Some say the word “radical” is overused. I appreciate that
because many people are admirably called to Christian advocacy in social justice and human rights. Many fancy themselves as “radical” Christians
but do not always seem to appreciate the obligation of that label. (After writing this post I realize its theme is "There is only radical Christianity.")
It is beneficial to dig into Paul to get some idea about
practicing radical Christianity in what he calls the world of flesh. The Apostle Paul certainly made it clear that
there are negative forces in the world of flesh. We must appreciate when
Paul uses the words “world of flesh,”
he is not talking about institutions and evil people, or prurient inclinations.
Paul entreats us to understand the world
of flesh is every element of our inculcated physical and intellectual
being. It is our very existence and humanity. Paul acknowledges that every part
of our being is pulled by the entire world of flesh to rebel against Christian
values. In fact the world of flesh
itself resists Christian love and charity. To use a big but apt word, the world
of flesh is inimical to the radical Christianity that embodies the essential reality of the
“Christ event,” the reality of Christmas, that fractured and will displace this old
world as it is emerges.
We cannot escape this world
of flesh, even if we choose to live as hermits and monks in caves in the
desert, or inside our minds and homes. Even alone we exist in the world of our
senses, our experience.
So, there is much merit to the advocacy of radical Christian
social justice in this unjust world of flesh. That is, Christianity should
subsume social justice as part of the struggle against the world.
It is also very easy to drift into a mindset (or worldview) that
turns the struggle for social justice on its head and ends up unintentionally
subsuming Christianity in a framework of radical social justice. That road
leads to Black Panthers and the Symbionese Liberation Army, to name two wounds of my
generation. The error in this conflation is a victory of the world of flesh, and
a wound to the struggle for social justice. The error or stumbling block is
pride. Pride blinds the mind to the nature of radical Christianity and places
social justice above radical Christianity to the detriment of both.
We may be angry at the oppression we ourselves have experienced.
You can ask any woman about that. You can ask any southerner who has ventured
north to live for a while to appreciate being stereotyped. Especially you can
ask almost any African-American about the overt and covert forms of oppression
they face just by the act of living and breathing in a “white” society.
But what is the cure for these offenses?
The radical Christianity is that which Jesus practiced and expects of his
followers. Because radical Christianity presents so high a bar for a lifestyle (selflessness),
we all are going to fail to do it well. But what we can do after being shoved
to the ground is get up and try again to be radical Christians. (Sometimes radical Christians are those who stand
beside our brothers and sisters who cannot stand but can only pray for us.)
It is easier to define radical Christianity by what it is not. Within
our own denomination there are those who secretly or openly wish to see the
denomination stumble. That attitude is absent in radical Christianity.
Many pastors and leaders of our Presbyterian Church-USA
(PC(USA)) loathe the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), and it is obvious
many of “them” feel the same way about us. When I was working as Construction
Manager for PC(USA)-PDA in the Gulf Coast, I once proposed to my manager that
we work with a fairly effective PCA relief group near Bay St. Louis (I had many
difficult arguments with this local group over theology). The reaction from Louisville in the name of PC(USA) was one of anger, “We don’t work with them, they are PCA.”
That attitude is absent in radical Christianity.
Radical Christianity does not deny worship space or refuse to
worship with other Christians. Radical Christianity does not exclude Christians
who hold some controversial non-essential tenets from their acts of worship.
Such responses are antithetical to radical Christianity. (If you
do not believe me, refer to Mark 9:33-50.)
Many of us who support women’s and LGBT rights fall into the
trap by castigating or refusing to work with Christian denominations such as
the Southern Baptist Church who oppose or severely restrict worship experiences
of members of those groups. This reaction also is the antithesis of radical
Christianity.
(My parents were driven
out of the Southern Baptist Church by its position on women so I do have a bone
to pick with them. Furthermore, I have very close relatives whose lifestyle
would not be welcome in their worship services.)
