recent thoughts from the study

i've been reading a number of books on non violence as related to the teachings of Jesus.

- "jesus and nonviolence" - walter wink
- "engaging the powers" - walter wink
- "the politics of jesus" - john howard yoder
- "the myth of a christian nation" - gregory boyd
- "evil and the justice of god" - n.t. wright

i just thought i'd post a fun but random bit of information concerning one example of the subversive, counter-revolutionary ideas Jesus had to help the downtrodden and humiliated.

turning the other cheek, for example, forces the aggressor to admit they are about to hit an equal. your right hand was considered clean... and was the one used for hitting people. in the story, the person will be slapped on the right cheek - slapping was a sign that the person slapping the other person considered themselves to be more important whereas punching someone admitted they were equal. by turning the other cheek you are creating a chaotic situation - get punched and be considered equal with the aggressor or watch as they lose face for not hitting you again. either way they lose their credibility in an Israel obsessed with hierarchy.

Jesus seems to propose a “third way” (to quote walter wink). we can either do nothing (Pacifism) or we return aggression with a similar level of force.

the "third way" has two guiding principles that are founded in tremendous courage and creativity:
1) do not co-operate with anything humiliating
2) hold out any possibility that the aggressor may wish to change his/her mind.

maybe we could get some dialouge started at the wild colonial/ coffee exchange. or if providence is a bit far maybe we leave comments. just wanted to open up a window into some things i've been reading. much of this study is not simply for my own curiosity but in preparation for a set of teachings at sanct.

bye.