Imperial Power -- America's dilemma
Marcus Borg writes in The Heart of Christianity:
"For Christians in the United States, taking the Kingdom of God seriously means critical thinking about what it means to be an imperial power. Like it or not, we are the world's imperial power ever since the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Militarily, we are the world's superpower. We are also the world's major economic power. The combination of global military and economic power is the defining characteristic of empire. We are the Rome of our time."
If I remember the story correctly -- Jesus, Paul, Peter, and thousands more died at the hands of Rome -- just a thought.
Comments
I guess if there was a better reason - other than the fact that the US is powerful - for our safety to be of concern, I would follow along. But I just don't buy it.
The radical in me says that simply replacing the current emperor with a better one won't solve the problem. The problem isn't who is in charge of the empire, but the existence of empire itself. I don't think that a single major presidential candidate of either party is going to challenge the imperial system, or for that matter the corporate interests that drive US foreign policy.
It seems to me that the best way we can honor Jesus is by challenging Empire just as he did in his day.