Chapter 3: A Framework for a Theology of Society

The following chart outlines both the components and the broad framework necessary to establish a biblically based theology of society built around social evil and social justice. The chart combines the spiritual and social factors; it is comprehensive in nature. Each component has its own integrity in relationship to the other components; spiritual factors cannot be reduced to social factors nor can social factors be reduced to spiritual factors. The Bible treats all levels, all components, as real in themselves. This chart assumes a gospel that has addressed personal sin and personal salvation.



THEOLOGY OF SOCIETY



SOCIAL EVIL versus SOCIAL JUSTICE


SATAN versus GOD/JESUS CHRIST


POWERS AND AUTHORITIES versus HOLY SPIRIT


COSMOS versus KINGDOM OF GOD


ETHNOCENTRISM versus JUSTICE


OPPRESSION versus SHALOM


DAMAGED INDIVIDUALS versus LIBERATED INDIVIDUALS


Next, each component will be briefly defined and discussed.

Satan

Satan, the adversary, is a fallen angel whom God has permitted partial and temporary control of this earth. The Bible identifies him as a prince of this world, a ruler of the cosmos (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 2:2; and Luke 4:5-7).

Satan is in opposition to God, but he is not the opposite of God because he is not God's equal though he likes to pose that way. Satan is not omniscient, omnipresent nor omnipotent. He is a forminable foe, but we must not overexaggerate his importance. If we unintentionally make him the opposite equal to God, we give him more power in our lives than he deserves. Our unwarranted excessive fear of him will expand his power over us. He is only a fallen angel who wanted to be God; don't make him into a god.

Powers and Authorities

Created by God, these powers and authorities were originally good and designed to maintain order in the universe. Sin invaded the universe and "rather than maintaining order, they took on the status of god and began to regulate human existence and destiny." According to Walter Wink "these Powers are both heavenly and earthly, divine and human, spiritual and political, invisible and structural." Their primary mode of operation is through political and social institutions. The powers and authorities are evil spiritual forces incarnated in human cultural values and social institutions.

John Perkins saw this pattern in operation in Mississippi as he tried to understand the severity of poverty and racism. "I began to see plainly how sin had organized itself into structures and institutions of inequality and oppression. . . . growing out of the very culture and traditions and history of the South and America." Paul's reference to the principalities and power in Eph. 6:12 now made sense to him. (A Quiet Revolution, 1976, pp. 82-92).

Cosmos

In its good sense, the cosmos is the world, the universe, created by God. Sin invaded the cosmos and therefore in the New Testament cosmos is most often used in a negative sense, as evil social order. The evil cosmos includes negative cultural values such as ethnocentrism and oppressive social institutions.

Individual persons, male and female, and material resources were created by God. Because of sin these creation values became the negative cultural values of individualism, sexism, and materialism. Normal human differences became divisive and distorted. Social institutions, whose original purpose was to provide order and structure to human existence, have become instruments of evil.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's ethnos (people, nation, culture) is superior and that other groups are inferior. Ethnocentrism can and usually does operate separate from racism, but in the modern Western world the two have often been merged. Historically and geographically, ethnocentrism is nearly universal, usually tied to culture and/or religion and/or nation, but usually not tied to race. Race is not a biblical concept, but it is often read into the Scriptures by modern Westerners.

Ethnocentrism turns other ethnic groups into second-class citizens as they are dehumanized. Once this happens, the so-called superior people can oppress the so-called inferior people without their social conscience bothering them; they may even rationalize that this action is God's will.

Ethnicity (ethnic heritage, ethnic group) is positive and contributes to one's social identity; ethnocentrism is a sinful sense of cultural superiority.

Oppression

Oppression occurs when persons in power and authority, usually through social institutions, misuse their power and authority in a cruel and unjust manner to crush, humiliate, animalize, impoverish, enslave and/or kill persons created in the image of God. Oppression is a combination of personal sin and social evil. Oppression is the opposite of shalom and the absence of justice. The Old Testament is far superior to all other human literature in its understanding of the horror of oppression; but strangely orthodox Protestant theology has almost totally ignored this important biblical concept.

