Hello, all my name is TurningWorlds and I recently have been getting more involved within the Christian Anarchist movement. And I was just wondering if someone can tell me if my ideology will be Christian Anarchism 100% or a Christian Anarchist-related ideology, based on these Political Test results, thanks!

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so, i’ve been on a long and complicated journey with my faith. i grew up in a non-denominational house in the bible belt with parents who saw jesus and the bible through a deeply racist, nationalistic, anti-female lens. i spent a while not believing before coming back, reintroduced to the faith by a really slow preacher in highschool who held my hand through reimagining God. fast-forward to now and i have a pretty deconstructed view of what the teachings of Jesus and the events of the Old Testament. but i know i still believe, just through a lens that’s been remolded by liberation theology, feminist theology, LGBT theology, and anarchist theology, esp teachers like Gustavo Gutierrez, Dorothy Day, Leo Tolstoy, George Tinker, James H Cone, Caitlin Kurtis, and Anna Carter Florence to name a few.

all that said, i’ve let myself fall into spreading the gospel wholly through acts and living out revolutionary work for the last few years and i want to make proactive faith work a more active part of my life, and i’m struggling to decide where the church fits into that. i take a pretty tolstoyan view of the institutionalized church, ie that it went wrong as far back as Paul and was solidified in its institutional sin with Constantine, and in my personal experience i’ve only felt defeated and alienated from God’s social gospel and our purpose in this world by the fact that institutional churches seem to come in the flavor of two political ideologies, namely “lets hang a BLM flag to mask the fact that we were formed by slave owners and run like a business,” or “hi! we actually just hate women and we’re gonna be up front about that!” but i still want to worship in community.

i study the word with my best friend and one of my partners, both also anarchist christians, and we also pray, listen to sermons online, listen to the psalms etc together, which i’m very lucky to have i just wish it was more. does anybody else struggle w this? how have people found their way around the institutional sin baked into the foundations of the church while also seeking and finding community with other believers?

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring Christian anarchism and find its emphasis on rejecting power structures and hierarchies intriguing. However, I’m unclear on one aspect: Does this perspective reject all forms of organization or governance entirely?

From my understanding, governance doesn’t necessarily have to be hierarchical. For example, when we play a game like baseball, we establish rules and structure to ensure fair play. There's a sense of governance—rules, strategy, and even competition—but no inherent hierarchy. Granted, competitive teams often develop hierarchies, but it seems that such hierarchies are not intrinsic to having rules and structure.

How does Christian anarchism view this type of non-hierarchical organization? Is it compatible with the values of the movement, or is even this considered a slippery slope toward power dynamics?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and learn more about how this plays out in practice or theology.

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Having something of an identity crisis with religion, so speaking with people who are religious and share the same values I do is pretty important in this time.

I don't really think of myself as an anarchist, but I've been leaning towards it as of recent.

I really would like to know how you came to be Christian and or anarchist. What do you tend to disagree with most about either mainstream Christianity? Whether it be theology itself or institutions. And what's your favorite book in the bible that isn't Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and why?

I know anarchy means no ruler like; a King, President, or Duke but what about Jesus Christ he is a king, what about that? And I remember one quote is; “Not all kings wear golden crowns; mine wore a crown of thorns”.

https://discord.gg/VTaQ4umrxs

We already have a small community, but figured a lil shameless promotion was in order

https://tearingdownidols.com/voting-is-blasphemy/?amp=1

How did you guys come to the conclusion that you can be a anarchist and a Christian (im still learningaboit Christiananarchyas i think its a good belief but in confusedon some things) ive seem both sides argued but when versus like romans 13:1 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." And pretty much all of romans 13 says that authority is sent by god.

Im honestly trying to learn on this topic so please be nice

I live in a rural Trump town. I would love to talk about Jesus but I feel like I'm only surrounded by right wing Christians who would resist me. I cannot possibly imagine people around me wanting to go to a radical Christianity book club or whatever. I drove around and there are so many Trump signs.

For context, I'm not referring to a school that would kick you out for not agreeing with them, but schools with heavily religious overtones on an institutional level, which also teaches religious doctrine as truth?

