Category: Politics

21 Pilates

4/3/2019

There are quite a few characters you can criticize when it comes to the story of Jesus's crucifixion. The disciples were cowards and ran, with Peter even openly denying Christ numerous times. The religious leaders hounded Jesus and held a kangaroo court to convict him. The fickle crowds who were praising Jesus only a week before, now yelled out for his blood. In Luke's account, we even see Satan come into play as he enters Judas and has his hands in the mix. But for as cowardly, evil, or lost as some of these agents were, there is one character we often overlook. Pilate.

I think Pilate gets passed by so often because we can empathize with his position. Whereas the disciples were committed to Jesus and should have been loyal, and whereas the religious leaders were malicious and pursued Christ's blood, Pilate was caught in the middle of something he didn't want to be a part of. He had no loyalty to Jesus, but neither did he hold any malice. He was as impartial a judge as we could hope for in overseeing Jesus's trial. In fact, as we progress through the story, we see Pilate recognize Christ's innocence and attempt to free him using the various means he had at his disposal. To most, it seems like Pilate is a fairly decent guy who is trying to do the right thing, but ends up having to make a difficult decision in order to do his job by maintaining order.

How Christians Ought to Vote

9/19/2018

I am a product of America. I've been trained to be a good citizen of the American Kingdom. I've been supportive of upholding the Constitution and founding documents. I've been patriotic. I've taken on my responsibility to vote in every presidential election for which I've been eligible. But during the last election cycle I realized that while I had been well-trained and indoctrinated in kingdom ethics by my country and community, I hadn't been all that well trained in certain Kingdom ethics by my spiritual community, particularly as it pertained to politics. Growing up, I was always told who to vote for or what issues to vote for by my spiritual community, yet I was never taught to evaluate that decision making process. I was to be like a questioning Berean when it came to the scriptures, but not when it came to political parties and issues. This is probably because the moral answer was always so simple in the political sphere. The Republican party is the only party which has a chance of winning and which doesn't support the great moral evil of abortion. The Republican party obviously deserves my unquestioning vote. On top of that, the Republican party has become so tied to the Religious Right - a huge demographic - that they'll give my Christian community more power and influence. With the Republican party, conservative Christians have the greatest chance of making America godly, or at least the greatest chance of staving off the impending moral decay by holding back God's judgment on our nation through the legislating of morality. So I voted Republican for the first three elections of my life - quite literally without thinking twice.

Denton's Directions

12/30/2017

For each of our pregnancies, I wrote sonnets dedicated to our new child. I don't have too much to offer in the way of quilting or woodworking, so creating some sort of functional heirloom isn't an option for me. Instead, I thought I would craft some of the ideas I thought most important for my kids to understand when they grew up, and I decided to do this in sonnet format. While the structure is modeled around childish notions (ABC's, 123's, Colors, etc), the content is about morality, theology, and the like. They are definitely ideas the kids will have to grow into. I hope that one day my children can read my sonnets and reflections and take them into their own hearts as they wrestle with their humanity, with God, and with how they are going to move out in the world. Until they grow into that, I hope these works will be of use to at least one other strange person out there who would take the time to read about epistemology or metaphysics in an archaic, poetic format.

Freedom and Sacrifice

9/1/2017

For the past year or so, my heart has weighed heavy with the realization that we Christians have terribly conflated so many things - politics with religion, big things with small things, and what is morally permissible with what is edifying to our weaker brothers and sisters. Time and time again I and my fellow Christians are found vying for power and stymieing the very thing which Paul says is the core of what makes any action good - love.

Day after day I hear about the new flashpoint - statues. On its face it sounds like such a petty thing, a point which many exploit so they can demean the opposition and dismiss them with an arrogant and condescending wave of the hand. "The 'snowflakes' are at it again, whining and complaining about another trivial issue, trying to gain social power." Perhaps some are simply trying to gain power. But as Christians, our judgment must go much deeper than being dismissive. Our attitude must be held to a higher standard than demeaning others in our discourse. Our pursuit of provisions and power must be for our daily bread and God's Kingdom come, not for our preferences to be domineered over others while we seek our own kingdom come.