Now let me try to describe what radical Christianity means (to
me) in a positive sense with a question. What does “the shared common table”
mean to you?
It is a biblical
table. There is a story behind it. It
is communal. It is a physical table. It is a table where the feeling
of expectancy is paramount. It is an open table for the children of God.
Radical Christianity recalls that throughout the ministry of Jesus, a
shared meal always marked an act of love, even among adversaries. A shared meal
at its most basic nature is the act
of Christian love. At our table we repeat words of invitation such as “This
table is not a Presbyterian table. It is the Lord’s table for the children of
God. People may come from East and West, from North and South thirsting for the
bread of life and living water from the cup of salvation at this table. At this table Christ comes to us to feed
all hungry people in need. In this house we share the feast of bread and drink
that sustains an everlasting fellowship of peace and eternal life. (A good book
on this idea is Leading from the Table by Paul Galbreath, Herndon,
VA:The Alban Institute (2008))
Radical Christianity brings to the world the openness and expectancy of change and reconciliation. It
welcomes those who reject it because the radical power of expectancy and openness to reconciliation is irresistible. Radical
Christianity does not adopt or apply the values of its detractors to the
detractors. It is the steady persistence of faith of radical Christianity that
wears away the rocks of oppression.
It turns out science has something to say about this. A recent technical
article in Science that shows the
simple act of dialogue between “adversaries” opens the door to profound change of
attitude (Science, vol. 346, Issue 6215, p1339, 1366, or go to www.sciencemag.org).
It is worth reading.
Coming back to the beginning of this post, be careful using the
word radical if you are a Christian
engaged in advocacy, or writing about it.
Radical Christianity is a hard thing to practice with social justice. You
will be attacked for the inconsistencies between your personal practice and professed
faith. You will be attacked for associating with your detractors. Even your
friends will detract and deride you. Radical Christianity compels you to compassionate association with your detractors, and
to persist in perfecting the practice of radical Christianity even as you
stumble. (Was his stumbling and hot temper the thorn that plagued Paul?) Recall how Jesus
approached his detractors? Forgive them
for they do not know what they do. It is a very high bar.
I suggest to you that the most recent American model of the
practice of radical Christianity was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the
beginning of the protest of a segregated society he was assailed by his fellow pastors
for pushing too hard and too fast. When he realized that war itself is an
abomination to God and tied to his social struggles opposition to the War in
Viet Nam, he was pilloried not only by the powers of the state and Church but
even by his own African-American brothers and sisters. Yet he persisted to the
end.
Today the struggle for social justice at its heart is a matter
of radical Christianity. What was originally a racial abomination has become an
economic abomination. Rich denominations that earn over a billion dollars annually
in interest on their endowment cringe at spending it promiscuously on the poor,
downtrodden and imprisoned, even on its own struggling pastors. They bury their
talents in the ground and mete out copper coins. Governments such as Tennessee
spend little on medical care for indigent citizens and instead say to them, “heal
yourself.” Even many churchgoers are stingy with their money and skills, wanting
nice new sanctuaries, gilded tongue pastors, paid choirs, or just a new car but
give disproportionately little compared to their available resources. The poor
give more of their resources to charity than the rich. What was once a struggle
of denominations for self-identity has become a spiritual abomination that
oppresses self-choice and lauds worship of the denomination itself.
We live
in a selfish, greedy world; it is intimately bound into our humanity. The only
way to resist it is to love humanity when the desire is to loathe it. Radical
Christianity is the practical theology for living in the world I have been
writing about in prior posts.
I am proud to number among my
friends folks on both sides of the table who regardless of politics or theology
are doing their best to live radical Christian lives.
That my friends is what radical Christianity and social justice
is all about, living Christian values around a shared table with ALL the
children of God who are thirsty and hungry for that living water and bread of
life in a selfish, greedy world that is part of our humanity. If we do it for
and with only our friends; what kind of hypocrites does that make us? What kind
of city shining on a hill shall we be?
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