Damaged Individuals

The above system of social evil consisting of Satan, powers and authorities, cosmos, ethnocentrism and oppression combines to damage individuals and groups (such as ethnic groups). Each level of social evil must be dealt with on its own merits; one level cannot be reduced to another level; the spiritual cannot be reduced to the social nor can the social be reduced to the spiritual. Some categories of damage: women are damaged by male domination; Samaritans are dehumanized by Jews; the oppressed poor are damaged by the rich. The damage precedes the dysfunction.

I would estimate that 9 out of 10 white Americans blame blacks for their own dysfunction; in other words, they blame the victim. They see the dysfunction, but not the underlying cause of the dysfunction---oppression. Note this important Scripture, Exodus 6:1-9. In 6:1-8, God tells Moses that He IS going to deliver the Israelites from their slavery. Moses reports this very good news to the children of Israel. When Moses delivered this message to the Israelites, "With a tremendous shout, the people, with one voice, praised God for their promised deliverance." This is what I would have expected the response to be, but it wasn't this at all. Because of centuries of oppression, the Israelites were broken in spirit. This was their actual response: "they didn't even hear him [Moses]---they were that beaten down in spirit by the harsh slave conditions."

Don't ever underestimate the damage systems of oppression can do to a people. It is terribly cruel and unfair for the oppressor to blame the oppressed.


Next, I shall examine biblical concepts under the category of SOCIAL JUSTICE

Jesus Christ

The Son of God was not only incarnated in human flesh, but he was also incarnated in human society. In his own life and ministry, he combined the spiritual and the social; he was concerned about both personal righteousness and social justice.

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the person and power of God incarnated in individual Christians and in the church. The only Power strong enough to break the bondage of cultural values and social institutions to "the Power" is the person, wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit. In my reading, I have not found a single theologian who has tied the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God and Jubilee justice together as a unit.

There are four ministries of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit and the kingdom of God, the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.

Kingdom of God

To replace the cosmos (evil social order), Jesus introduced the kingdom of God, the rule and reign over all of life. Just as social evil has infiltrated all of human life, so the kingdom of God must be equally pervasive. Spiritually, a person enters the kingdom of God by being born again. Socially, a person lives kingdom principles in all relationships in human society. In the kingdom of God, individualism, materialism and sexism must be replaced by individuality-in-community, the sharing of material resources, and respect and equality between male and female. Ethnocentrism must be replaced by respect, harmony and equality between different ethnic groups.

Rather than evil social institutions dominating and oppressing individuals, social institutions must be restored to their rightful function of service and structure to provide order and stability to social life. Justice should characterize the functioning of political, economic and religious institutions.

Reconciliation

Through God's grace, humans who were once enemies of God can be reconciled to him. Through God's grace, persons who once hated their enemies can be reconciled to them and learn to love them. Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, rich and poor, all can and should be reconciled.

Both personal reconciliation to God and social reconciliation to humans are made possible through the cross. Ephesians 2:1-10 describes personal reconciliation to God through grace. 2:11-22 describes the "dividing wall of hostility" that once separated Jew and Gentile, but now through the cross "he put to death their hostility." Now, Jews and Gentiles are "fellow citizens" in the church.

Justice

In the Old Testament, we are exhorted to "do justice" (Micah 6:8) or "execute justice" (Jer. 7:5). Community leaders such as judges, kings and priests are called to make fair and just judgments on behalf of the oppressed poor, widows, fatherless and strangers. The act of justice stops oppression and creates the conditions for shalom. Justice/righteousness is both personal and social. (Job 29:7-17). The Jubilee/Sabbatical laws were a concrete call for justice in society, especially for the poor and oppressed. The New Testament kingdom of God is to reflect Jubilee justice for the poor.

Shalom

Shalom is completeness, wholeness and harmony in a community of people living in righteousness and justice. In such a community, individuals experience physical, economic, social and spiritual well-being. Shalom includes spiritual or inner peace, but shalom is much more than personal peace with God.

Liberated Individuals

Oppressed individuals (the sinned-against ones) can be liberated by the good news of the gospel concisely stated in Luke 4:18-19. These verses are a mission statement about the kingdom of God and how it should be incarnated here on earth in human society. "The kingdom of God is . . . justice, shalom and joy in the Holy Spirit." Romans 14:17, Noble paraphrase.