The
Prophets: Anti-Empire Voices
Ellul
describes the role of the biblical prophet as “a politically very
odd phenomenon” and “a counterforce”. While the kings dabble in
militarism and empire-building, the voice of God speaks through the
prophets, declaring God's anger at injustice and calling the people
back to the deuteronomic way of life.
The
prophets have a slightly higher profile in Christian Anarchist
theology, perhaps because they are more clearly opposed to the rulers
and systems of the time. The Ploughshares movement are Christian
Anarchist activists who perform prophetic action in the vein of
Ezekiel and others.1
Ploughshares protests usually involve breaking and entering a
military base, hammering on, and pouring blood over, weapons or
weapon carriers. Their name is taken from the prophecy of Isaiah 2:4
and Micah 4:3 to “Beat their swords into ploughshares and their
spears into pruning hooks”.
There
is scope to develop a theology of anarchy from Isaiah, as evidenced
by Walter Brueggemann's sermon to Mars Hill Bible Church, Michigan in
2008 entitled
“Isaiah and the Mission of the Church.”2
Brueggemann connects the political situation in the USA with both the
“failed urban economy”3
of Jerusalem and the city of Babylon. “Chapter 46 says take on the
power of the Empire. Challenge the gods of military consumerism. Do
not trust them, do not serve them, do not obey them. Be a Jew. Be a
person of faith.”4
He
also connects chapter 52 verse 11's “depart” with the 'calling
out' theme that resonates from Genesis to Revelation,5
stating: “Depart. Depart emotionally, depart psychologically,
depart liturgically, depart economically. Organise your life around
your faith and not according to the mantras of military
consumerism.”6
This attitude of resistance, the call to leave systems of oppression
and the desire to create a new, free society resonate strongly within
anarchism.
The
apocalypse of Daniel, like John's Revelation, represents imperial
systems as beasts. Claiborne and Haw state: “The images of the
beasts remind us that these creatures have mutated far from what God
intended... systems of imperial power that had become so corrupt...
they no longer reflected God's image or goodness.”7
In the face of these unnatural monsters, salvation comes in the form
of 'one like a son of man'8
-human, adama9,
of the earth10.
This pretype of Christ appears juxtaposed to the empires of the world
and glorified in the presence of God. For a captive people sitting
out the rise and fall of evil power structures around them there is
the hope of one who will come who is not of the bestial empires, but
who represents reconnection with the earth and with God.
The story of the
Hebrew Scriptures is a cycle of people being called out and set free
from oppressive empires. In the wilderness, away from the centres of
power, people meet with God and are given a mandate to live
differently- to live free. This alternative lifestyle is the
restoration of creation: After the fall comes the hope of a return to
Eden; after Babylon comes the yearning to return home. For Christian
Anarchists this is a significant point. In light of this reading of
the Hebrew Scriptures anarchism is not a radical reinterpretation of
the old law by Jesus. Rather,
anarchism is the very heart of God, and the perfect state of a fully
realised human society.
The
Hebrew Scriptures can also be read as protest works. Whether in
creation myth, law code or court history, the Hebrew Scriptures
subvert the normative writing conventions to present works which
take an oppositional approach to political power. Not only a work of
protest, the Hebrew Scriptures also present a fully developed
constitution for a ruler-less society, with a level of freedom and
bias to the oppressed that even the most liberal administration today
could aspire to.
The
Hebrew Scriptures end with a yearning
for political liberation and a chance to become the unique people of
God once more.
1Ezekiel,
Jeremiah, Isaiah 20:1-6, 2 Kings 13:15-19, 1 Kings 11:30-40
2Walter
Brueggemann. “Isaiah and the Mission of the Church.”
(Sermon delivered at Mars Hill Bible Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
20/07/2008). Mp3 audio file from http://marshill.org/teaching/
(accessed 22/9/08)
3Walter
Brueggemann. “Isaiah and the Mission of the Church.”
(Sermon delivered at Mars Hill Bible Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
20/07/2008). Mp3 audio file from http://marshill.org/teaching/
(accessed 22/9/08) 2 minutes 50 seconds
4Walter
Brueggemann. “Isaiah and the Mission of the Church.”
(Sermon delivered at Mars Hill Bible Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
20/07/2008). Mp3 audio file from http://marshill.org/teaching/
(accessed 22/9/08) 9 minutes 30 seconds
5Genesis
12:1 to Revelation 18:4
6Walter
Brueggemann. “Isaiah and the Mission of the Church.”
(Sermon delivered at Mars Hill Bible Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
20/07/2008). Mp3 audio file from http://marshill.org/teaching/
(accessed 22/9/08) 13 minutes 17 seconds
Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2008. Pg. 43
8Daniel
7:13 (NIV)
9אדם
10אדמה
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