Exodus:
Called Out
It
is remarkable that Christian Anarchists have not given the book of
Exodus more attention, for it is the most well known story in all
global culture of people being called out and set free from an
oppressive regime1.
The exodus story would have resonated with those in Babylonian exile
as they yearned for freedom. Likewise, it has resonated with
oppressed communities throughout history.2
It is, in many ways, the central image of the Bible, revealing the
character of God as the one who sets free from Egypt, from Babylon,
from sin and death. Christian Anarchists could draw on the liberation
theologies of Gutiérrez and Miranda where the exodus narrative takes
centre stage as “a model for liberation”.3
Those liberated, significantly, are not just the people-group called
Israel, but a 'mixed multitude'4
with them. All the dispossessed of the empire are caught up in God's
plan and set free from a world of gods and masters5
to create a new society.
God
leads the people into the wilderness, a pattern established by
Abraham and Jacob, continued in Moses' time in Midian, and repeated
by Elijah, Isaiah and Jesus6.
Again we witness the themes of “urban antipathy”7
and rural nostalgia inherent in scripture. God continually calls
people out, away from cities, to a life of simplicity. The pattern of
scripture suggests that it is through a 'wilderness experience' that
people are drawn close to God. This resonates generally with
Christian Anarchist emphasis on simple living, and specifically with
an arm of anarchism called anarcho-primitivism. The primitivist
practise of 'rewilding' involves a deliberate period of removal from
civilisation, recognising that before a new way of life can begin, it
is necessary to 'unlearn' the ways of the old order. Claiborne and
Haw say of the Israelites' wilderness wanderings: “As is often
still the case with us, it may take only a few days to get us out of
the empire, but it takes an entire lifetime to get the empire out of
us.”8
1It
is also an important touchstone for the Revelation texts that are
popular with Christian Anarchists- particularly, the people being
told to 'come out' of the whore, Babylon.
2For
example, the exodus themes prevalent in the 'spirituals' of the
enslaved African people in the USA: “Go Down Moses (Let My People
Go)”; “Didn't Old Pharaoh Get Lost” etc.
Pg.
183
4Exodus
12:37-38 (KJV)
5“No
Gods, No Masters” is a well-known anarchist slogan, popularised by
feminist campaigner Margaret Sanger.
6Myers
states: “This
is
best captured by the Psalmist’s lament: 'Truly I would flee to the
wilderness . . . for I see violence and strife in the city . . .
oppression and fraud on its streets' (Ps 55:7,9,11).”
Ched Myers. “The Fall”. Originally published in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. Continuum, 2005.
http://www.chedmyers.org/system/files/The%20Fall%20-%20Anarco%20Primitivism%20%2526%20the%20Bible.pdf
(accessed 11/09/12)
Ched Myers. “The Fall”. Originally published in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. Continuum, 2005.
http://www.chedmyers.org/system/files/The%20Fall%20-%20Anarco%20Primitivism%20%2526%20the%20Bible.pdf
(accessed 11/09/12)
7Ched
Myers. “Anarcho-primitivism and the Bible”. Originally published
in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. Continuum, 2005.
http://www.chedmyers.org/system/files/The%20Fall%20-%20Anarcho%20Primitivism%20%2526%20the%20Bible.pdf
http://www.chedmyers.org/system/files/The%20Fall%20-%20Anarcho%20Primitivism%20%2526%20the%20Bible.pdf
(accessed
11/09/12)
Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2008. Pg. 34
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