Hello, over a year ago, I asked if anyone had any insights into Kierkegaardian anarchism and if such a thing even existed. I've taken it upon myself to actually give it a go with this eccentric line of thinking, so I thought I would share what I've written so far. Here are the most explicitly anarchist think-pieces, with more in the pipeline (on the cusp of being ready!):

• Christian anarchism and the Problem of Nihilism - part I

• Christian anarchism and the Problem of Nihilism - part II

• Christian anarchism and the Problem of Nihilism - part III

• Christian anarchism and the Problem of Nihilism - part IV

• A Pessimist's Stance: Armed Neutrality

• The Crowd and the "Anti-Crowd"

• Christ Contra the Crowd

• A Literary Review: "The Crowd and Populism"

Hey, this might be a stupid question, and I know he was Unitarian, but is there a biography of Utah Phillips? And if not would anyone be interested? I love his music and storytelling, and he is instrumental in my pondering how to be a middle class Christian anarchist in America. I just think his experience, vulnerability, and grounded mysticism bears a deeper exploration, and I would love to know more than his prologues to his songs if its out there.

I think that Amish communities really exemplify Christian anarchism in a unique way. Under no ordinary circumstances, I think, would you find Amish discussing tenets of Tolstoy or Thoreau or anarchist philosophy. Nevertheless they are the intentional community par excellance. Small village communes that are entirely self-sufficient, refuse to cooperate with the modern world, have carved out laws that exempt them from government mandate (schooling for example), live off the sweat of their back, and live more or less in agricultural harmony with nature.

They exemplify Seek ye first the Kingdom, and that really is the spirit of CA, for me.

Mennonites are like Amish-lite.

Ten years ago a group of friends, comrades, and new allies got together to form the Cahoots festival at a small campsite in Ontario, Canada. Since then we have met each year in one form or another, seeking to learn the skills we need to create the beautiful vision of God's kin-dom - peace, justice, and delicious veggie food.

This is what one woman wrote who brought her family to this event with no idea what to expect:

I was nervous about going. I am always so desperate for spaces in which the things I care about intersect, and I was worried that I was expecting too much.

What I found at Cahoots did not disappoint.

Over the course of four days 200 people ate (vegan feasts!), sang, and talked together. There were young students just beginning to learn about the social gospel, people who have spent their careers working for justice, and everyone in between.

Many of us often find ourselves amongst activists, sitting in planning meetings or taking notes in workshops, longing to talk about Jesus and the things he had to say about the poor and oppressed. And there are those of us sitting in church listening to sermons and hymns, wishing for someone to mention indigenous rights or the degradation of the earth or anything that would compel us to take the gospel out onto the streets.

This is why Cahoots is so important and necessary. It is the marriage of two worlds that somehow got divorced without anyone noticing.

Geez Magazine: "In Cahoots" (2014)

The next year, she joined us as an organizer. This year, her child (now grown up!) joined our organizing team.

Cahoots has taught me so much about designing events for different generations, different bodies and ways of thinking, and welcoming everyone from devout atheists to mystical dreamers, new activists and veteran campaigners.

This year the festival runs May 23-26, from Thursday night to Sunday lunchtime. Everyone buys a ticket on a sliding scale based on ability to pay, and everyone volunteers in one way or another. We spend our time in workshops and sessions, campfires, resting, dancing, and praying.

The festival is ecumenical, radical, inclusive, intergenerational, neuro-divergent-friendly, youth- and queer-led, and beautiful. We'll do our best to arrange a carpool to help you get there and back or at least pick you up from the train station in London, ON.

Right now there are a number of very low-price tickets available if finances are a concern for you. I hope to meet new comrades in May. Blessings from Ontario!

Read more: cahootsfest.ca

Register: link

Instagram: link

Facebook: link

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"Everyone needs a nice place to live in, and good food to eat that's not too expensive, and clean clothes with no holes or patches. A doctor to call, an old friend to visit. A way to get places, parties and music. A street to walk safely, and benches to sit on with shade in the summer, and warm friendly places to be in the winter. Some work to do that's useful to others and doesn't get boring. And someone checking so no one's forgotten. Money to spend that's given and taken without feeling guilty. Love without pity. Pride without anger.

Everyone knows what everyone needs.

But programs, laws, city councils, commissions, agency bureaus can't give it to us. All of us need the best in each other. And if we can find it, and if we can give it, the rest will soon follow.

If we all stick together, we'll get what we need". — Utah Phillips, 2007