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Thursday, 19 March 2015

Politics of a Pure Heart

Exclusion and Embrace: Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation,
Miroslav Volf, Abingdon Press, 1996, page 112

Using the people of Yeshua's own time, connecting with their oppression and sense of being victims, Volf claims:

Given the context of pervasive oppression, it is not surprising that Jesus' proclamation of God's kingdom found an extraordinary echo. Political, economic and cultural frustrations and aspirations united to fill the concept of God's kingdom with extraordinary social potency. God will bring foreign occupiers and domestic elites down from their thrones; God will liberate the people from all oppression and make an end to every earthly rule. Dreams of a future in which God alone will rule in truth and justice were nourished by the hard realities of domination, exploitation and cultural suppression.

Volf says that by making the kingdom the main feature of His message, Yeshua put an unmistakable political edge to His whole ministry. I'm not sure I buy the idea of deliberate positioning in that way. What do you think?

Posted By Jonathan, 9:00am Comment Comments: