Liberation and Postcolonial Interpretations of Matthew 22 16-21 - Essay Example

Liberation and Postcolonial Interpretations of Matthew 22:16-21 Introduction: In the New Testament the Gospel of Matthew can “called the most important single document of the Christian faith, for in it we have the fullest and the most systematic account of the life and the teachings of Jesus."  (Barclay 1958). The Gospel of Matthew was inscribed for the Jews to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, the divination of the Old Testament. Further Matthew’s Gospel attacks the Pharisees and Jewish leaders, leaders who were rigid on tax-collectors and who were associated with sinners and Gentiles. Therefore one can find that the focal intention was to confirm faith in Jesus, as God’s anointed one and to instruct discipline in the living of the Christian life. Matthews approach is one of being thoroughgoing and positive. Meaning of the passage: The Gospel of Matthew chapter 22: 16-21; Matthew attacks the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders and Matthew proposes a substantial argument with its indication to money. The Pharisees question Jesus on law and taxes with the idea to trap Jesus in his words. Divine authority will always supersede the authority of the State when they are in conflict. His willingness to live within this status quo, working, ministering apart from the political activities pronouncing the Kingdom that is not of this world. Liberation approach and interpretation: Liberation theology emerged in Latin America in the 1960s. Sin was patented in the unwarranted structures of a particular class of people dominating over a lower class. The political revolution viewed as gateway to articulate Christian love. The liberationist movement revitalizes the doctrine of universalism. Aficionados disregard mans spiritual needs and concentrate on bettering mankinds physical condition. Universalism is heretical and undermines the biblical doctrine of salvation through faith in Christ alone. Sin in man’s heart is vital than sinfulness. Instead of searching for a spiritual savior, the masses are instructed to search for an earthly savior who will set man free from earthly slavery. As Gutierrezs stated that sin is not considered as an individual or private. Sin a social, historical fact, the absence of brotherhood and love in relationships among men. Similar to the Pharisees who tried to ensnare Jesus with His own words saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or n Jesus is placed in a dilemma, for if He says that taxes should be paid, Jesus could be accused of denying the sovereignty of God over Israel thus making Himself an enemy of the Jews or if He says that taxes should not be paid, He openly declares Himself an enemy of Rome. American liberation can be traced to the writings of certain European theologians such as Jurgen Moltmann, Johannes Baptist Metz, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Moltmann stated, the coming kingdom will give the church a society that will transform vision of reality opposing to a private vision of personal salvation. Metz had accentuated that there is a political dimension to faith, and that the church must be an institution of social criticism. Bonhoeffer emphasized human responsibility toward others and to view the world from below - the perspective of the poor and oppressed. The unique Torah interpretation of Jesus emphasized that judgment is based mainly on good works.Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? The liberation view is it right to anoint the physical forces as the savior of humanity or can the spiritual savior save humanity? Jesus was preaching against hypocrites, the Pharisees who supported the brutal Roman rulers and who charged a fee for ordinary people just to worship God in the Temple for they taught that God was present only in the Temple. From the liberation ideology the temple is an earthly savior and by violating the law or taxes would lead to destruction. Liberation ideology replaces the traditional message of salvation as the Pharisees said “teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality” instead salvation attained through political and social reform. In liberation theology God is a hidden force. Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus gives mankind the freedom to choose. Conclusion is that the class struggle is divided and even ecclesial realities may be judged. ‘Whose head is this and whose title?’ They answered, “The emperor’s.” Head of Caesar on the coin indicates domination of the poor and taxes unjustly imposed using the coin, coin epitomizing worldly attachment and thereby proclaiming Caesar as supreme. Jesus’ answer avows that the government formulates legitimate laws for the people but at the same time one is responsible to surrender to God in all things.The searches for answers, lead the right way of thinking and sometimes these answers can leave one perplexed like Jesus answered, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” In her book Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Kathleen Norris recounts a somewhat similar journey: "There is more here than you know." Could this be the real message of Jesus perplexing question to the Pharisees? His riddle illustrates that unlearning things is sometimes necessary before new and true learning can occur. More specifically, it points to the way that Christ both fulfils and transforms our expectations and definitions. For God, the question is the state of the spirit and the conscience of the individual. (Norris 2001). Post colonial: Modernity is not dead and its foes would assert. As Weinberg stated, “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil: but for good people to do evil-that takes religion.” (Darnell J. 1999). The Freudian interpretation portrays religion as a dream that encodes wishes and fears, projections and identifications. The post colonial believer is contrasted to the part played by Jim Carrey in the film The Truman Show wherein life is transmuted into the post reality of entertainment. Most Church leaders disagree with the fact that scriptures and creed are collectively scripted texts that offer a manufactured reality. The battle between enlightenment and struggle is always prevalent. The encounter between liberal Protestantism and Catholic modernism wherein Protestants attempted to convey the enlightenment into the Christian citadel while the Catholic modernist accepted enlightenment. Present world can be perceived as a transgression from barbarism to culture