Living Wittily

Nationalistic, military power is not the power of the cross….

Written by

admin

in

The face of the saviour of the world Noehani Harsono Indonesia The kenotic cruciform God is the substance of divine holiness. The embedded theology of most Christians still revolves around a non-cruciform model of God's holiness, character and power, and a crucial corrective is needed.

This brings us inevitably back to politics, to the "normal" god of civil religion that combines patritoism and power. Nationalistic, military power is not the power of the cross, and such misconstrued notions of divine power have nothing to do with the majesty or holiness of the triune God known in the weakness of the cross. In our time any "holiness" that fails to see the radical, counter imperial claims of the gospel is inadequate at best. Adherence to a God of holiness certainly requires the kind of personal holiness that many associate with sexual purity. That is one dimension of theosis. But particpiation in a cruciform God of holiness also requires a corollary vision of life in the world that rejects domination in personal, public or political life – a mode of being that is often considered realistic or "normal". Kenotic divinity and a corollary kenotic community constitute "both the best possible commentary" on Paul and a "frontal assault" on "normalcy".

Michael J Gorman, Inhabiting the Cruciform God. Kenosis, Justification and Theosis in Paul's Narrative Soteriology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), Page 128.
Picture "The Face of the Saviour of the World", Noehani Harsono, Indonesia)

As one who stands in a radical spiritual tradition, when it comes to theology and its impact on our civil and political life, I'm all for asking serious questions about normalcy, status quo, use and abuse of power, patriotism, and the religious validation of national and international exercises of political and military power. Time we started more faithfully attending to "the counter imperial claims of the gospel". Hm?

(Wish Michael Gorman had chosen a better sub-title for his book- good fun memorising the sub-title and going into Wesley Owen to ask if it's in stock though…..  :))

Comments

2 responses to “Nationalistic, military power is not the power of the cross….”

  1. tony avatar
    tony

    Hi Jim,
    Interesting thoughts. Strangely enough, I dug out my honours dissertation yesterday and read it again. I really should do something with it, but I’m not sure exactly what!! Anyway, I think part of what I was reaching towards was an idea of the kenosis of the Spirit, trying to see the crucifixion as a Trinitarian act of self-emptying, not for its own sake, but for the sake of Creation. As followers of the Triune God who has revealed himself to us as the one who gives himself completely for the sake of Creation, are we not called to do the same i.e. give ourselves completely for the sake of that which is not us, but to which we are irrevocably bound? This would inevitably lead away from a politics of power and national pride, and towards one of compassion for, and service to, others.

    Reply
  2. tony avatar
    tony

    Hi Jim,
    Interesting thoughts. Strangely enough, I dug out my honours dissertation yesterday and read it again. I really should do something with it, but I’m not sure exactly what!! Anyway, I think part of what I was reaching towards was an idea of the kenosis of the Spirit, trying to see the crucifixion as a Trinitarian act of self-emptying, not for its own sake, but for the sake of Creation. As followers of the Triune God who has revealed himself to us as the one who gives himself completely for the sake of Creation, are we not called to do the same i.e. give ourselves completely for the sake of that which is not us, but to which we are irrevocably bound? This would inevitably lead away from a politics of power and national pride, and towards one of compassion for, and service to, others.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts