First the firsts: Deep Funk has joined us, the 11/11 Polar Kraken of DDR and the best roomie ever had, Monsieur Andrew Sitte. scattered applause. Second: I posted some book reviews on the right - bonus points for reading the third one. And I added some pretty rings which are resurrected out of my web page from 6th grade. Onward!

Chapter Four - Can I get s'more? Unbelievable. What a book. The greatest point of the chapter, though its like picking among my future adopted children, is Israel created as a nationstate whose very governmental structure and practices will example rightness and holiness to the world's empires. It's very identity is a nationstate of the oppressed, and its Levitical egalitarian legislation uphold any future oppressed within the populace. I think of the US constitution holding freedom as its core value as a reaction from its oppressive taxation-focused source. Quote:

"If the empire is a place of slavery and death, then Israel is called to be a people of jubilee, where slaves are released and life renewed." pg 66. "The care of the marginalized - those who no standing ground in the community - is antithetical to the constant striving for power, dominance, and hierarchy that characterizes the empire. Israel is called to be an alternative socioeconomic witness to the empire." pg 67

Can I get an Amen? This idea is fully fleshed out on page 72,

"Israel painfully discovered that the preferred economics of empire is to enslave the producers of food and resources."

"Communist!" I hear people shouting. "How dare you embrace legislated economic redistribution in favor of lessening the unavoidable societal oppression and poverty that comes with beautiful capitalism! Jesus said the poor will always be among you!" Yet, here it is, a whole shlab of footnotes on page 66 that choose lower profit margins in the face of human dignity, the laws of Israel almost singing in its search to be a nation of righted imperial refugees. Here is a nation which, at its inception, had no poor.

We have to maintain globally wretched wages and working conditions, because the prosperity and comfort of the West demands an enslaved producer of GAP khakis and Brazilian oranges. Keep Wal-Mart's cost of employing a seamstress in Swaziland low, keep the workers in the stores from receiving living wages and healthcare, lower the cost of producing the shirt, lower the price tag in Cleveland, outbid and shutdown all competing local stores, increase the sale volume, support my standard of living through allowing me to buy DVDs for $5 and my shampoo for $2 a tubb.

Wal-Mart becomes the highest grossing store in world history and Swaziland remains the nation with the lowest life-expectancy on the planet: 32 years.

Mary and Joseph, I was surprised to find, were going to "register" for taxation by the Roman Empire when Jesus was born. Luke, a Jew, is poignant to mention Israel's current imperial oppression along with the birth of God incarnate. And here I thought it was some happy national census. And Jesus was brought before Pilate and charged with "subverting the nation" (Luke23:NIV), accused of refusing to pay his taxes.

By far, the most important thing for me to read was the command in Jeremiah 29 to bless and correct the empire that Israel is oppressed by, to maintain their identity as light in darkness, to bring the world before Yahweh. Just because Israel was burned to the floor doesn't mean the heart of God has changed, his hope the world would be restored to healthy right and just society and government. Couple this with the authors' identity of the Christian living within the empire, an identity of rabid generosity, doing good to without thought of benefit, unadulterated altruism (holla!), g g ggrace!

"This is the ethic in which the generosity of God overcomes the violence and economic exploitation of the empire." pg 74

This is the good news. That the selflessness and love of each other spills into our society and our government, that loving our neighbor is as much our legislation against exploitation of the global impoverished masses as it is an invitation to barbeque given as two neighbors happen to meet at the mailbox. The selflessness and desire for a world of harmony is a Spirit that inexorably consumes a person's entire sphere of existence. Like GKChesterson said of following God, 'He beckons us. He says, "come and die".'