In part 1, of Why Political Jesus? I discussed the first half of the title, or what I mean by political.
In the second and final part of this series, I hope to discuss what do we mean by Jesus.
By Jesus, as far as I understand this blog, I mean that we are talking about God’s Word made in Jewish Flesh who came to teach us how to live, even in his death, and rise again to make clear what the new heaven and new earth would look like in his resurrected body. Jesus’s Jewishness I think is important, but not because I want to put him in a box (whether he was part of this or that Second Temple movement is not at issue for me at least since it remains uncertain). It is crucial to understand Jesus’s Jewish origins so that one can understand that when the apostolic writers make the claim that he is the Son of God, we are not talking about Caesar or Zeus or Isis, but the Holy One of Israel. This blog is an attempt to reconcile both the Christian tradition/creeds and Jewishness of Jesus. This calls for two things; first, the recognition of the history of Christian anti-Semitic/anti-Judaic biblical readings, especially of the “Old” Testament. The goal of our series on the “Parable-Driven Life” is a part of our goal to highlight Jesus’ knowledge of the First Testament as well as early Jewish theology. The second, is to use Christian discernment to find Jesus wherever he appears in society (this is where the political and Jesus are combined in what I believe to be a beautiful manner). This may mean both criticism of current trends in Christianity as well as appraisal.
Now, while there are some Christian thinkers who would keep Jesus enculturated into the type of Jew that they want him to be so that they can overthrow tradition (sort of like a violent revolution using a colonizing gaze of Jesus in order to support their efforts), I do believe that it is possible to see Christian teaching as a unique development within early Judaism. I do not think that Jesus is a white male progressive liberal, sort of a Bishop Shelby Sponge in the guise of Ancient Near Eastern wisdom (or for that matter, a Mixed Martial Arts fighter who can beat up Mark Driscoll). I believe that Chad and I have taken great care in articulating Jesus’ Judaism as a set of practices rather than system of beliefs. It was also important, at least on my end, to having some utopian view of a “Hebrew Christianity” that pits Jews against Gentiles. That approach is utterly reprehensible and goes against the very thing (RECONCILIATION) that Christ’s death means, especially for early Christians such as Paul (try reading Galatians, for ex.).
I think the name Jesus must necessarily entail the authors’ participation in the Body of Christ, as Christian ministers (one ordained, one not) as well as our response to Christ’s mission in the world. Our response includes spiritual practices which Chad has been updating us on, or my adventures in children’s church or encounters with God on a bus. Studying the Bible is also crucial, and that is why the selection of Bible translation (though not the end all, be all) is important to discuss and talk about. Maybe blogging could be considered as a form of worship, if a blogger is focused and meditating on God’s Word. In that case, I could see Political Jesus as a service from the Church Universal, or perhaps even more specifically a ministry (that would make Joel the head of an international prosperity gospel ministry, huh?).
In conclusion, Political Jesus is a blog that dares to imagine a Church that would make Christ Jesus the center in ALL of human existence without exception through faithful acts of nonresistant love.
Related articles
- Swiebodzin, Poland Hopes New Jesus Statue Will Draw Tourists (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)
- Frank Schaeffer: Jesus For Jews, Or Something Like That (huffingtonpost.com)