The Politics of Jesus (5): Questions and Conclusion

2/15/2017

Go back to The Politics of Jesus (1): The Cup of Suffering

I am still trying to sift through where I line up with Yoder's thoughts – especially as they pertain to the implications of pacifism and the abstention from government. I think his work is a very important one to consider due to the messiah complex we slap onto politics, but it would be a terrible thing to simply swing the pendulum the other way without careful consideration. I want to pose each concluding point as questions to consider and leave you to grapple with the answer I believe Yoder would give.

The Politics of Jesus (4): The Kingdom and the kingdoms

2/15/2017

Go back to The Politics of Jesus (1): The Cup of Suffering

Christianity's View of Government’s Role:
Thus far Yoder has set up the idea that Christ's life of willing subordination is a model for us as Christians. This subordination is done within the context of culture, but more pointedly for the Christian, it is done within a specific culture of a new kingdom, the Kingdom. It is here that reconciliation takes place and where the world sees the inexplicable, undeniable, compelling love of God. But that leaves the Christian with a very important question. If we are in a new Kingdom and we are to live as Christ, what implications does that have for our relationship to human kingdoms - to the political sphere?

The Politics of Jesus (3): The Cross and the Kingdom

2/15/2017

Go back to The Politics of Jesus (1): The Cup of Suffering

The last third of the book was probably the most influential for me because it tore down the theological dissonance I had brought to the table. The first two-thirds of Yoder’s book made sense because I knew the Bible pretty well, and a lot of what he said was Sunday School stuff. "Jesus said love your enemies." Yes. "Jesus said turn the other cheek." Of course. "Jesus loved the outcasts." Undoubtedly. "Jesus pushed back against the powerful religious institution of his day." Correct. But for some reason - my stupidity, the Western heritage and unique bias Christianity has in the U.S., etc. - I had always left Jesus's words where they were - with him. I never took them upon myself really. I had willfully and/or subconsciously made Christ's difficult expectations for me either suggestions, symbolism, or applicable only to him and his mission. But Yoder demolishes those options in his last section of the book.

The Politics of Jesus (2): Drinking from Our Cup

2/15/2017

Go back to The Politics of Jesus (1): The Cup of Suffering

Many may agree with the assessment up to this point. Yes, Jesus was called by God to lay down his life. However, individuals begin to diverge in opinion when Yoder argues that this life Christ lived is prescriptive for Christians today. Surely there were different expectations on the savior of the world than there are on his followers in modernity. The actions we see in the gospels are descriptions of the Son of God, not prescriptions for the sons of God. But Yoder begs to differ.

If the gospel message is that Christ came to establish a new kingdom - his Kingdom, then it seems clear that he showed us what Kingdom life looked like - what it meant to be a citizen and participant in his Kingdom. Yoder points out several lines of reasoning for why we can be sure Christ's actions are prescriptions for our lives today.

The Politics of Jesus (1): The Cup of Suffering

2/15/2017

This past election was an out of body experience for me. Since I have turned 18, it is the first presidential election in which I have felt more like an observer than a participant. The 2016 presidential election was such a huge polarization of candidates, I just couldn't get on board with either of the major parties. If you’re not on board with the Republican or Democratic parties, your actions are relatively meaningless as it relates to affecting the outcome of the vote.

A Call to Christian Ineffectiveness

2/9/2017

I have always had a strong moral compass, though I can't say it has always pointed North for the right reasons. I must admit that many of the times I have chosen to do good, I simply did so in order to avoid disappointing others and the consequences of punishment that would follow. Intermingled with my moral tendency to favor approval was another ethic that surrounded me - the Puritan Work Ethic. Growing up in farmland Pennsylvania, I was surrounded by industrious, hard working people who worked often, worked hard, and worked well. This work ethic was directly tied to my moral ethic, for God instituted work before the fall (it was not a curse), and whatever we did was to be done to the glory of God. Now I'm not saying that I necessarily adopted such a work ethic in practice, but its ideology has definitely been a big part of my life.