Scripture and Empire

[Marty Troyer]

The CR tag-line is, "following Jesus, we seek shalom in the shadow of empire."

Do Biblical resources exist that are able to equip churches to live into this vision. What are the resources and authors that are encouraging you "in the shadow of empire"? What hermeneutical tools are you using to help your congregations "subvert empire"? Are there actual Bible Study guides that anyone is publishing for groups to use? Or is it all in book/commentary form?
Do you see a need (like I do) for new or different Biblical study resources to help the church live as exiles in the shadow of empire?
My growing list or authors includes: John Crossan, Richard Horseley, Ched Myers, Daniel Smith-Christopher, Hauerwas, Marcus Borg, Rob Bell, John Yoder. But none of those are providing study guides.
Who else would you add to that list? And do you know of resources designed to be studied more than read?

Seems like to sustain an exilic existence churches are going to need more than weekly sermons. and even more than webpages. Any thoughts?

[Daniel Kam]

I have read Horsley, Bell, and parts of Crossan. I have heard of many of the others. I don't think we need "more resources." We already have enough resources. This isn't something that can really be taught in a Bible study. There are a lot of conceptual things to think about here, but I would suggest that it is really based in action and choices. We need to teach people HOW to live in this world and practice it on a daily basis. We need to have Bible studies to, but it must happen in the context of action.

[Mark Van Steenwyk]

Great question. Some friends and I have discussed this issue...and the idea of developing some curriculum, but we've been wondering how much people would use something like that.

[Nathanael Snow]

Educate thyself.
Continue to read, read, read. And then write, write, write. Unwritten good thoughts are daydreams.
Then engage.
I have found a home in a PCA church with an excellent Sunday School class which I am vocal in.
Subversion is best accomplished within the church by helping the church return to being the church.

[Marty Troyer]

I love that idea of reading, then writiing. "Unwritten good thoughts are daydreams." A good challenge for me not to sit on my tail waiting for others to do the work for me.

I agree with everything you say, but then I realized the tension between your statements. First, you say, "Educate yourself." Done. I read voraciously. But then you go on to talk about a SS class with a strong focus on church and ecclesiology. Is there a disconnect between those two thoughts? Am I an individual, or am I a member of community? Wouldn't resources that serve both the individual (devotional guides, books, etc...) and the community (Prayers, services, bible study guides for groups) genuinely serve the church?

Perhaps as a seasoned pastor, "educating thyself" just feels too much like "Trickle Down" subversion, rather than grass-roots.

[Marty Troyer]

Nothing will happen disconnected from Scripture. At least nothing with depth, or nothing long-term. I appreciate your focus on action and choices. A good reminder.
But I disagree that this isn't something that can be taught in a Bible Study. I think we can find out much about how to live by looking at how they lived in the exile, and from Jesus about "HOW to live in this world." In fact, that's it. That's the place to go. That is what our world is hungry for. Discipleship. Subversion. Holistic living. The life of holiness. It has gone by different names for different groups throughout history, but its the same concept: How to live in this world, and its all built on Scripture.
Perhaps we do have enough resources. But for many of the churchgoers I know, they are not in the same format as Bible Studies they are familiar with. Which only hightlights the disconnect "living" has from "religion" for too many. Another way for me to say it, is that I see people having "action" discussions, and I see people having Bible Studies, but too often they are not connected. Dozens of Christian young people I know who plugged in to the civic arena in support of Obama because of their Christian beliefs, most of whom couldn't connect that to the Bible in any way beyond the surface. But if they knew the Bible was an empowering place to go to learn how to live in this world a subversive life? Maybe we wouldn't loose as many of our young adults.

[Marty Troyer]

Maybe Common Root is a place to do some test runs on new Subversive materials.
SoJo gets a lot of tread out of their resources.
I just did a study I called, "Reading Exile in Genesis" that was a powerful lens on some old stories. I looked at how those stories functioned during exile, how they sounded and the ethic/s they would have been thought to be espousing and counter-spousing. I find it simply wonder-filling that the questions we wrestle with today they were grappling with 500 years before Jesus.
I've since moved on to Deuteronomy, and I cannot stop reading it! Read through a similar lens, it comes to life in the context of empire/exile. I mention these books, precisely because of how far off "the beaten path" of empire discussions they are. And yet they are still relavent! To say nothing of Mark, Revelation, the Prophets, Paul.

What would a subversive youth ministry look like?

[Nathanael Snow]

Ah, the youth!
What would it be like to say to the youth:
"You have heard it said unto thee, "Don't engage in pre-marital sex because you could get an STD, or pregnant, or at the very least experience the emotional turmoil of break-up."
But I say unto you, "Do not engage in extra-marital intimacy because you are a redeemed person, and you point the world the way to Christ by living a peculiar ethic."
What would it be like to throw away all of the consequentialist arguments we use with kids (and adults) and return to an embrace of the peculiarity of the Christian ethic and simple obedience to our Father?
Subversive indeed.

[Marty Troyer]

Not that I don't completely agree with you that our approach to sexual ethics has been off base. But I'm wrestling to know whether A). sexual ethics is NOT what I mean by a subversive Christian ethic, or B). sexual ethics might be included in a subversive Christian ethic, but only at the fringe and no where near the center.

Perhaps you were just using sexual ethics as an illustration of your larger point regarding an obedience-based deontological Christian ethic. There is room for the personal in subversion. But isn't the heart of subversive (or liberationist, or feminist, or ecological, or disruptive) ethics the SOCIAL dimension? Racism. Classism. Capitalism. Militarism. Nationalism. Churchism. ???

Can you play out another scenario like you already have, but use a social illustration rather than an individual?
Peace to you!!

[Eliacin Rosario-Cruz]

This is an interesting topic of discussion and as Mark point out some of us are working on a counter-curriculum for communities of resistance, communities of critique and communities of creativity and alternative living to the Empire.

The reality is that we all follow some sort of "curriculum" to say that all we need is Scripture is a bit blindsided. Not because Scripture itself, but because of what we mean by Scripture and through which lenses do we read and interpret it.

Some of the authors mentioned have written excellent work that challenge the imperial vibes. I suggest also to engage with the writings of Antonio Negri and Michael Hart, especially Empire and Multitude.

We will keep you up to date on the development of the counter-curriculum, as well as invite your suggestions and ideas.

Paz.

[Marty Troyer]

I will check out the Negri and Hart material. Keep us posted on any counter-curriculum.
Peace,

[Jon Miller]

I agree with your ACTION and CHOICES statement. Indeed we need to increase our knowledge and wisdom about what kingdom living is about.......but action is where we see it being done. A method of true discipleship, see your faith by your works. It's easy to make post on a web page on how it works, but to be able to transform whole communities is something else. If more people saw authentic Christfollowing, in action, it would be obvious to more people how to sustain in the shadow of the empire. But perhaps the right Biblical curriculum could be a functional tool, as long as it promoted action and not just more complacency studying.

[Nathanael Snow]

I have no idea what it might be like to be in a subversive community. I have not been able to find one close to where I live. Also, I guess I feel like a missionary to the church. I feel useful advocating right Christian principles among others who have not been exposed to them. I'm also a bit of a rabble-rouser, so maybe its just personality.