/r/RadicalChristianity
RadicalChristianity has developed as a community discussing the intersection of philosophy, theology, critical theory, power dynamics, antifascist action, and revolutionary politics. As such, we are interested in affirmative outreach to those historically harmed by the christian church (including the non-institutional church and state-controlled churches.)
All are welcome and invited to participate!
Please message us.
/r/radicalChristianity has emerged as a community of people discussing the intersection of philosophy, theology, critical theory, and revolutionary politics. We are interested in re-investing Christianity with its transgressive elements, and as such we are openly against oppressive discourses (sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, speciesism, ableism, colonialism, imperialism).
We are interested in exploring both philosophical and theological thought and action. The definitions of "radical" and "Christianity" each carry a certain denotative vagueness while still retaining enough connotative force to be a mostly accurate descriptor of who we are as a group.
We are presently encouraging the use of pseudonyms, as if in a true Kierkegaardian fashion. We also encourage generally inclusive embrace of styles, however we also take heart to make a "special" embrace of those people who make the general inclusive embrace.
Many of us find our beliefs marked by a certain desire for disassociation with and transgression against conventional Christian institutions and culture. We support divergent forms of thinking. Together we are a group consisting of materialists, idealists, realists, anti-realists, pragmatists, mystics, theists, atheists, occultists, heretics, socialists, anarchists, communists, Marxists, pacifists, insurrectionists, and many other identities burdened with either an inordinate number of prefixes or else with none at all.
With such a broad definition of "radicality" and "Christianity", we find that group discussion is of paramount importance. Viewpoints that may initially seem odd or shocking are often filled with critical insights and viable possibilities of being that a cursory dismissal would otherwise overlook.
Reddit Links |
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FAQ (Work in Progress) |
Our First andSecond AMA's |
Death of God Theology AMA on /r/trueChristian |
A Note on Marriage and Homosexuality that is worth reading and indicative of general sentiment, if not official policy. |
PokerPirate's Tax Resistance |
Related Subreddits:
Check out our monthly Mixtape threads and let us know more about your interests in our monthly What are you reading? thread.
Check out our zine website.
Issues: [1]
/r/RadicalChristianity
I’ve been having a really tough time these past couple weeks, barely able to get out of bed, just constantly beating myself up over every little thing. To make matters worse, my therapist dropped me yesterday. I haven’t dedicated my life to Christ yet, but I’ve been thinking of returning to the faith. I know the Bible has words of encouragement in it, but I don’t remember any of them from my childhood. I would appreciate prayers as well, or tips for praying. I started praying recently, but it kinda feels like I’m just sending messages in a bottle out into the ocean.
I thought I would do an analysis of social principles that are revelant to our times from the Old Testament. For this post I am going to focus on the theme of being the "lesser evil". We often hear this term thrown around a lot. Especially in the political cycles of Western politics. I thought I would look at what the OT has to say about this by focusing on the Book of Kings, Hosea and the Psalms which recounts the story of King Hoshea of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the fall of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians. Here are the relevant passages:
So what we see is the following. Hoshea as mentioned was the King of Israel in the lead up to the Assyrian catastrophe. It says he "was not as evil" as the previous Kings before him. Yet he still did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. And what is the evil that Israelite Kings and Israelite society was engaged in? Idolatry, child and human sacrifice, and systematic murder by those in the social and religious class. So when it says Hoshea "was not as evil" as the previous Kings, it is saying that under him Israel wasn't sacrificing "as many people and children" to their idols. They were committing "as many murders" as they were before. That standard from the Biblical perspective is a low and unacceptable one. Just because he wasn't "as evil" as the previous Kings doesn't mean he isn't categorised as "evil". Evil is evil, regardless of what degrees it comes in. And it needs a prophetic challenge. Furthermore if we read the Book of Kings we see that in the lead up to the Assyrian disaster you had a series of coups and counter coups by the partisan factions in Israel. Hoshea came to power in a coup against his political rival Pekah(2 Kings 15:30). Yet from the Biblical perspective it didn't matter which partisan faction came to power because they were all a part of the same corrupt, immoral social and political system that ended up proving to be irredeemable.
