Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Occupy Wall Street/Vancouver and Thomas More/Erasmus by Ron Dart

The Occupy Wall Street/Vancouver (and other cities) has garnered much media attention the last few weeks. The main concerns of the ‘Occupy’ movement have a great deal of legitimacy to them, and emerge from obvious injustices and imbalances of wealth and power. Are such issues new, though, and do they have a perennial ring about them? How have those in the past thought about such issues (that is those who saw them as issues rather than denying or justifying the problem)? Is in the street protest and advocacy politics the only and most responsible way to confront such inequities?

Thomas More was Lord Chancellor of England in the early 16^th century, and he was acutely aware of the disparities of wealth and power in his country. More had a tender and exacting conscience, and he did not flinch from asking and acting on the hard questions. More’s missive, Utopia (1516), pulls no punches nor does it flinch from probing to the core the larger justice and peace issues. More would, in many ways, have a great deal of affinity with the Occupy movement. Book I of Utopia is a must read--there is a poignant and not to be forgotten conversation between More and Raphael that is a keeper. The late 15^th and early 16^th centuries in Europe was a period of time in which many States in Europe were turning to the Americas to establish colonies. The empires were very much at work to extend their global reach.

Occupy Vancouver - by Rod Janz

A friend of mine, Jeff Imbach, was recently interviewed at the Occupy Vancouver protest. I have to admit, I am still trying to get my head around the purpose and desired outcome of this protest. Maybe I need to go down and check it out for myself like Jeff did. You will hear in the interview below that Jeff believes that part of the protest’s success has been to simply raise the general consciousness of society to the idea that corporate institutions supported by governments is an unjust situation.

According to The Huffington Post a group from Occupy Wall Street have come up with a list of demands called the 99PercentDeclaration, but even these are controversial at this point, and aren’t supported by all of the various Occupy protests happening around the world.

For the CBC Radio interview with Jeff and others, see “Occupy Vancouver“

 

Constitutional Democracies and Burst Wineskins - Brian Zahnd

The conservative evangelical political position in America is basically this: We have our Constitution -- created by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. It is a good thing; almost inspired. It has served us well and helped make us great. We believe in Jesus Christ and his gospel. So we will elect Christians to political office so that we can be a Christian nation. We will pour the good wine of the gospel into the good wineskin of our Constitutional democracy. But it will never work. The Deist-created, Enlightenment-influenced wineskin of modern liberal democracy can never contain the powerful wine of the kingdom gospel of Jesus Christ. In the end one will ruin the other; both will ruin one another. We cannot form a modern nation-state around the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' gospel of the kingdom. The two agendas are incompatible. Only the new wineskin of the church (as a radical alternative community) is capable of containing and communicating the powerful wine of Jesus' gospel. The agenda of the "Religious Right" (or the "Religious Left" for that matter) amounts to pouring new wine into old wineskins. I think I'm right about this. But what about leaven and dough? Somehow I think there is a subtle, but essential distinction. Yes, we exist within the wider culture as a "leavening" influence. But we are under no illusion that the political structures of this age can be a faithful expression of the kingdom of Christ. The role of leaven in the dough is to make it rise; to transform it. This is what we can do (to a limited extent) within the wider society. But the role of leaven in dough is different than wine in a wineskin. The function of a wineskin is to contain, preserve, transport and administer wine. This is something the political state can never do. Our understanding of the complicated relationship of the church to the political state should not only be informed by the parable of leaven and dough, it should also be informed by the parable of wine and wineskins. Bottom line: The constitutional democracies of modern nation-states is an inadequate wineskin for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

A Dream, The Samaritan Woman, and The Voice of God - by Eric Janzen

This past summer I had a dream. I found myself in a church service standing in the midst of a large circle of people. As I looked around the circle, I was startled to see that they were more like zombies than anything; their faces were thin and gaunt, their skin pale and wan, their eyelids half closed. I was frightened by the sight and I said,

“What’s wrong with these people?”

The Lord spoke to me in the dream and said, “They are passing away because they are not hearing my prophetic words for them. Their spirits are drying up within them.”

