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While I have not been personally involved in the Occupy Movement, I have been following it with great interest. Not only is this international movement garnering the attention of the world, but it is also been engaged with by Christians who are passionate to do justice (as well as those who reject it’s claims and cause as illegitimate). For myself, I affirm the heart of the movement in its desire to speak truth in collective non-violence. Is it above reproach or criticism? Of course not, but the much of what we are seeing echoes with prophetic authority, naming injustice and calling for change. I find that very encouraging indeed.
However, the popular nature of these events also create challenges of their own. Many participants see these public events and fail to make adequate connections with the foundations upon which such movements have been built. Take for example the famous Salt Satyagrahah that Gandhi led in non-violent protest to the British salt monopoly and general occupation of India. For all those who are inspired by this historic march and seek to replicate the change through similar events today, most are unfamiliar with the years of work by countless women and men that laid the foundation for such a movement to rise up in maturity and authority.
It is like watching an egg mature to the time of hatching: From the outside it appears as though nothing is happening, then suddenly a new life breaks forth out of nowhere. In truth, what goes unseen is the long process of gestation, the delicate and incremental changes that led up to the moment of birth. In the same way, the dynamic and public nature of such events like those in the Occupy Movement can draw many people who do not understand the complexity of the problems they are facing nor the solutions that will be necessary for meaningful change. None of this disqualifies the movement, but it should be a significant source of caution, especially for Christians.
However, my bigger concern lies- not so much with movement itself, but rather with tendency among some Christians to frame it as a kingdom movement. Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about justice as a central aspect of kingdom work. However, I am concerned by the trend seems to equate any (legitimate) social justice work as essentially kingdom work. As Scot McKnight recently said:
“Justice gospelers today tend toward political activism, the summons for more Christians to see compassion for the poor and better laws and peace in the world, and toward a kingdom language.”
Like McKnight, I am convinced that the work of the gospel significantly includes working towards a just society (which I again affirm the Occupy Movement for work towards), yet also share his concern that “Justice is the inevitable result and implication of the gospel but not the same as the gospel”. Thankfully there are many Christians engaging in the Occupy Movement who are not making this mistake, but many are confusing the two. Too often we make the prophetic rebuke or correction the central act of doing justice. In other words, we have allowed social justice activism to define our kingdom justice more so than the reverse.
While we will always need voices of prophetic correction in a world riddled with injustice, they are never meant to be the primary response to the problem(s). The Story of God clearly demonstrates that such messages leave the messenger at great risk from those they call to repentance and justice. Further, such voices are always held to a high standard, not only because they make suck rebukes in the name of God, but because any hypocrisy in the messenger threatens the authority and authenticity of the message itself.
Instead, the primary place for the work of kingdom justice is in and through the community of the crucified, the Body of Christ, the Church. It is in living according the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, made possible by His life, death, resurrection, and empowered the by Holy Spirit, who He sent to unite us as His Body for His purposes for His glory. As we live together with Christ- as Christ- in a broken and watching world, justice will necessarily be a product of the kingdom. I am not suggesting it will just happen- it will require intentionality, of course. However, it will look very different from the world in which we live- it will be an upside-down kingdom in light of the values and expectations and norm of our world.
And so, while I believe that, as Christians, we can and should be engaged in the Occupy Movement, we must be cautious not to get too caught up in the hype and excitement of the popular nature of these events. Nor should we allow these kinds of movements to primarily define our commitment to justice. For if we are about the gospel life that Jesus invites us to enter, we won’t have the time to make such events our primary concern. Living the kingdom of God together, hopefully we will be otherwise occupied.
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Totally agree with you. Thank you for posting.
Thanks Désiré. Peace!
Well said, Jamie.
Thanks Ryan. In truth, I’ve been nervous to post this. I appreciate the affirmation.
Peace.
Yeah, it’s an issue that seems produce more heat than light. I appreciate your insistence that kingdom work cannot be divorced from the one to whom the kingdom belongs.
Ryan, it is a critical piece to keep central, given how “trendy” justice can be these days.
I am glad that you pointed out that a movement based on kingdom would look way different.
If the Occupy movement accomplishes changes to the in just and greedy system what is going to replace it? Who will its’ leaders be? I only see in just and greedy people available. The change will be good for a while but adventully, it will become greedy and unfair because of the source, a world system.
Nicely put and well said, Jamie.
Wayne, I am, perhaps, a tad more optimistic about the potential for change, but agree that ultimately, the necessary, holistic change must come through the emergence of the kingdom. Peace.
I agree that Occupy movement is not equivalent to the kingdom, but who is actually saying that it is? If a Christian is called to make it a “primary” involvement, does that necessarily imply that he or she equates it with the kingdom? Some may be called to social work, some may be called to occupy, others to conflict transformation–all in secular contexts, but all as their “kingdom call”. It’s all reflective of the kingdom in various ways, but few of us would claim it’s the kingdom in its fulness.
