No empire, no Bible? aspects of the relationship between biblical texts and current anti-empire views
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Authors
Lombaard, Christo
Issue Date
2011-12
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Christianity , Imperialism , Political ideologies , Old Testament , Bible texts , Liberation theologies , Political-theological , Christian church , Anti-empire
Alternative Title
Abstract
In both popular and academic writing recently on Christianity
and the historical and contemporary phenomenon of imperialism,
a strong current of negative sentiment is to be found on
the latter. Such sentiments are both understandable and valid,
but as a generalised outlook on the phenomenon of empire, it is
too simplistic: an overview of examples from the Bible, one of
the most important constituent elements of the Christian
missiological dynamic, illustrates a more nuanced view. This is
done by indicating four examples from recent Old Testament
research:
• Nuances of Prophetic reactions to empires
• Pro-empire stances in the Historical Books
• Associating with the powerless for the own sake
• Textual reception of imperial decrees
These four aspects caution towards, on the one hand, appropriating
the Bible too simplistically in favour of a cause and, on
the other hand, judging the empire phenomenon too one-sidedly.
The entirely valid enterprise of exposing the vagaries of
empire, in the search for ways of sociopolitical organisation of
societies more aligned to traditional Christian values of peace
and love, will be better served by such more sensitive valuations.
Description
Peer reviewed.
Citation
Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, vol 37, Supplement, pp 49-65
Publisher
Church History Society of Southern Africa
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
10170499