and now to death. As most governments spend effort in making war machines thus leading to the destruction of life. Thus Jesus wanted the people to be alert in determining where God and Caesar came into conflict so that they would be able to discriminate between what they owe to one as well as the other. Producing the coin demonstrated that by using his coinage they had already admitted the de facto rule of the emperor. Jesus also implies that what was due to Caesar giving it to him would thereby restate the commandment of his Father, Thou shall not steal. Jackson author of "Exploring Postcolonial Racism” identifies post colonialism as the time following the colonizing whim and the ideology of the colonizer. He states "postcolonial Bible study sets out to show how thoroughly the assumptions of the colonial West are embedded in much biblical interpretation”. From a post colonial perspective Jackson proposes questions which serve as a guide to Bible study, who has the power to interpret or tell stories? To whom do the stories belong? Who controls the meaning? (Jackson 2006). A traditional interpretation of the passage would argue that Jesus compartmentalizing church and state. From a Native American theological perspective everything is Gods, and from the postcolonial interpretation is that everything of empire is subordinate to God and Gods creation. Questions such as, When did we lose the culture of civility? When did anger become a political weapon? When did the era of gentleness die, to be replaced with our current age of rage? The origin of words tells a story. “Civility” comes from the same root as civilian and civilization. “Polite” has the same origin as politics and polity. “Urbane” derives from the same root as urban. All three come from Classical words meaning a city and its governance. But these words are now considered as aspect that together with law and taxes have led to war. For law states taxes should be paid. But are these taxes utilized for the betterment of mankind in today’s world? The London bombings and this association with the religious tradition raises issues of authenticity belief in religion. Religious conflict has been the core of many horrible episodes and these principles have been ensnared by self seeking power hungry dictators. Just as the Pharisee state that Jesus, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with Truth.” Similarly the terrorist of the London bombings performed this inhuman murder, crying the name of God. Terrorist have inspired and trained these men using religion as there foundation. One cannot condemn these killers as disconnected personifications of evil because they were blinded and entangled in a flawed and unjust world. Prayer for leaders to act morally and govern virtuously is a paradox because everyone wants godly leaders but still leaders who declare divine right in the naked exercise of power are declined. As Nabil Shaath, the Foreign Minister of Palestine described what President Bush said, Im driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did. And now, again, I feel Gods words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God Im gonna do it.” (BBC 2005). But to what extent can war be declared and to what extent the destruction of life can be carried on. By paying taxes to the government likewise selling your soul too as in the case of American soldiers wherein the government decided when you die. In other words what Jesus said “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. But in a soldiers case he not only pay’s taxes but also selling their lives. Most politicians can be compared to the Pharisee, for lies and deception they have in common. As Brian McLaren stated to US Democratic Barack Obama: “Please dont lie to us. Please forego both the repulsive, deceptive, and twisted lies and also the flattering lies we like to hear. Any nation that keeps telling itself that it is the greatest will become a proud nation (if it isnt already), and pride, I have it on good authority, comes before a fall. Instead of telling us this lie of American superiority, please tell us the truths that we need to hear. Tell us, as you just did in your campaign-launch speech, inconvenient truths – that we and our leaders have a habit of making mistakes and blaming others – whether its in New Orleans or Baghdad. Tell us the truth about our past – from our own original genocide and ongoing apartheid regarding the Native peoples of this land, to our profoundly unacknowledged and unhealed legacy of slavery and racism, to our failure to care properly for this beautiful part of Gods green earth, to our desperate and shameful violations of our own principles and ideals around the world…………”. One should remember that in this world variance transformation rivets developing human relationship afar the place where anxiety deciphers into externally directed belligerence, reshaping it instead towards personally resourced revolutionize. Conclusion: The complex religious symbols, concepts and values only lead to the bemused state in the people. One must remember that the human society is an intricate complex of personal relationships. Death and resurrection is the central theme of Christianity, wherein preparation for the old conformist self dies, in order to rise again as a facade of a new global religion. As T.S. Eliot wrote: All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance, All our ignorance brings us nearer to death, But nearness to death no nearer to GOD. Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? (Eliot 1936. p157). The aficionados of an involvement in the social struggle affirm that that is the only way for the kingdom of God to make sense is the transformation of the social structures of nations and the establishment of equitable systems. Literary References Barclay,W. 1958. ‘The daily study Bible. Philadelphia’: The Westminister Press BBC. 2005. God told me to invade Iraq, Bush tells Palestinian ministers. 6/10/05. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/10_october/06/bush.shtml Darnell, J. 2006. ‘Imagine, Another World is Possible: A Bible Study and Reflection Guide’. Vol 1. [Online] Available at: http://www.stepnetwork.org/review-imagine.html (accessed on -----) Eliot, T. S. 1936. ‘Collected Poems’ .Faber & Faber, p. 157. Norris, K. 2001. Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. First Mariner Books. 2001. Weinberg, S. 1999. New York Times. April 20, 1999. Burtchaell, J.T. 1988. How Authentically Christian Is Liberation Theology. The Review of Politics. Vol. 50, No. 2. Read More