{"id":16452,"date":"2018-02-15T01:53:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T09:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=16452"},"modified":"2018-02-15T08:11:47","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T16:11:47","slug":"is-the-force-with-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/is-the-force-with-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the “Force” with you?"},"content":{"rendered":"

William Cavanaugh\u2019s Being Consumed<\/em> provides some positive reflections on how to develop a God honoring, personalized, and theocentric space where the Christian can navigate life\u2019s challenges near the periphery of economic life. \u00a0This post will examine Cavanaugh\u2019s Eucharist viewpoint and positive vision to determine if his ideas on curing globalism can help my research into spiritual warfare.<\/p>\n

Cavanaugh analyzes the \u201cproblems of globalism\u201d from the practicing Catholic\u2019s economic, social, psychological, and theological viewpoints.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 I knew right away I was going to connect with Cavanaugh because when he says globalism, I hear spiritual warfare.\u00a0 I have \"\"<\/a>discovered in my preliminary research that most authors engage softly and tread lightly when discussing the \u201cdark side of the force\u201d with their intended reading audience.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Nevertheless, Cavanaugh is referencing the universal struggle between good and evil like the Adam-Christ typology that Lucas presented in the Star Wars movie series between Darth Vader and power of the \u201cdark-side\u201d and Luke Skywalker and the power of the \u201cforce.\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 In his book, Cavanaugh analyzes the globalizing influence that Satan and his demons exert over and upon humankind and the Church.<\/p>\n

Cavanaugh finds the solution to globalization in the \u201cEucharist\u201d and encourages the reader-consumer to metaphorically eat Christ through Augustine\u2019s theological menu of \u201cconsuming the body of Christ.\u201d\u00a0 The voluntary act of consuming Christ transforms the individual into the body and community of Christ, which is supernaturally connected with other Eucharist consumers on a global scale.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 The Eucharist metaphor involves eating the body and drinking the blood of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Likewise, the Armor of God metaphor involves wearing truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and Spirit that represent not only consuming Christ, but being consumed into Christ with the supernatural abilities to survive the effects of sin, temptation, and the schemes of the devil.\u00a0 If consuming the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist represent participation in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16-17) then putting on the armor of God represents putting on and participating in the daily life of Christ (Eph. 6:10-17).<\/p>\n

Here are some overnight reflections and inspirations from the Holy Spirit regarding how to connect the Eucharist and the Armor of God.\u00a0 When I wake up in the middle of the night after prayer and reflection I use the electronic note pad on my phone to capture spiritual inspirations, so I will not forget them after I fall back to sleep.\u00a0 After last night\u2019s sleep and refreshment with God I see similar connections between the metaphors \"\"<\/a>used in the Eucharist and the Armor of God.\u00a0 The metaphorical relationship is as follows: If consuming the body of Christ by eating his flesh and drinking his blood establishes our eternal standing in Christ, then wearing the body of Christ by adorning his truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and Spirit establishes our daily stance in Christ. \u00a0Standing eternally and taking up a stance daily after consuming and wearing Christ is the Eucharist-Armor of God connection.\u00a0 It may seem simple, but there are deep truths to this relationship that I am only now beginning to discover.\u00a0 For starters, I see an opportunity to bridge the gap between my Evangelical paradigm with the liturgic Catholic mindset and add their passion and practice for the Eucharist artifact into my passion and practice with the Armor of God coin artifact.<\/p>\n

I also like the author\u2019s narrative strategy towards globalism by \u201cinterrogating assumed cultural givens through conceptual opposition.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 To Bayardize this further, by making a peripheral scan of the Table of Contents one can quickly grasp Cavanaugh\u2019s ideas, connections, focus, and outcome be recognizing that each pair \u201csignals the cultural presumption to be theologically undermined with the second.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Digging into Cavanaugh\u2019s reduction of globalization through theological questioning I was awed by the stark reality of his conclusion; \u201cThe reconciliation of the many with the one is perhaps the quintessential religious question.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

I found another connection between Cavanaugh\u2019s Eucharist manifesto and the Apostle Paul\u2019s Armor of God doctrine.\u00a0 First, Cavanaugh says that \u201cto consume is to be consumed,\u201d which elevates the consumer into a \u201clarger than self\u201d identity that is \u201cparadoxically secured.\u201d[8]<\/a> I see the same Biblical strategy exhibited when the Apostle Paul says to put on, wear, and adorn yourself in Christ, which likewise elevates the wearer \"\"<\/a>into a next-level spiritual dimension where the actual battle between good and evil if fought out on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, I found many intersections between Cavanaugh\u2019s Eucharist solution to the problem of globalization and my research problem into spiritual warfare.\u00a0 I can better relate with Cavanaugh and see his subtle but effective vision-casting strategy that nets a wider audience and pulls them towards the solution, the light and love of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Finally, I agree with Augustine\u2019s \u201cpositive\u201d freedom position that establishes and infers a relationship with God as the precursor for a successful economic lifestyle within the Eucharist worldview.<\/p>\n

Stand firm,<\/p>\n

M. Webb<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> John-Paul Spiro. “Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire.(Book Review).” Augustinian Studies 41, no. 2 (2010): 494.<\/h6>\n
[2]<\/a> John C. McDowell. “Star Wars’ Saving Return.(Critical Essay).” Journal of Religion and Film 13, no. 1 (2009): Journal of Religion and Film, April, 2009, Vol.13(1).<\/h6>\n
[3]<\/a> Ibid.<\/h6>\n
[4]<\/a> William T. Cavanaugh. Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire<\/em>. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008) Kindle location 55.<\/h6>\n
[5]<\/a> Scott Prather. “Book Review: William T. Cavanaugh, Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008). Xii 103 Pp. US$12.00\/\u00a36.99 (pb), ISBN 978\u20140\u20148028\u20144561\u20140.” Studies in Christian Ethics 23, no. 2 (2010): 208.<\/h6>\n
[6]<\/a> Ibid.<\/h6>\n
[7]<\/a> Cavanaugh, Being Consumed<\/em>, 748.<\/h6>\n
[8]<\/a> Ibid., 886.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

William Cavanaugh\u2019s Being Consumed provides some positive reflections on how to develop a God honoring, personalized, and theocentric space where the Christian can navigate life\u2019s challenges near the periphery of economic life. \u00a0This post will examine Cavanaugh\u2019s Eucharist viewpoint and positive vision to determine if his ideas on curing globalism can help my research into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"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":[64,841,1039],"class_list":["post-16452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cavanaugh","tag-eucharist","tag-spiritual-warfare","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16452","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\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16452"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16461,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16452\/revisions\/16461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}