This is course relevant today because you are seeing lesser of evil arguments being deployed all across the board. Especially in the context of the powerful protests taking place around the issue of Gaza, but more broadly when it comes to the core issues of justice for the working class as well as justice for those who are the victims things like a brutal prison industrial complex. The idolatry mentioned in the text is also relevant because even though it doesn't involve physical objects in our type, we still have idols and social sacred cows that our society is devoted to. Archbishop Oscar Romero in his Pastoral Letters mentioned how the idols of Capital, Militarism and National Security are the modern day expressions of Moloch. And just like how Moloch demanded the living human sacrifice of human beings, these idols also demand the sacrifice of human beings. And we have obedient servants in our Elite class that serve these idols. Just because one partisan faction among the ruling class isn't willing to sacrifice as many people to these social and political idols, it doesn't mean that they aren't still the obedient servants of them. And that, from a Biblical perspective, is evil. Pure and simple. So no "lesser two evils" talking points can be used to obfuscate our prophetic and ethical responsibility to call out the blatant evil and wickedness in our society, to call out the Elites who are a part of a wicked social structure built on structural sin, and to condemn the crimes against humanity that we see in front of us. The barbaric slaughter of men, women and children that we see for example in Gaza, funded by the military industrial complex, and supported by elites of all parts of our society should be condemned. Regardless of whether those elites have a "conservative" or a "liberal" and "inclusive" "lesser of two evil face" that sanitises this evil. Same things when we look across the board on a range of human rights and social justice issues. The OT calls us to always dissent and be dissatisfied with structures of evil, regardless of whether they are "more" or "less" evil.
by far
the hardest thing about being a man
despite what the official polite gender dictionaries might say
is this:
a woman looks to her man to define right and wrong
a man looks to his woman to define strength and weakness
a man sets a moral standard and a woman follows it
a woman sets a standard and a man becomes strong to meet it.
you may disagree
but you then argue with God, not with me
So God created humanity in Its own image, in the image of God God created humanity; masculine and feminine created It they/them.
it comes back to violence, really. because men are responsible for violence they are more connected to the authority of violence
that moral authority is instinctive and visceral, and a woman follows her man in his authority
not all women, perhaps, but if you're in the comments below yelling at me about men and women, understand: I'm not your man, so I don't care.
you see? violence has its own authority.
this is sexism and the moderators should enact violence against me to quell my transgression.
but this is the male experience. it's, frankly, harrowing to understand the weight of it, that there are many decisions, many approaches, by which a woman shapes the moral framework of a coupling. a woman can reject a man who is immoral, a woman can chastise a man for his failings.
but a man can attack a guest and throw him out, or not.
a man can correct her mistake.
it's in our blood somehow, and when a woman's gaze is on you wondering how you shall rule, you know you must rule.
because women cannot abide a weak man. and why should they? a man who shows weakness in moral judgment will not stand at the proper time. why shouldn't a man be judged in a different way from a woman?
I suspect most women wouldn't differ from the notion that a morally weak man is a lesser in some real way. Whatever anyone says, dating reveals the duet.
I don't know why we are the way that we are, but I'm not going to pretend I don't feel it. This sensation that if I tell you you have blanket forgiveness, you'll snuggle up in it warm and cozy. You would not forgive yourself, woman! Only your man can forgive you for your womanly faults, tell you which have lasting consequences, and which are of your essential nature, which I love and adore, simply because 'woman' is so ridiculous, as ridiculous as 'man.'
A woman rises to meet her man, a man becomes strong to elevate his woman. And I long to elevate you ~
I don't know how much I believe in this gender dictionary bullshit, but it's a very real feeling that men experience, the weight of masculine authority.
I have to forgive us first. That I choose this path means you might have to forgive me for my gross misbehavior. Thou Shalt Not Depict the Divine Feminine. Even when it's funny.
If there is anything you need praying for please write it in a comment on this post. There are no situations "too trivial" for G-d to help out with. Please refrain from commenting any information which could allow bad actors to resolve your real life identity.
As always we pray, with openness to all which G-d offers us, for the wellbeing of our online community here and all who are associated with it in one form or another. Praying also for all who sufferer oppression/violence, for all suffering from climate-related disasters, and for those who endure dredge work, that they may see justice and peace in their time and not give in to despair or confusion in the fight to restore justice to a world captured by greed and vainglory. In The LORD's name we pray, Amen.
There are 4 kinds of "Christianity":
religious atheists, who participate in religious rituals but don't believe in a god or gods
non-religious atheists, who don't participate in religious rituals and don't believe in a god or gods
religious theists, who participate in religious rituals and believe in a god or gods
and non-religious theists, who don't participate in religious rituals but do believe in a god or gods.
I have known people in all 4 categories who call themselves Christians.
I think that is part of why I have a hard time getting excited over someone saying they are a Christian for the first time. It is a pretty easy thing to say and I don't necessarily know what they mean by it.
