Jesus as a Political Liberator
- Created by: hollylouisee.x
- Created on: 09-05-19 10:57
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- Jesus as a Political Liberator
- Arguments
- the Jews hoped for a Messiah to come and save them and lead them to victory over the Romans - this is what Jesus did
- a Messiah is the person the Jews believe would come and save the Jews and lead them to victory over the Romans
- many parts of the Bible demonstrate Jesus as a confrontational figure, e.g. when he cast out the money changers from the temple
- it has been suggested Jesus was a criminal as he was crucified next to other criminals. this is because he broke the Roman law
- he healed a blind man with a mixture of mud and saliva which represents him breaking the Jewish law in an unclean way
- Jesus challenged religious authority - his teachings of the Sabbath day went against that of contemporary times, such as the Pharisees criticisms of the temples which led to conflict
- he gives preference to the poor and oppressed rather than the rich and powerful to give them hope of salvation e.g. the woman with a haemorrhage
- "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction"
- Gustavo Guiterrez: religion should be used to help the poor in order to make their lives better and give them a chance to get into heaven
- he did not accept or use the political title himself
- he emphasised peace
- he spoke of a spiritual kingdom of god rather than a wordly one
- he was careful with his answers to questions about Roman rule and taxes and did not suggest openly defying them
- "give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Give to God what is God's"
- Judas may have betrayed Jesus because he was not radical enough to be a Zealot
- the church might only emphasise Jesus as the Son of God rather than a political leader for their own benefit
- the Jews hoped for a Messiah to come and save them and lead them to victory over the Romans - this is what Jesus did
- Quotes
- "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" - Matthew 10:34
- shows Jesus believe in social unrest with benefits rather than social stability where people still struggled
- "Blessed are the peacemakers"
- "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" - Matthew 10:34
- Scholars
- Leonardo Boff
- "Jesus Christ is the liberator who seeks to be committed to the economical, social and political liberation of those groups that are oppressed and dominated"
- Christianity teaches us to confront political authorities in order to make a more just and moral society
- "love thy neighbour as yourself"
- Gustavo Guiterrez
- Jesus as a political liberator engages him in the world
- liberation and salvation become the same thing because they both involve struggle and conflict which, although may be fear, is not ignored
- S.G.E. Brandon
- Jesus was more politically driven than later writers like to portray
- Reza Aslan
- Jesus may have been more closely associated with Zealots than the way he is presented in gospels
- Zealots are Jews who called for violent revolution
- reason 1: his followers drew daggers in the Garden of Gethsemane
- However Jesus told them to put the daggers down which suggests he was not a Zealot
- reason 2: his arrival to Jerusalem may have been deliberately organised to show him as the new Messiah
- reason 3: the Romans put him on a cross and put a crown of thorns on his head suggesting he was the leader of a political group against the Romans in power. they may have done this to ridicule him or as a warning
- Jesus may have been more closely associated with Zealots than the way he is presented in gospels
- Karl Marx
- liberation theology: Jesus stopped the Jews being dehumanised and alienated
- Marx's theory of alienation: idea that when humans are unable to live fulfilling lives due to being dehumanised they become alienated
- people are dehumanised when they are exploited and tis is due to humans being treated like objects and being used as a means to an end
- links to Immanuel Kant
- people are dehumanised when they are exploited and tis is due to humans being treated like objects and being used as a means to an end
- Marx's theory of alienation: idea that when humans are unable to live fulfilling lives due to being dehumanised they become alienated
- liberation theology: Jesus stopped the Jews being dehumanised and alienated
- Leonardo Boff
- Arguments
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