{"id":12294,"date":"2017-03-09T23:47:56","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T07:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=12294"},"modified":"2017-03-09T23:47:56","modified_gmt":"2017-03-10T07:47:56","slug":"the-power-is-in-us-collectively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-power-is-in-us-collectively\/","title":{"rendered":"The power is in us collectively"},"content":{"rendered":"

“The big deal is we think the power is in us individually the power is in us collectively. It is in the church<\/em>.” John M. Perkins [1]<\/p>\n

It appears that in our current American culture the church is divided. We are either siding with the “conservative right” or the “progressive left”. Depending on how one\u00a0views our society,either you are concerned with the “right-ordering” of society or see it as a battle ground for social justice. [2] \u00a0The distribution of power is arguably split in many regards by how a person passionately views two key hot subjects–abortion and homosexuality. Many have made personal exceptions that have determined why they vote and appeal to influence those within our society one way or another. What is not fully discussed is how much of an influence politics\u00a0has on Christian values and how Christians perceive power and equity in\u00a0our country.<\/p>\n

James Hunter in his book To Change The World<\/em> provides three core essays that discuss what he believes are core issues with Christianity in the late modern world–“Christianity and World Changing”, “Rethinking Power” and “Toward a New City Commons: Reflections on a Theology of Faithful Presence”. In his second essay “Rethinking Power”, he addresses the coerciveness of power and it’s impact on American culture. He argues that faith does have power and influence on culture. \u00a0When it is displaced it is because faith is operating under a corrupt view of power. James Hunter examines the ills of the late modern American Christian conservative right and the progressive left. In his written summary of chapter 6 of Essay two the “Illusions, Irony, and Tragedy” he wrote:<\/p>\n

Politics has become a \u201csocial imaginary\u201d that defines the horizon of understanding and the parameters for action. What is never challenged is the proclivity to think of the Christian faith and its engagements with culture in political terms. For all, the public has been conflated with the political. But the ressentiment that marks the way they operate makes it clear that a crucial part of what motivates politics is a will to dominate. However, for politics to be about more than power, it depends upon a realm that is independent of the political process. The deepest irony is that the Christian faith has the possibility of autonomous institutions and practices that could be a source of ideals and values that could elevate politics to more than a quest for power. Instead, by nurturing its resentments, they become functional Nietzcheans, participating in the very cultural breakdown they so ardently strive to resist.[2]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is not a secret that many ,if not most, American evangelicals identify with the Republican party. They self identify with their goals \u00a0ideals \u00a0and ends for creating social order in our country. To those on the left, they are portrayed as having less empathy for those who are marginalized in society and seek to gain benefits that are inherently given to those climbing the social ladder. While those who identify with the democratic party, are appalled by the lack of social justice given to those who are marginalized in society. To those on the right, they are portrayed as being too liberal and not conservative enough to uphold true Christian values. \u00a0Hunter asserts that the political polarization in America has forced either side to take their focus off of the ultimate power, God. That our role in the kingdom does not mimic the strategies and ends of the world. He concludes this essay by posing a question “In our day, Christians have not only embraced strategies that are incapable of bringing about the ends to which they aspire, they have also embraced strategies that are deeply problematic, shortsighted, and at times, profoundly corrupted. If the flourishing of Christian faith and its cultures depends on a model of power that derives from Christ\u2019s life and teaching, what does this look like in practice?<\/em>“[3] In light of this , I rephrase his question by asking”what does it mean to live a faithful Christian life in America as being an active bearer of the Kingdom of God ?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0“John M. Perkins Quote.” A-Z Quotes. Accessed March 09, 2017. http:\/\/www.azquotes.com\/quote\/730519<\/p>\n

[2] James Davidson Hunter, “To Change Then World Chapter Abstracts,” James Davison Hunter, , accessed March 09, 2017, http:\/\/www.jamesdavisonhunter.com\/to-change-the-world-abstracts.<\/p>\n

[3] James Davison Hunter, To change the world: the irony, tragedy, and possibility of Christianity today<\/i> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). 193.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The big deal is we think the power is in us individually the power is in us collectively. It is in the church.” John M. Perkins [1] It appears that in our current American culture the church is divided. We are either siding with the “conservative right” or the “progressive left”. Depending on how one\u00a0views […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-12294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-hunter","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}