Now if I see someone living year after year like they have actually encountered and been changed by the living God and therefore not only believe in him but want to worship him in community with other believers and serve sacrificially those made in his image, that gets really exciting to me.
Conversion is great! But it is easy to fake, to trick oneself about, or to miss the mark due to misunderstandings. However a life of sincere belief and discipleship is so good to see.
So for those of us who would call ourselves Christians let us continue to work out our salvation, both as individuals and together, with fear and trembling, for it must be God who works in us to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
This has been late night thoughts with Matt. It is normal to think about such things instead of sleeping, right?
Happy International Workers Day! also known as May Day or Labor Day. Today we celebrate the working class, as well as commemorating the death of Hitler and the crumble of Nazi Germany. In 8 days we celebrate the 78th Victory Day, the official end of WWII.
--K.
You know when you are in the shower and get this "woah" moment? I had one about a month ago...and have been meaning to share it here to see how others whom are open-minded view this. Idk if I'm the first to come up with this thought, but I feel it's interesting enough to share/discuss here.
What if we all are God?
Let me unpack that a little...
The theology that I base this upon is that we are made in God's "image", as well as he knowing everything and being everywhere.
You could interpret it as our souls are but a shard of God within his imagination we call reality/universe.
But why?
My take is that an all powerful being wanted to experience consciousness from multiple vectors. From every living thing ever...not just humans...or even Earth bound beings.
And the only way to do that was to create souls, that don't remember that they are God. In a universe that is mostly autonomous to support such creations.
Where the "Holy Spirit" is the collective power of our mortal "souls".
And that the teachings of each religion are stories made by people inspired by the holy spirit to basically do a version of celestial self-care...to promote a maximum amount of life as possible for each shard...to gain it's perspective from it's life choices.
And when we "die", "heaven" is just the main consciousness of God that we are reabsorbed into.
Except for the shards that were evil (aka: didn't follow the plan).
Perhaps "Satan" is merely a collection of the evil shards/souls that couldn't be re-intigrated into the greater "whole" of God. I haven't figured this part out yet...like my first question is...do they get a chance to be re-integrated? Or stay as a legion of a chaotic collective will against God?
Idk...am I nuts? Or is there something to this?
Background:
I’ve been deep into studying the Christ hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 lately, because I am writing a Greek exegesis paper for seminary on Philippians 2:1-11. I came across a journal article (Elia, Matthew. "Slave Christologies: Augustine and the Enduring Trouble with the 'Form of a Slave' (Phil 2:5-7)." Interpretation 75, no. 1 (January 2021): 19-32) that made use of Augustine’s sermon on this passage (in argument against it).
Augustine read this hymn as reinforcing a kind of “great chain of being” wherein God is the ultimate master, creation is the ultimate slave, and humanity is slave of God but master of creation. The author, citing another scholar, referred to slavery as a cosmogony for Augustine. I thought that was insightful and compelling. Augustine had so accepted the contemporary social arrangement that he read this passage in light of his social location and leveraged this passage to reinforce those heirarchies. Augustine applied his reading of this passage to indict his parishioners and make them obey the bishops—so Augustine can get fucked.
A Theological Move:
This article about Augustine has me thinking that leftism might gain more traction among churched people if we speak of oppressive and harmful cosmogonies rather than ideologies. Where ideology can be an emotionally charged term for some Christians, to speak of cosmogony might be disarming.
I propose this definition of cosmogony: a perceived ordering principle of reality that bears consequence in practice.
Roman slaveholding practices were a cosmogony for Augustine. Capitalism is a cosmogony in American evangelicalism and too often in mainline Protestantism as well.
We don’t question cosmogonies, so many churches follow Augustine’s lead and reinforce oppressive status quos through their interpretation of the biblical witness. Churches do this not only through sermons, but through education, how they run meetings, what their budgets look like, etc.
Nothing is untouched by one’s cosmogony. If we believe the universe is meant to run a certain way, we act accordingly. When capitalism become the ordering principle of reality for churches, it taints everything we do. Instead of building community, we worry about membership. Instead of serving, we focus on protecting our resources.
Proposed Dialogue:
Cosmogonies like that of Augustine fail to provide a praxis of liberation because they fashion a graven image of God after exploitative social arrangements. They bless the exploitation because they make God out to be complicit.
But the kingdom of heaven offers a different ethic than capitalism. Jesus’ miracles presuppose a different cosmogony than one of oppression.
