Christianity is a religion that was born out of a repressive empire. First followers of Jesus had to navigate perilous times and power systems in order to survive, let alone thrive.  Four centuries later, Christianity would become an arm of an empire.

Several scholars recently have compared the United States to past empires. Among them are Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, who tackled the topic “Being Christian in a Time of Empire: Then and Now” at a weeklong seminar in August at the rustic Ring Lake Ranch near Dubois in western Wyoming.

Episcopalians by far made up the largest number of the more than 40 attendees who came from 13 states and Ireland to hear the authors, each of whom has written more than a dozen books on the historical Jesus and the Bible.  (Borg: Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time; The God We Never Knew; The Heart of Christianity; etc.  Crossan: Who Killed Jesus; The Birth of Christianity; Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography; etc.).

“Christians will at some point face a divine imperative to be in loyal opposition” with the prevailing culture, said Borg, and “it doesn’t matter which political party is in power.”   “For me, the Bible is an anti-imperial document from beginning to end,” he told the Wyoming retreat.  “The voices we honor most [in the Bible] are anti-imperial voices.”   “The United States is the imperial power of our day,” said Borg.

For Borg the Bible is both personal and political.  “It is an incomplete Christian faith that doesn’t see the political passion of the Bible,” he said.

Crossan explored in detail what he called “Roman Imperial Theology.”  Using projected images of ancient texts and inscriptions, he showed how Rome referred to Caesar Augustus as son of god, savior and redeemer.  The fragment of a building pedestal in modern Turkey bears the words, “the birthday of the God (Augustus) is good news for the world.”

An act of defiance

To take those same words and apply them to Jesus, says Crossan, “is an ‘in your face’ act of defiance.” Crossan compared Rome’s “son of god” with Jesus as Son of God.  “Caesar Augustus’ view was, first victory then peace.  But Jesus says there is another way.  First justice, then peace,” he said.

Justice was a common theme throughout the week addressed by both scholars. “Sabbath has to do with justice,” said Crossan.  “It’s so that your ox and donkey may have the day off,” and “the day off is worship." 

The prophets reject Israel’s worship because of the lack of justice, he said.  Citing Psalm 82 as the God of Israel's indictment of other gods for the lack of justice in the world, he concluded, “Injustice shakes the foundations of the earth.”

“I don’t believe the gospels say there is a preferential option for the poor,” Crossan said.  "There is a preferential option for justice.”

The former Roman Catholic priest said he “never uses the term social justice” but rather “divine justice.”  Crossan defined that at “distributive justice,” not punishment.  “God’s passion is not about charity,” said Borg.  “God’s passion is about justice.”

“If you take God’s passion for justice seriously, it should affect your giving,” Borg suggested.  “What if we resolved that 50 percent of our giving went to organizations that foster peace and justice?”  He suggested congregations might study which organizations are worthy of financial support.

Raising consciousness in a congregation should be done “gently and patiently,”  Borg advised. He suggested Bible study, starting with the Book of Amos, or selecting books on the topic for reading groups. 

If Christians claim the Resurrection says God has begun the justification of the world, then they had better live that way, Crossan said in his closing presentation.  “Come. See how we live” should be the invitation to those who want to know what it means to be a follower of Jesus, he said.

The two scholars disagreed only once.  Borg had defined the “domination system” of biblical times as what killed Jesus.  Crossan said it was the “normalcy of civilization.”

Possibilities inspiring

Those who attended said they found the program inspiring.  “I came away inspired about the possibility of reclaiming Christianity as a message and means of societal and personal transformation, and also aware of the challenge by trying to do so in a time when that very message has been so severely corrupted," said the Rev. Gwyneth Murphy, All Saints, Salt Lake City.

Elizabeth Haslam of St. Mark's Cathedral, Salt Lake City, said, “I should be attentive [to] how the Western political world works in a manner that is antithetical to the teachings and example of Jesus -- a world that feeds and supports an empirical system that feeds the empire and starves the powerless.”

The Rev. Virginia Kennerly, from Narraghmore, Kildare, Ireland, said the seminar could “[assist] us work out how our Christian conviction could help work for peace and justice in the local church, community and in the world.”

Lee Everding, a laywoman from St. John’s Cathedral in Denver, said the experience led her to understand that “the message of Jesus means that God wants justice in this world and that we are called to participate in obtaining God’s justice by our actions.”

The Rev. Poulson Reed, also a cathedral member, was “excited to take what was talked about back to the parish.”  “I see this being the basis for some fruitful discussion rather than a program both within the parish and with our neighbors,” he said.

The Rev. Robert Brown of St. Michael and All Angels, Portland, Ore., said he had gained "a new understanding and appreciation for God’s passion for justice and its implications for the Christian life.”

Maybe the most interesting reaction came from Rev. Elizabeth Rickert, 25, a newly ordained Baptist pastor and recent graduate from Candler School of Theology, Atlanta. “This was not a huge leap from my theological education,” said the pastor of two rural Virginia congregations.  “We sell people in this country way too short because of their denominational affiliation." 

“To ignore the beauty of what is already going on in churches all over the country is to completely underestimate a congregation,” she said.  “I’m not worried about telling [my congregations] about this because I think it’s already there.”

“Whatever I bring back needs to be a gift of authentic and challenging truth,” Rickert said.  She said she particularly liked Borg’s advice about using Scripture in the congregation to present this.

Crossan concluded, “Jesus has declared that ‘post-civilization’ has begun.”

“We’re called to change the world,” he said.  “We’re called to make this a just world.”