I recently finished reading the book "The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering The True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted" by Obrey M.Hendricks, Jr. Hendricks writes:
“The principles of Jesus’ politics are rooted in the most foundational ethics of the Bible. The first is mishpat, 'justice,' the establishment or restoration of fair, equitable, and harmonious relationships in society. In its purest form this ethics holds that everyone has the same inalienable right as anyone else to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and wholeness; the same right of freedom from exploitation and oppression and every form of victimization….Then there is sadiqah, 'righteousness,' behavior that faithfully fulfills the responsibilities of relationship, both with God and with humanity. Or to put it another way, sadiqah/righteousness is the loving and just fulfillment of our responsibilities to others as the ultimate fulfillment of our responsibility to God.”
Hendricks challenged my conservative/traditional/protestant/Christian way of looking at Jesus' life & ministry while here on earth, which naturally lead me to consider and take inventory of my own life to determine if I am really fulfilling the cause of Jesus. Hendricks brings to the forefront the practical, political focus of Jesus ministry on earth; to eliminate hunger, poverty, social oppression, to heal the sick and preach the good news to the poor. Jesus didn't develop an “attractional” ministry model to “bring people in,” but rather he went out to them, sub-merged in the culture, in their environment, lived with them and ate with them (see previous post: Jesus-the Pathological Wanderer). He fought for not only their spiritual well being and their eternal security but also their physical well being and their current life on earth. Jesus loved those he came in contact with unconditionally, he shared life with them, where they were, in their towns, villages, bars, homes and didn't pass judgment based on their social status that was given to them. Jesus ultimately modeled the missional lifestyle for us. This book has changed how I see my life as a follower of Jesus and how I am suppose to fulfill the great commission (do ministry). I can no loner subscribe to the theory of attractional ministry, franky I just don't believe that it is practical or biblical.
This book is loaded with much more controversial conversation pieces that I will leave to you to comment on if and when you choose to read this book. I will say that If you consider yourself to be a "right wing," conservative Christian aligning yourself with the moral majority (who seems to leverage Jesus as a political powerhouse to control the senate and elect government officials) then you might be challenged with Hendricks as he takes aim at Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. He accuses these two presidents of taking the veil of Christ while pursuing imperial wars, increasing the wealth of the strong, and impoverishing the weak. However, as he accuses he is careful to support his accusations with historical facts to support his claim that their political agenda is grossly mis-aligned with Jesus.
Whatever your political position as it relates to policies and parties, I think you will find this book intellectually stimulating and a challenge to look outside of your "normal" thinking about Jesus and what his true revolution is/was that he started. You may not agree with everything that Hendricks writes, nor should you, but like me, I think you will find a great deal of truth in Hendricks' outline of The Politics of Jesus.
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think? If not, you really should....no, really, you I mean it, you should!