Consider the feedings of the five thousand in John 6. We can read this passag as an exposure of the inadequacies of a money-based economic system—i.e., the commodification of material goods—to provide for peoples' wellbeing. Jesus asks Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" The gospel says that Jesus asks this question to test Philip. And I think Philip passes. He says, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." The economic system can't provide for the peoples' wellbeing. There's not enough money to feed the multitude. Yet the people end up getting fed. By sharing the five barley loaves and two fish, there is enough for everyone to have enough, and there is even some left over. When we look to providing for and sharing with our neighbors, we find that we have enough. When we commodify the world around us, when we buy solutions or turn everything into a monetary exchange, there will never be enough.
So we see that life in the kingdom of heaven condemns exploitative cosmogonies. So too should we in theological spaces.
If there is anything you need praying for please write it in a comment on this post. There are no situations "too trivial" for G-d to help out with. Please refrain from commenting any information which could allow bad actors to resolve your real life identity.
As always we pray, with openness to all which G-d offers us, for the wellbeing of our online community here and all who are associated with it in one form or another. Praying also for all who sufferer oppression/violence, for all suffering from climate-related disasters, and for those who endure dredge work, that they may see justice and peace in their time and not give in to despair or confusion in the fight to restore justice to a world captured by greed and vainglory. In The LORD's name we pray, Amen.
I grew up traditional and Baptist, where the idea of God is essentially that He’s some sort of literal “sky daddy”. I’m trying to understand now what the truth is though. Is God an entity? The universe? Or just the literal embodiment of loving energy? Some manifestation of collective consciousness?
Hey everyone!
I hope you're all doing well. I'm currently working on a project and could really use your help. If you're a user of Bible apps for spiritual readings and study, I'd love to hear from you!
I've put together a super quick survey with just six yes or no questions. It'll only take a minute or two of your time, and your input would be incredibly valuable to me.
If you're interested in participating, please click on the link below to access the survey:
https://forms.gle/6aqRNgBAuHqsdskt8
Thank you so much in advance for your help! Feel free to share this post with anyone else who might be interested in participating. Your contributions will make a big difference.
If there is anything you need praying for please write it in a comment on this post. There are no situations "too trivial" for G-d to help out with. Please refrain from commenting any information which could allow bad actors to resolve your real life identity.
As always we pray, with openness to all which G-d offers us, for the wellbeing of our online community here and all who are associated with it in one form or another. Praying also for all who sufferer oppression/violence, for all suffering from climate-related disasters, and for those who endure dredge work, that they may see justice and peace in their time and not give in to despair or confusion in the fight to restore justice to a world captured by greed and vainglory. In The LORD's name we pray, Amen.
This is Part 2 of a series I have been doing on the Old Testament's perspective on the sin of exploitation. In Part 1 I look at the stories of Babel as well as Rehoboam the Israelite King. In this part I will be looking at the perspective of the Hebrew prophets. From the perspective of the Old Testament prophets, they called the society they lived in to repent. One of the many calls for repentance was a call to end systems of exploitation. These are examples:
Isaiah:
Jeremiah:
Amos:
Exploitation is a major problem in our world, and falls under the category of what modern theology would call "structural sin". And we see it all around us. The exploitation of the working class in our Western societies by corporate greed. The exploitation of laborers and children in developing countries through the dual complicity of governments and multinational corporate entities. I would like to give ethical reflections from the perspective of the Old Testament on challenging the sin of exploitation through the narratives of the Tower of Babel and the story of King Rehoboam. So here goes:
The Tower of Babel
Rehoboam's folly
Right wing, conservative Christianity is positively terrible and stands opposed to the work of the Kingdom. The issue is so severe that I personally regard conservative churches in my community as their own mission field, more often than as collaborators in the work of the Gospel. That concept has become more significant in my mind over the last year or so, and is kind of the catalyst for this post. I think that there ought to be an organized effort by the Christian left to convert and integrate members and churches from the Christian right. I came here from an aggressively right-wing position, so I have faith that others can as well if we care to call them.
Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
One reason I believe this effort is worth pursuing is because it would break up some of the institutional and cultural power held by the Christian right. That would take years, perhaps decades, but is a goal worth pursuing in any case. There doesn't need to be a fast or easy answer, so long as we have one, right? Absorbing formerly-conservative churches and institutions not only pulls people away from the leaders of such groups to align themselves better with the Gospel of our Lord, but also takes footholds and resources away from institutions that represent the power of darkness in this world. This weakens the power of the acute evils committed by these institutions and the scope of their evils, but also weakens their propaganda machine and cultural influence in matters such as capitalism, imperialism, etc.
