One of the students in my #GangstaTheology class went IN right here ---- ...The gangsta believes that life is about power and takes a proactive approach to gaining it and developing it over his/her peers. Often, this results in violence or threats of violence, which the gangsta rationalizes as “justified,” according to his or her theology. I believe that this phenomenon is a result of the social and cultural perpetuation of a high value judgment on power itself. Some of the language of the Christian Bible, a document from which many people (and many gangstas!) claim to derive their values and moral code, supports this theory. Specifically, when looking at the content of one of Paul’s letters to Timothy, one can see how important power is to the author. In the letter, Paul says, “…the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us POWER, love and self-discipline.” Take a look at the prioritization of power in this sentence. When Paul appeals to Timothy for loyalty to the Christian Gospel, he tells him that God has given him power first, love second, and self-discipline third. Paul tells Timothy that power is the primary function of his spirit; that power is a thing worth holding and that Timothy himself is entitled to power in some way. Paul even encourages and instructs Timothy to “fan into flame” this Spirit; language that can be paralleled to violence- which we often associate with power. #THIS #IS #EXCELLENT #Cussshouting #TheWork
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:29:27 +0000
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