Thanks Rick.
Byron, I am glad you asked this question. You are right that few would explicitly claim it is kingdom work in its fullness (though I’ve encounter a few who have). My point is that, my exclusion and emphasis, this can become the implicit message and, for some, the functional expression of its centrality. Again, don’t miss that I do clearly affirm the movement and Christians involvement in it. However, I still hold to 2 major concerns:
First, I come across a lot of Christians (especially young adults) who are significantly inspired by such events and participate in the name of their Christian faith. While this is not bad, per se, when the rest of their lives reflect very little of a commitment to doing justice more holistically, it is concerning.
Second, it is all too easy (and common place, it seems) for Christians to define themselves primarily by what we are against- in other words, by what we are not. There is a place for this, but again, when this is the primary identity and action of Christians in the world, we are missing the clear call of Christ to be a living alternative together, incarnating Him in all that we do.
As you say, involvement in these events are reflective of the kingdom, but I deeply hope that, in addition to that, we can be far more than merely “reflective”. We need to be explicitly living out the kingdom through, for and by Jesus.
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Thanks, Jamie. We’re probably pretty close in our perspective.
I think so too, Byron.
Hey Jamie, wondering if you would consider adding a facebook “like” link to your blog – I know that wordpress supports this – I would like to start getting your stuff out more to our facebook community….
It is also true that “the kingdom of God” is, by definition, God’s and not yours, and you can trust that God is fully able to take care of it. Our job is to work our hearts out in this grand old world that He Himself made and loves.
It is a smidge arrogant to think that you can protect it. None of us are big enough for the job. Go out, be light and salt and let the chips fall where they may. God lets the weeds and wheat grow together and when He is ready, He Himself will sort it.
Lots of truth in that, Patricia. Thanks!
It’s good of you to not mind my “yeahbut…”
Therefore I will also mention that the students at Occupy UCDavis this past weekend embodied more thoroughly and deeply the precious love of God than anything I’ve seen for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmJmmnMkuEM&feature=share.
God spills His grace where He wills. He doesn’t reside only in the Church; and in some places in the Church, He doesn’t reside at all. He invites us to find Him anywhere He shows Himself. This does not provide security but it always provides safety.
And it is not frightening, either, when carefully considered, because it is God who we follow, not the Church or even the Bible. The latter two are manifestations, not the person. He is the living God, the source and the maintainer of all. So when we see His love made visible in some “out there” protesters, we see His very own hand at work. Another manifestation.
And since we follow Him (not the protester’s movement, as such, nor for that matter, any particular theological construct inside the Church), we are filled with gratitude and delight and rush to meet yet another surprising revelation of Himself. And we are perfectly “safe” in doing so because it is God we are seeing, not some new system or flawed person to which we are attached.
So you needn’t be concerned for the young Christians who are with the Occupiers. They are seeing signs of God. This is lovely!! They can then be shown how God works in everything they are/do.
And justice is never trendy. When any people, both inside and outside the church, re-discover the fundamental principles of justice, we fully welcome it, because what they are re-discovering is the character of God expressed in this world.
Thank you for listening. I wish you God’s best.
Patricia, it is not so much a “yeah but” than you might think. I was not suggesting (at all) that God is limited to working through the church (at least not as you seem to be referring to it), but rather that His primary means of working in the world is by His Body, the Church gathered and scattered.
I would say that some (though not all) of the Occupy movement is working as a prophetic voice (and hand) in the face of legitimate injustices. That is NECESSARY! However, we need more people LIVING the hopeful kingdom as an alternative community than we need protesters. Please hear me in this: I am not diminishing the importance of the protests, rather calling the inactive to account for not living the hope and truth of the kingdom as a living alternative to the very thing the Occupiers are standing against.
To be clear: I am not at all concerned that young Christians are with the Occupiers. They need to be! My concern is when such action is seen as the primary or exclusive means of bringing justice into the world. I have encountered more than a few who make this mistake (much to the chagrin of my anarchist Christian friends who have wrestled through this more deeply).
I will disagree with you on the point about the trendiness of justice. What I mean by such a claim is that many take on the veneer of justice- the externals that often characterize justice- yet are not formed from the inside by the one thing that can produce true justice in and through us: the love of God and others. Justice itself is not “trendy”, but it is all too often being treated with shallow popularity, often doing more harm than good. I have seen the consequences of such well-intentioned ignorance in the inner city community I call home, as well as my travels abroad to places like Haiti, Ethiopia, etc.
Thanks for the push back!
Yes, I understand. Ok. I am ALL for people living in alternative community (not so much in the “off-and-away” sense but in the “here-among-us” sense). Our people, both in/out of the body of Christ, have been asleep. As George Carlin, said, “The owners of this country know the truth. It’s called the American Dream. Because you have to be asleep to believe it.” We are not going to obtain lively alternative communities unless we are awake to our complete reality. And voila, here appears Occupy, an imperfect and astonishing remediation for the deeper disease. Joy! …Oh wait, not joy?
