Atonement, Justice, and Politics
Photo: The dome and oculus of the Pantheon, in Rome, still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. Photo credit: Atibordee Kongprepan | CC2.0, Flickr.
The Pantheon represents the complex interactions between Church and Empire. The Pantheon was originally constructed as a temple to the gods of ancient Rome, commissioned during the reign of Augustus Caesar, and completed by the pagan Emperor Hadrian (rebuilt after a fire) around 126 AD. In 609 AD, the Christian Emperor Phocas in Constantinople gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into the Church of Saint Mary and the Martyrs (it is still in use as a Catholic church). Yet in 663 AD, Emperor Constans II stripped the roof of its bronze tiles and sent them to Constantinople as supply. So, at times the Church seems to reverse pagan practices; at other times the Church seems to reinforce them. At times, the Church seems to benefit from the Empire; at other times the Empire plunders the Church for building materials.
The Bible in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
The Israel-Hamas War from October 2023 reignited old questions. Who “owns” the holy land? When Netanyahu calls Hamas “Amalekites,” does he mean a genocidal holy war? Is that what the Bible meant? Why did God have a chosen people and defend them from enemies? Does Israel need another temple? Why is Christian Zionism a Protestant phenomenon?
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A Long Repentance
Exploring Christian Mistakes About Race, Politics, and Justice in the United States
How do Christian heresies contribute to America’s racial and political climate? Could Christian history have gone differently? Could it still? A blog series and study guide meant for small group discussion, or personal reflection. The next guided Zoom discussion starts Saturday, February 17th, 2024 at 10:30am EST and Tuesday, February 20th at 8pm EST. They are a series of 8 one-hour discussion sessions. Contact us for more information or to register!
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Atonement, Justice, and Scapegoating
This series of blog posts focus on atonement from the angle of American evangelical political behavior. This series is a long engagement with Rene Girard and his scapegoat theory. Girard had valuable insights into the anthropology of the cross of Christ. Penal substitution enshrines and exploits the principle of retributive justice – at times, even infinite retribution – into human relations. This contributes to false racial perceptions of criminality and the false belief that the poor are lazy.
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Scripture saw Empires as one result of the Fall. The prophet Daniel, for example, saw Empires as misshapen and mixed beasts. Jesus drew on the critique of Empire that emerged from the Old Testament, and carried it forward. Jesus’ teaching often took Empire as a backdrop. The kingdom of God movement that Jesus started, reflected in the New Testament, is counter-imperial and anti-imperial. These messages were given as part of a sermon series. See this page for videos and more resources on this theme.
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