From Grim Stories to an Upside-Down Gospel
The stories societies tell reflect their cultural values and expectations.
If I were living in Greece or Rome at the time of Christ’s birth, here are some of the stories of gods who might have been retold in my local temple:
- Prometheus[1], a god of fire, who, dared to defy the gods and share fire with humans. In response, his god-king, Zeus, opted to tie Prometheus to a rock and send an eagle to eat his liver. Every. Single. Day.
- Or there was Saturn (Kronos), who ate his son because he was afraid he was going to be unseated from power.[2]
- Then there was Pentheus who was torn limb from limb for spying by a brutal mob, led by his mother.[3]
- Persephone was abducted and raped by Hades[4]
Pretty grim. The power and authority of these gods enabled them to do whatever they wanted to expedite their desires, which were often fixated on their own personal gain. Having such archetypes as supreme power brokers must have had an influence on how I would have seen myself, my worth, and my role in society. What a contrast then to have Christ appear on the scene and talk about blessing the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful. This was an entirely different formula for a deity than what was used in the prevailing cultures of the time.
“How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion… was to be worshipped as a god.” [5]
I do not fully grasp all that Holland is trying to do in the 542 pages of Dominion, but one thing rang loud and clear as I reviewed his writing (along with various interviews[6] and reviews[7]) was that Christ’s sacrifice and his insistence that the “first shall be last and the last shall be first” was so radically different to the prevailing attitudes of the Greco-Roman culture of his day to have been seen as absurd. It certainly gives color to why the world had such a difficult time accepting a savior-king that looked so different than what the culture had defined.
As an aside: We have spoken at length in this class about the disruption that we are living through currently- caused by the increase in available information, the introduction of technology, and general civil unrest. I wonder, though, if the disruption that Jesus introduced with his supreme power and authority applied to working together for our good might have been just as earth shaking.
An upside-down gospel…in a Post-Christian era?
Holland argues that Christ’s radical act of self-sacrifice for our benefit overcame the Greco-Roman worldview that included gods who were cruel and barbaric and acted purely out of self-interest.[8] He illustrates how this point in history served as a pivot point for shaping the values and ideals owned by today’s Western culture- even a culture that rejects the person of Christ. Challenging the post-Christian perspective, he declares:
“Any condemnation of Christianity as patriarchal and repressive derived from a framework of values that was itself utterly Christian.”[9]
I hear a lot of theologians talk about an upside-down gospel- and it makes sense. What is dissonant for me is the idea that those upside-down principles that Christ introduced are now accepted as a matter of course in our society today. It is not that I disagree with his observations- it is just weird to notice Christ’s fingerprints in a society that really doesn’t like him. “Christianity, it seemed, had no need of actual Christians for its assumptions to still flourish.”[10] Just as I argued when we reviewed Joesph Campbell’s work[11] I am compelled to see this paradox as evidence that “our stories reflect who we are, our desires tell the bigger story, and our beliefs and our desires shape the stories we tell.”
So, as members of a -post-Christin society that rejects Christ, but shares his ethics, how do we respond? Many questions arise:
- How is the modern experience different for those living in cultures that do not have a Judeo-Christian heritage?
- How do we see the implications of those shifts today?
- As believers, how should these echoes of Christ’s ethic in a secular world impact us and how we engage with that world?
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[1] “Prometheus,” in Wikipedia, November 24, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prometheus&oldid=1259266675.
[2] “Cronus,” in Wikipedia, November 21, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cronus&oldid=1258770655.
[3] “Pentheus,” in Wikipedia, October 28, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pentheus&oldid=1253974198.
[4] “Persephone,” in Wikipedia, November 28, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persephone&oldid=1260053754.
[5] Tom Holland, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, Reprint edition (Basic Books, 2021).
[6] Tom Holland – “Dominion,” 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYkP46aYQIs.
[7]Stephen Prickett, “Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind,” Theology 123, no. 2 (2020): 144–45, https://doi.org/10.1177/0040571X19894860h.
[8] Tom Holland – “Dominion.”
[9] Holland, Dominion, 532.
[10] Holland, 533.
[11] Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2020).
About the Author
Jennifer Vernam
One response to “From Grim Stories to an Upside-Down Gospel”
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Hi Jennifer,
I loved your point about the upside-down gospel. It’s a living gospel in progress, still making an impact, and certainly imperfectly executed.
I have been pondering the questions at the end of your post.
I heard the term post-Christian nation about two decades ago from an Australian man who was lamenting the loss of faith in his nation. I remember feeling very sad about that. But I also wondered if it was a correct perspective. Is the idea of Christian nation an illusion? Does God look at nations as being pre-Christian and post-Christian? What does a Christian nation even look like? I’m not sure I’ve seen one. My ignorance is showing here as I’m not well-versed on these terms. What I have seen is Christian influence even in places that hold very contrary beliefs. I also see the same principles, such as caring for the poor and marginalized in other faith traditions.
So, to answer your last question, I think in terms of collaboration. By way of example, my husband spoke a few weeks ago at a symposium in Singapore regarding a particularly sensitive mental health issue. What was so encouraging was how those of different faith communities wanted to collaborate and work together in a nation that is very diverse both religiously and ethnically. I was actually very inspired and felt very welcomed in that space. I believe others felt the same. Do you have similar experiences or examples in a US context?
I’ve enjoyed your posts over the last two years. Always something new to consider. Thank you!
Have wonderful Christmas!