I want to post a quick clarification to my previous post. A few days ago I wrote these words:
Why didn’t Jesus speak out against the social ills of his culture?
and…
So given the morally corrupt nature of the Roman culture, a culture in which the Jewish people lived, why didn’t Jesus speak out against these very sinful cultural problems?
These words did not convey exactly what I meant. Clearly Jesus DID speak out against sinful practices and address social ills. Through his teachings, Jesus addressed several very real social evils: poverty, murder, adultery, hatred, lust, divorce, greed, and the socially destitute, among others. Jesus’ vision was the antithesis of the cultural status quo; Jesus wanted the reality of God to invade this earthly reality to restore things to the way in which they were originally intended to be, and His teachings and outspoken, prophetic voice clearly conveyed this alternative reality.
What I meant to address was the manner in which Jesus addressed these problems and the vehicle through which he sought this change. Contrast Jesus’ emphasis on the Kingdom of Heaven vs. the Kingdom of Caesar with American Christians emphasis on the Kingdom of our Founders vs. the Kingdom of Heaven.
I hope this clarifies a bit as you are mulling…