I was both saddened and disturbed. I knew I could not go around the circle and prophesy over every single person there. As I looked about, my eyes came to rest on a man and the Lord said “Go, prophesy over him.” So I went.

There were three or four people with me in the dream and we gathered around the man and began to prophesy over him. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness will be added to you. You can't attain it...you can't obtain it...he will add it to you.” The man was overcome with emotion and he fell to the ground weeping. He was a youth pastor from somewhere in the United States, and as we prophesied over him concerning his ministry he physically changed before my eyes. His body filled out, the colour returned to his skin, even his hair began to grow.

Then I woke up. I looked to the bedroom ceiling and silently prayed so as not to wake my wife, “What was that Lord!?”

The 16th Century Peace Tradition: Anabaptism, Erasmus and the English Vision by Ron Dart

There is a predictable tendency when reading the 16^th century to highlight the fact that the Magisterial Reformers of the Continent (Luther and Calvin), although breaking from the Roman Catholic tradition and initiating the Protestant Reformation, were still deeply catholic. What do I mean when I say this?

The mainstream of the Protestant Reformation (Luther, Calvin and followers) held to a magisterial notion of the relationship between church and state. The state was the political arms and legs of the church, and when the state had to use violence in war or repress political or theological dissent, most of the magisterial reformers supported the state in its use of violence to do so. It is significant to note that although the Protestant Reformers held high the authority of the Bible, they were quite selective in both how the Bible was interpreted and applied. The Sermon on the Mount became a crossroads criteria that highlighted the fact some texts had greater authority than others. The Sermon on the Mount has much to say about loving enemy, being peacemakers and living a prophetic vocation.

M2/W2 and Enemy Love As Core Gospel by Wayne Northey

Our entire ministry in criminal justice is summed up in three words: Love your enemies.  Our website (www.m2w2.com) describes the one-to-one prison visitation (M2/W2), the work with high risk sex offenders (CoSA), and our Thrift Store (Hidden Treasures) as unique expressions of enemy love.  All is done under the rubric of Restorative Justice, on which page by that name you will find lots to think about.  It too turns on an ultimate vision of enemy love.

There are some things in life that one sees, and once seen, one may never look back legitimately, though wilfully one may always violate that seen...  In the 1960’s, I saw this image circulated at our church:

The story is that a picture was taken by a Chinese photographer who was considering Christianity, and who converted to it after having seen this photo developed from one he took of melting snow.  One moment, he saw dark blotches on a white page, the next moment he suddenly saw an image of Jesus jump out at him!  Can you see the face of Jesus?  Many take some time to see!  Many never do.  Once one sees however, no matter how one looks at the image, one never fails again to see Jesus.  Though one can always wilfully suppress or deny it.  One can always claim the true image of Christ is “dark blotches on white”.  Can you see Jesus?

Listen Up! conference with Brad Jersak

Join us for the upcoming Listen Up! conference with Brad Jersak

Online registrations available HERE

"Trust in the Name" (Psalm 20:7-8) - Logan Runnalls (a sermon)

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm” (Psalm 20:7-8).

There is much that is hard in this world. There are multiple stresses which we encounter. Today, many of us are wrestling with the financial crisis, with the desire to see justice and peace reign, or with far more personal struggles. In these times of stress it is vital to remember where we find our hope. This was true for Israel as well. Before battle, they were to sing Psalm 20 so that they would be grounded in an appropriate hope. Focus in on verses seven and eight and you’ll see an exhortation to live in the light of our hope. There are three lenses I use to read the Psalms: as inheritance, fulfillment, and devotion. Each one takes us into the hope of Psalm 20 from a different angle and thereby allow us to carry the hope into the full breadth of our lives.