Romans 14:14b-15 - And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Just like businesses don't democratize themselves and capitalism never abolishes itself, right-wing and moderate churches aren't going to spontaneously orient themselves to justice and the light of the Gospel. There need to be people who are willing to act as a catalyst, a voice, and a collaborator in the move left and deconstruction of right-wing institutional commitments. If that move is going to take place on a large scale, that means there need to be a lot of people willing to "bring the good news" by engaging with (what are currently) conservative and moderate churches on a personal level and leading them to a point of voluntarily collaborating in the liberatory work of the Gospel.
Acts 9:13-15 - “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
Genesis 50:20 - You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
I'm well aware that this probably sounds insane, a dedicated effort to sway the very sects and persons that wreak such harm on the world, their own members, and many of us -- is their wickedness not so great that we would be better off just distancing ourselves as much as possible and doing good to offset it all? Well, maybe we would have a marginally nicer position if we took that course of action, but how much higher of an aspiration must it be to bring the lost and unjust to the knowledge of Christ and pursuit of justice? Is that not, in some sense, what the Christ-narrative is all about?
This post was admittedly inspired in part by internet personality Redeemed Zoomer and his so-called "Reconquista" movement, which is designed to crowd out liberal and leftist brethren from mainline Christian sects. I find RZ a rather appalling person, and think he's often more preoccupied with power politics than anything spiritual; but time spent thinking about his methods has convinced me that this can be an effective form of Christian praxis and evangelism, and if successful would be a net positive both for Christianity and unbelievers around the world. I would love to hear thoughts from all of you, whether there are/have been similar projects, possible strategies for the conversion of conservative churches, or warnings/arguments against this type of approach. What I have here is, at best, a half-baked idea with some thematically placed Bible verses; I leave the floor open to wiser and more experienced radical brethren and look forward to discussing with all of you in the comments.
I’m 19M, born and raised in the rural Carolinas. My church was the kind of hellfire and brimstone, take the KJV at its literal word for word face value, borderline cult that you hear about in reprogramming horror stories. I’ve spent the past 5 years since my apostasy and ostracism for being gay searching for some sort of spiritual truth. The only truths that I have found are that 1) there is no objective truth, no human will ever have a monopoly on spiritual truth, 2) people are able to convince themselves of anything through faith and self-justification, 3) if there is any highest form of being, it embodies pure love and compassion, 3b) that spirit of pure love and compassion is very void in this dark and selfish world. That’s where I’m at in my own head at least. I’ve read through almost every belief system I came across in that time. Bounced between ideas of Buddhism, Gnosticism, Satanism, and Zoroastrianism just to name a few. I’m currently 98 days sober now after dealing with addiction for the better part of two years, and now that my heads getting somewhat straightened out again, I realized that they can’t all be true and I have to come to terms with some sort of belief. I’m not okay with not knowing, and I’m too scared to put my faith into the wrong thing. I want to become Christian in some way. Despite everything else, I’ve become convicted that the true version of Christianity that exists is polar opposite to what I grew up with, am surrounded by, and quite frankly flows through the veins of many branches of evangelicalism. I still can’t get it out of my head though that I may be wrong. I may be being led astray by Satan to turn away from my faith and live “lawlessly” and permissive of my sins. In my rational mind though, if God is love, and sin is separation from God, then wouldn’t sin be living and acting outside of godly love? But what does that even mean?
I’m sorry, this got really off tangent, but I’m getting super frantic about the world ending and it’s putting an even bigger emphasis on my faith crisis. I’m scared the world will be going to apocalyptic levels of shit in some time, between COVID (famine), these Middle Eastern wars potentially leading to WW3 and Armageddon, the building of the third temple, and all those crazy solar eclipse theories. I genuinely think I may be going crazy over this. My mind feels like a giant schizo conspiracy board filled with the teachings from my former church’s two year long deep dive into Revelation as well as current and recent world events.
I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense or is long winded. At the moment I’m writing this my mind feels like it’s being pulled into a million different directions. Thank you if you took the time to read this.
If there is anything you need praying for please write it in a comment on this post. There are no situations "too trivial" for G-d to help out with. Please refrain from commenting any information which could allow bad actors to resolve your real life identity.
As always we pray, with openness to all which G-d offers us, for the wellbeing of our online community here and all who are associated with it in one form or another. Praying also for all who sufferer oppression/violence, for all suffering from climate-related disasters, and for those who endure dredge work, that they may see justice and peace in their time and not give in to despair or confusion in the fight to restore justice to a world captured by greed and vainglory. In The LORD's name we pray, Amen.