offensive territory. Here it is in full, if you can stomach it:

There are so many things wrong and anti-Christian in there, I don’t even know what to say. Instead, I’ll encourage you to read Pete Enns’ post. Here is a taste:

Messiahs were to “make Israel great again,” but Jesus turned the tables.

His interest was not in reviving a political entity, as if God will only work through the system, but in drawing people of every tribe, nation, and political affiliation into the only kingdom that matters: the kingdom of God, which, as Jesus also said, “is not of this world” meaning it plays by entirely different rules—like justice, compassion, humility, true service and self-sacrifice . . . you know . . . none of the things we normally think about when it comes to American politics.

Thinking that God is aligned with a political party or any political system (including a democratic system) misses a very basic characteristic of the Christian faith. However politically involved Christians may be, those who get it truly know that God never aligns with any politician or political system.

I think Pete gets this absolutely right, and I’ve actually been working on my own post around this kind of theme. When I criticize Trump here, it isn’t to say that Jesus would be aligned with Democrats instead. In reality, Jesus, and by extension, all Christians, are called to a prophetic vocation outside of the political paradigm. The conservative Christian movement in this country has a hard time with this, historically, tying their own hopes to the Republican Party over the last thirty years. The fruits of that unholy union are on display this year, as they are forced to support and prop up one of the most anti-Christian political campaigns in American history.

Anyways, I don’t want to give away too much of my own coming post on this. Go read Pete’s post in full.

How Does One Act Like a Christian?

What does it mean to be a Christian? What things does one have to do or say or believe to be considered a Christian? How do we live that designation in the world? Faith or deeds? Do we need to prove our faith, or are we simply save by grace alone?

There are deep theological musings to be found in these questions and the rabbit holes they can take you down. For me, however, as someone going into ministry, and cultivating a public space to write about the Christian faith, I’m not interested in arcane theological debates centered on understandings of St. Paul and the Book of James. I want to know, how do you talk to the average Christian about what it means for them, in their daily life, to be a Christian. Do they just have to believe, or is there a way of life required? Do we have to evangelize and get people into “Right belief,” or invite them into a life of service.

Samantha Field, over at her blog, tackles these questions in here post “What Does It Take To Be a Christian?” I think her takeaway is a really great way of thinking about it all:

I can’t find the quote now, but a long time ago I read an analogy that I liked. Veganism isn’t about believing that people should follow a plant-based diet. Being vegan means actually eating a plant-based diet. If you say you believe we should only eat plants, but eat bacon every other day, you’re not actually a vegan and insisting that you are because of your “beliefs” is ridiculous. They went on to apply this example to Christianity: you can have any sort of “beliefs” about Jesus and God and the Bible, but if you fail to act like a Christian, then calling yourself a Christian because of your supposed intellectual positions is equally ridiculous.

I thought of that quote the other day when I got this comment, which I’ll quote from in part:

“I would have a lot more respect for you if you would just stop applying the Christian label to yourself. In every article you seem to revile the teachings of scripture. You don’t seem to hold a confident belief in any traditional Christian doctrine. I doubt you really believe the resurrection occurred or believe there is a personal God or afterlife. So why do you cling to the title Christian?”

He went on to accuse me of “infiltrating” Christianity so I can “destroy it” from the inside– honestly, it’s one of the more hilarious comments I’ve ever gotten, right along with being accused of sorcery. But, I get these sorts of comments and e-mails all the time, and they fit a spectrum of everything from frothing-at-the-mouth to concern trolling. I don’t seem to hold a confident belief in Christian doctrine, and to this sort of person that means I’m most definitely not a Christian.

The fact that I do my best to act like Jesus taught us to doesn’t make a lick of difference.

Read the whole thing here.