Brian Zahnd on Merton's 'Moral Theology of the Devil'

The Moral Theology of the Devil Posted: 03 Oct 2011 09:12 PM PDT Tonight I watched part two of the Ken Burn’ film “Prohibition” on PBS—a brilliant documentary on America’s fourteen year ill-fated war on alcohol. It’s a classic study in good intentions gone wrong. It’s a penetrating look at the fallacy of thinking, “If we can just pass this or that legislation, we can produce a righteous society.” Anyway, it’s a well-done documentary about a strange time in American history. After the documentary I decided to read a random chapter from Thomas Merton’sNew Seeds of Contemplation. I chose a chapter entitled “The Moral Theology of the Devil.” It turned out to be entirely apropos for my state of mind. Here are some selections from the chapter.

"Lest we forget what?" - Not So Different - Brad Jersak and PartnersWorld.org

Not So Different from Partners Relief & Development on Vimeo.

"Lest we forget" - Brad Jersak

When I read war memorials or attend Remembrance Day services, I am often struck by the phrase, "Lest we forget." I wonder what I am to remember. I do remember my family members whose lives were sacrificed on the altar of freedom. But I also think we're meant to remember to resist evil (with good) before it comes to that. Unfortunately, while we're remembering the past, we can be prone to missing the connection between past injustices and what is happening now in nations where there is no monetary value in being involved. And we forget there are ways of helping other than through military intervention.

Steve Gumaer - Not So Different

Steve Gumaer and PartnersWorld.org help me remember, and they overcoming evil with good in their small way ... which is usually how it happens. We've posted the above video as an example of true remembering and one group's call to help.

You can read more about what Partners and the Free Burma Rangers are doing to help in many of the Partners publications or in Kissing the Leper, by Brad Jersak.

 

Thomas Talbott's, 'The Inescapable Love of God' - Review by Ron Dart

C.S. Lewis wrote his evocative missive, The Great Divorce: A Dream, in response to the universalism of one of his mentors, George Macdonald, and as a reply of sorts to William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Lewis walked the extra mile in The Great Divorce to probe the multiple nuances of human choice and freedom and how, when push comes to shove, humans can subvert and sabotage the very freedom that is held so high. There is, at core, the generous grace of God (that comes by many means) and there is human response (or lack of it) to such grace and love. What is the ultimate and final fate (if such an answer can be given ) of humans that chose to say No to Divine grace? Or, can a definitive No ever be the final word?

There are those that argue through the use of certain Biblical texts that eternal punishment and the flames of hell await those that turn their backs on God. Others hold to an annihilationist position. Many are not sure how to make sense of the trying tension of God’s persistent love and human responses to it. There are many hot button issues within the Christian exegetical, theological and philosophical tradition, but there has been a tendency to insist that those who hold to a position of universalism are either heretical or heterodox---such a position is certainly not orthodox for many. Needless to say, there are many Christians (from various traditions within the Tradition) that have held to different types of universalism. The Inescapable Love of God, by Thomas Talbott, stands within such a line and lineage. Talbott is, in many ways, one of the most literate and thoughtful universalists of our time, hence his insights and arguments need to be closely heard and heeded.

Hints and Guesses by Brian Zahnd

Hints and Guesses Posted: 30 Sep 2011 11:15 PM PDT   Hints and Guesses My favorite thought is the Incarnation. My favorite poet (after Dylan) is T.S. Eliot. Here is a snippet of T.S. Eliot poetry that touches on Incarnation. ____________________________________________ Men’s curiosity searches past and future And clings to that dimension. But to apprehend The point of intersection of the timeless With time, is an occupation for the saint— No occupation either, but something given And taken, in a lifetime’s death in love, Ardour and selflessness and self-surrender. For most of us, there is only the unattended Moment, the moment in and out of time, The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight, The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply That it is not heard at all, but you are the music While the music lasts. These are only hints and guesses, Hints followed by guesses; and the rest Is prayer, observance, discipline, thought and action. The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is Incarnation. —T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets, The Dry Salvages (from stanza V) ____________________________________________ How do we grapple with the Incarnation?— Such an elusive idea. (God become human!) How do we contemplate the Incarnation?— In a way that has meaning for our lives? Hints and guesses. But mostly by prayer, observance, discipline, thought and action. Amen. BZ (The artwork is “Blue (Moby Dick)” by Jason Pollock. Suggest soundtrack is Bon Iver.)