Isn’t it a shame that Christians were not immediately out there? I am grieved that it was not imagined first by the supposed children of the Creator, who are instead largely venomously opposed (and in a much lesser proportion, completely besotted). What is the reason for this? I find it very sad that Christian leaders feel trepidation when approaching the subject and need to set it around with many qualifiers. Why is that? This is my distress, Jamie.
You wrote: “For if we are about the gospel life that Jesus invites us to enter, we won’t have the time to make such events our primary concern. Living the kingdom of God together, hopefully we will be otherwise occupied.”
But you can’t “do” these kinds of protests part time! These are occupying protests and need a fair amount of concentrated attention, for a time. Francis Bacon: ” Mahomet cald the Hill to come to him. And when the Hill stood still, he was neuer a whit abashed, but said; If the Hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet wil go to the hil.” The kingdom of God is wherever we are, and God Himself occurs everywhere. The life of the gospel of Christ is not something separate from larger creation but exists discretely within creation everywhere. Christ had no place to lay his head. There is a reason it was mentioned.
The Occupy is a fundamental current opportunity for our time. It is our particular incarnation of an international movement. It is the proper job for some (not all) Christians to be directly involved. In the humility called forth by yet another sign of God, and in deep gratitude that it was revealed through those outside the church proper, we are not answering the call of God by being “otherwise occupied” but by being exactly and precisely occupied in this job at hand.
Have you see the walk of silent scrutiny the UCDavis students gave their chancellor?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8775ZmNGFY8
This, dear sir, is the kind of thing that we believers should have applied to Pat Robertson (for eg) when he said that the earthquake in Haiti was God’s judgment. But we are repeated formally publicly nearly silent to these kinds of horrors in our circles. Why? We have much to learn. But learning presupposes a good dollop of humility and a resolve not to consider ourselves safer by separation nor greater by virtue of being children of God.
Patricia, to you first paragraph, I wholly agree (except, of course, that I do not live in the US and so my relationship to the “American Dream” is not as direct as yours).
While there should have been more Christians involved from the outset, I would respond with three points: First, there are Christians out there and not just a few. I would also suggest that Christians all over are actively involved in pushing back against the injustices that Occupy seeks to address, but they are not doing so in ways that garner attention. Second, as you say yourself in your last comment, not all Christians should be directly involved. Third, those Christians most strongly opposed to the Occupy movement do not represent Christian everywhere, but perhaps more so those in particular contexts, especially from the US.
You might have to explain the reason for this comment:
“The kingdom of God is wherever we are, and God Himself occurs everywhere. The life of the gospel of Christ is not something separate from larger creation but exists discretely within creation everywhere.”
Do you think I am suggesting this is NOT the case? Far from it. Just curious.
Please do not mistake my conviction that Occupy should not be the primary expression of MOST Christians pursuit of justice and kingdom with the idea that it shouldn’t be the primary focus of SOME Christians. It MUST be the focus for many. It is the activity that I am concerned about, but the assumption that it is the best way OVERALL for Christians to respond to injustice. Emphatically, I believe that would be a mistake.
We probably disagree on some details, but for the most part I don’t see what you are saying as being at odds with my post.
While I wish the demonstrators well and would probably agree with their goals (which would be easier to identify if they mentioned it on the poster), I fear that Christians involved in events like this are making the same mistake that the Religious Right has been making for years- namely, trying to find a political solution to a spiritual problem (in this case, greed). Without spiritual renewal, there may be changes in laws, there may be changes in company structures, there may be in politicians, but without any changes in hearts and lives, that is all there will be- changes, but no progress. As long as companies place profits above human lives, they will simply find a way to subvert and/or disregard any laws that get in the way.
Deof, I think I get what you are trying to say, I am not sure I would make the division between the political and spiritual so sharp. While I agree that all true change comes through transformed hearts, legislative change can help protect the innocent and make space for that change. As MLK often said, we need to change laws to stop injustice, but true justice will only come when true neighbours are willingly obedience to the unenforceable obligations that comes through changed hearts. On that, I think we fully agree.
I guess my two main concerns are, first, that there are those whose may believe that the problem can be solved solely, or even mainly, through legislative fiat, and second, because of this, there will be the temptation to settle for a such a lesser victory if one can be achieved. Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson in Blinded by Might: Why the Religious Right Can’t Save America (both were key members of the Moral Majority) call this “top-down” morality… and I can’t recall even a single instance where it has worked. While legislation may give some protection to innocents, this is only true when there is a desire to honor such laws (in spirit as well as in letter) and enforce them when they are not honored. Otherwise, even the best of laws are of no effect if they can be safely ignored.
Deof, well said. I agree.