The Politics of Jesus<\/a>: Rediscoving the True Revolutionary Nature of the Teachings of Jesus and How They Have Been Corrupted<\/em> (NY: Doubleday, 2006).
\nHere\u2019s my question: We have voted and it appears the Democrats, riding upon public disaffection for Bush and the Iraq war, have gained control in the House and Congress. What difference will a Democratic control of the Congress and House mean for you? On what basis do we make our decision?
\nI\u2019ll be looking at Hendricks over the next week or so, and I\u2019m not saying I\u2019ll agree with him, but he\u2019s asking for me a very important question \u2014 what were the political contours of Jesus\u2019 message and vision? And that means for me, and not enough of those who contemplate Jesus\u2019 political message ask this, how congruent is our view of Jesus\u2019 view with what Paul thought the gospel was designed to do? And, that means what is the relationship of kingdom to church? It\u2019s one thing to talk about the political shape of Jesus\u2019 message; it is another to explain how we got from such a message to Paul\u2019s establishment of Diaspora churches. Some have a view of Jesus\u2019 kingdom that is totally out of sync with Paul. Is it likely that Paul got it completely wrong? Is it possible, at times, that we get Jesus wrong and therefore find ourselves out of step with the movement from Jesus to Paul? Enough of prolegomena.
\nHendricks begins with this: \u201cI was raised on the bland Jesus of Sunday school and of my mother\u2019s gentle retellings, the meek, mild Jesus who told us, in a nice, passive, sentimental way, to love our enemies, and who assured us that we need not worry about our troubles, just bring them to him\u201d (1). I\u2019m willing to say that plenty of us heard about this Jesus in Sunday school; I heard about this Jesus in what our church called \u201cSparks.\u201d
\nAnd this: \u201cBut black Christians can be some of the most religiously conservative people in America\u201d (3). As a teenager he questioned this Jesus, and \u201cI left the Church altogether, vowing never to return. Famous last words\u201d (4).
\nAnd now: \u201cToday\u2026 Called God\u2019s name in drafty one-room backwoods churches, in sweltering urban storefronts, in sprawling compounds that could be mistaken for college campuses, and in structures so ornate and opulent that they embarrassed me and made me wonder if they wouldn\u2019t embarrass Jesus\u201d (4-5).
\nHendricks was called back to the church by the revolutionary Jesus.
\nWhat does that mean? Jesus \u201cproclaimed [a message that] not only called for change in individual hearts but also demanded sweeping and comprehensive change in the political, social, and economic structures in his setting in life: colonized Israel\u201d (5).
\nHe then ponders \u201cif Jesus had his way\u201d \u2026 and that\u2019s the point of this post today. WWJVF? What would Jesus \u201cvalue\u201d when it comes to voting or contemplating candidates?
\nYou\u2019ve heard this before; I say it again because it\u2019s true. Sit down and contemplate these passages, and you tell me: Was Jesus a political revolutionary?
\nLuke 1:46-55
\nLuke 1:67-79
\nLuke 4:16-30
\nLuke 6:20-26
\nLuke 7:18-23
\nAdd to this Acts 2:42-46.
\nThree parts to Hendricks\u2019 book:the roots of Jesus the revolutionary; the strategies of Jesus the revolutionary; an analysis of Reagan and Bush \u2014 were Jesus\u2019 politics conservative or liberal?
\nOK, a comment on the elections: Why, I ask myself, did George W. Bush wait until Nov 8 to sack Rumsfeld? Why not last June? Why wait until after the election? Is it not a little too late to make the point that we need a change? This act makes no sense for the Republicans (to me).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That\u2019s our new bracelet idea: \u201cWho Would Jesus Vote For?\u201d On the question of the politics of Jesus, many have put forth their proposals, none more influentially than The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder. And now from the African American professor (New York Theological Seminary), Obery Hendricks, Jr., comes The Politics of Jesus: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[476,1743],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-kingdom-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\n
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