Brian Zahnd notes that many of us in church are more like the Pharaohs, Romans, religious leaders and royal elite than “the poor, the oppressed, the enslaved, the conquered, the occupied, the defeated” who are given hope in the Bible. From his blog:
Here’s my problem…
I’m an ancient Egyptian. I’m a comfortable Babylonian. I’m a Roman in his villa.
That’s my problem. See, I’m trying to read the Bible for all it’s worth, but I’m not a Hebrew slave suffering in Egypt. I’m not a conquered Judean deported to Babylon. I’m not a first century Jew living under Roman occupation.
I’m a citizen of a superpower. I was born among the conquerors. I live in the empire. But I want to read the Bible and think it’s talking to me. This is a problem.
Is there Good News for me, he asks? Read more here.
Image by Chagall from Zahnd’s blog