There are no small acts of violence.

Derrick Crowe of Return Good for Evil has a splendid post up on the myth of redemptive violence. Applied quite stunningly to Iraq and Afghanistan. Read it.

"In [Walter] Wink’s view, every act of violence, no matter how well-intentioned, is an act of fundamental validation of and belief in this system, its spirit and the lie that gives rise to it: that violence saves."

Shadows of mankind

Ever wonder about the fascination with pirates that young and old seem to have? Found this neat series of articles arguing

"that piracy functions not as the enemy of all mankind (hostis humanis generis) but as the shadow of mankind: umbris humanis generis. As rebels against a social order that is oppressing them, those who turn to piracy are critiquing the economic and political systems that have seen them disenfranchised".

"...piracy as a rupture in an already corrupt system – as a shadow that makes the Empire uncomfortable -"

"What pirates do, as a rule, is emerge from the underbelly of a ’stuck’ orthodoxy and, by way of actions that are initially perceived as heretical, reinvigorate that practice. The heresy of Napster becomes the orthodoxy of Spotify. The pirate DJs of Radio Caroline join Aunty at the BBC and create Radio 1."

A Plea for Christian Piracy.

A-corny

Glenn Greenwald puts it in perspective.

"Claiming you're worried about large government and taxpayer waste while fixating on ACORN proves the insincerity of the ostensible concern, let alone doing so while cheering on the same Wall Street banks, defense contractors, and insurance industries that control and expand government power for their own benefit."

For those of us who have been truly concerned for years about government expansion, the current conservative movement is a waste of time. As the rhetoric increases, real discussion on this and many issues slips away. Like a dull hum from a street lamp against the roar of traffic below, so goes the conversation.

There are voices, left and right of issues worth listening to. Becoming harder to find though just as it is to remain thoughtful myself.

Two steps from Hell.

No, not me, the artists.

Two Steps from Hell make music for Movie trailers. I had to find them when I saw the new (March released but yet unseen by me) Star Trek movie trailer.

Listen.

Bout time.

The New York Times over the weekend reported that the anti-war movement is gearing up to challenge President Obama on Afghanistan.

Long since dormant, they are finally finding a voice.

h/t to Derrick, at Return Good for Evil.

Added to blog roll

Here's an interesting and thoughtful take on why John Piper might say some of the things he does. An overall great blog I might add, check it out.

Also added recently, Inhabitatio Dei, by Halden Doerge. An editor, among other things, with Wipf & Stock Publishers. Both worth the visit.

Powers and Principalities

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (ESV)

Thoughts for later...

An excerpt from Rene Girard on Powers and Principalities.

From Faith and Theology blog (Ben Meyers)

"William Stringfellow’s theological writing is pervaded by the conviction that the resurrection of Jesus frees us from the dominion of death. The world is ruled by principalities – by suprahuman, suprapersonal institutional powers which bind human life to the service of death.

More from William Stringfellow (Via F&T)...

“The … ingenious aggressions of the principalities against human life in society, the victimisation of human beings … by the demonic powers exposes a crucial aspect of the contemporary American social crisis.

The American problem is not so simple that it can be attributed to a few – or even many – evil men in high places…. Our men in high places are not exceptionally immoral; they are, on the contrary, quite ordinarily moral.

In truth, the conspicuous moral fact about our generals, our industrialists, our scientists, our commercial and political leaders is that they are the most obvious and pathetic prisoners in American society.

There is unleashed among the principalities in this society a ruthless, self-proliferating, all-consuming institutional process which assaults … and destroys human life even among, and primarily among, those persons in positions of institutional leadership. They are left with titles but without effectual authority; with the trappings of power, but without control over the institutions they head; in nominal command, but bereft of dominion….

The most poignant victim of the demonic in America today is the so-called leader”. (An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land, pp. 88-89).

Ben Myers adds:

The most striking feature of Stringfellow’s work is his powerful analysis and critique of the “principalities.” For him, the principalities are institutionalised forms of death. Institutions exist for the sake of their own expansion and self-perpetuation; they are not subject to human control, but are autonomous entities vis-à-vis all human agency. Human beings often believe “that they control the institution; whereas, in truth, the principality claims them as slaves(Free in Obedience, p. 99).

Revisit also,
Paul and Caesar: A New Reading of Romans - NT Wright.
Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament - Walter Wink