The art of being dangerous
Most of us would never imagine ourselves to be dangerous or even reactionary. We are the safest bunch that ever walked the face of the earth. Just take a look at our dental records and anyone can see that our teeth lack the bite that differentiates tigers from pussycats. And police records? I’m sure most of our names wouldn’t register even a pipsqueak on any watch list.
So what’s the big deal?
Let’s rewind the clock a little, go back two thousand years and enter ancient Rome. Make sure you wear your cross pendant, Jesus is Lord tee-shirt and whistle a tune from one of the praise and worship albums. Take a nice little walk around some of Rome’s magnificent boulevards and smile at any centurion that you might bump into. Now it’s quite possible that, as a result, you’ll get a ringside view of the amphitheatre as part of some gracious Roman hospitality.
Our squeaky clean image that’s perfectly halal or kosher in this day and age will have an exactly opposite effect because our benign display of faith will be seen as a criminal offence in ancient Rome. The lovely cross pendant will be seen as a grotesque fashion statement, our tee-shirt will be seen as an act of treason and our whistling will be considered an anti-establishment chant.
In other words, we won’t be considered to be a bunch of nice guys and instead, we’ll be thrown to the lions.
Of course, the Romans were different and, today, we live in much more open, liberal and broad-minded societies where dissent doesn’t necessarily meet with a death sentence. Or so we say if we are amongst those who live in democratic countries that cherish freedom of religion and expression. If we come back from that background, we will dismiss the Roman analogy to be completely far-fetched and irrelevant in today’s context.
Ancient Rome had its own strategic priorities that made Emperor worship a necessity because the powers-that-be felt that it would help in strengthening loyalty and allegiance to the political establishment. Any deviation would be seen as an act of rebellion and punishable unto death. And since there were numerous fringe benefits and patronage to be gained by worshipping the Emperor, most citizens had no qualms in toeing the establishment line.
However, the tiny community of Christians, composed chiefly of slaves, Jewish immigrants and other social downcasts, decided to rebel against this ruling because they couldn’t forsake Christ. As we all know from our history books, this decision cost them their lives and that of their loved ones. They took the stand of faith and stood against the establishment because, to them, following God was more important than being pro-establishment. They were prepared to suffer and die for their beliefs because the approval and acceptance by the accepted political and social order was not as important as their faith.
Now if this kind of anti-establishment rebellion forms the foundation of our Christian heritage, why is it that, today, we seem to be very safe? Why is it that people immediately identify Christianity with the establishment? Why is Christianity seen to be the domain of the rich and powerful? Where did we go wrong? Why have we deviated from the call and become crowd pleasers?
The answer, I suppose, is quite simple. We have turned our eyes from being servants and, instead, became power hungry. We lost the agape love for others and became lovers of self and lovers of our own ethnic communities. We stopped giving sacrificially and focused only on receiving. We began indulging ourselves in judging others over behavioural issues and ignored the need to repent and to carry the cross daily.
But for real change to occur, are we prepared to seriously disagree with what we see around us?
So what’s the big deal?
Let’s rewind the clock a little, go back two thousand years and enter ancient Rome. Make sure you wear your cross pendant, Jesus is Lord tee-shirt and whistle a tune from one of the praise and worship albums. Take a nice little walk around some of Rome’s magnificent boulevards and smile at any centurion that you might bump into. Now it’s quite possible that, as a result, you’ll get a ringside view of the amphitheatre as part of some gracious Roman hospitality.
Our squeaky clean image that’s perfectly halal or kosher in this day and age will have an exactly opposite effect because our benign display of faith will be seen as a criminal offence in ancient Rome. The lovely cross pendant will be seen as a grotesque fashion statement, our tee-shirt will be seen as an act of treason and our whistling will be considered an anti-establishment chant.
In other words, we won’t be considered to be a bunch of nice guys and instead, we’ll be thrown to the lions.
Of course, the Romans were different and, today, we live in much more open, liberal and broad-minded societies where dissent doesn’t necessarily meet with a death sentence. Or so we say if we are amongst those who live in democratic countries that cherish freedom of religion and expression. If we come back from that background, we will dismiss the Roman analogy to be completely far-fetched and irrelevant in today’s context.
Ancient Rome had its own strategic priorities that made Emperor worship a necessity because the powers-that-be felt that it would help in strengthening loyalty and allegiance to the political establishment. Any deviation would be seen as an act of rebellion and punishable unto death. And since there were numerous fringe benefits and patronage to be gained by worshipping the Emperor, most citizens had no qualms in toeing the establishment line.
However, the tiny community of Christians, composed chiefly of slaves, Jewish immigrants and other social downcasts, decided to rebel against this ruling because they couldn’t forsake Christ. As we all know from our history books, this decision cost them their lives and that of their loved ones. They took the stand of faith and stood against the establishment because, to them, following God was more important than being pro-establishment. They were prepared to suffer and die for their beliefs because the approval and acceptance by the accepted political and social order was not as important as their faith.
Now if this kind of anti-establishment rebellion forms the foundation of our Christian heritage, why is it that, today, we seem to be very safe? Why is it that people immediately identify Christianity with the establishment? Why is Christianity seen to be the domain of the rich and powerful? Where did we go wrong? Why have we deviated from the call and become crowd pleasers?
The answer, I suppose, is quite simple. We have turned our eyes from being servants and, instead, became power hungry. We lost the agape love for others and became lovers of self and lovers of our own ethnic communities. We stopped giving sacrificially and focused only on receiving. We began indulging ourselves in judging others over behavioural issues and ignored the need to repent and to carry the cross daily.
But for real change to occur, are we prepared to seriously disagree with what we see around us?
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