The Upper Register Blog

As I said in my previous post, I have some reservations about Seyoon Kim’s argument that we can go where the NT authors themselves did not go. Even though Paul and Luke refrained from extending the implications of the exaltation of Christ into the political realm, we can do so, according to Kim. He writes:

It is … necessary to recognize that in many Western and non-Western countries our changed situation demands a more active Christian engagement in political processes than Paul and Luke exemplify. We have pointed out that both in Paul and Luke an imminent eschatology and political realism played their parts, along with other factors, in discouraging them from thinking about the present materialization of God’s reign or Christ’s Lordship in the political sphere … But most Christians today no longer feel the pressure of an imminent eschatology so greatly, and they therefore naturally are concerned about the present materialization of God’s reign or Christ’s Lordship, however tentative it may be … These … new factors make us free from the inhibition that an imminent eschatology and political realism laid on Paul and Luke. So we should actively seek what changes need to be brought about in the political sphere in obedience to Christ’s Lordship and thus help materialize the redemption of the Kingdom of God politically as well in other spheres of existence. (p. 201)

I disagree with this approach for at least two reasons.

First, I think Kim fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the eschatological context of the NT’s view of politics. For Kim, both Paul and Luke view the eschaton as imminent; therefore, they simply lack any interest in politics. We, on the other hand, “no longer feel the pressure of an imminent eschatology so greatly,” so we are free to develop the political dimension of the gospel. But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the eschatological position of the NT writers. It is not the timing of the eschaton but the nature of the eschaton that conditions their stance toward political issues. If the eschaton is going to bring about a radical change in the conditions of life such that the glory of the age to come totally transcends our present existence, then it matters little whether they viewed the eschaton as imminent (within their lifetime) or as far off in the future. The eschatological state, for the New Testament writers, is not continuous with the present state. Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Cor 15:50). The eschatological state will be characterized by a glorified creation and glorified bodies to inhabit that glorified creation. The glorified state is one of incorruption and immortality. It is not merely the eternal continuation of our present fleshly state. Thus, for the New Testament writers, political questions, tied as they are to the fleshly state of this passing age, are necessarily secondary in importance. Furthermore, as a part of the fleshly state, political arrangements are not capable of being transformed or taken up into the state of glory, whether in its “already” state (experienced proleptically by the indwelling of the living Christ through his Spirit) or its “not yet” form (the glorified creation/body).
 
Second, I do not understand what Kim means by “the materialization of Christ’s Lordship” or “materializing the redemption of the Kingdom of God politically.” These sound like nice words, but what do they mean in practical terms? For those on the left it means increasing government funding for social welfare for the poor. Others on the left would say it means ending war in some sort of commitment to pacifism. Those on the right would say it means banning abortion, or having the constitution amended to exclude same-sex marriage, or reducing the size of government and government controls on the free market. What Kim concretely has in mind is left unstated. A related problem is that, even if we were to agree on a specific agenda, how do these things relate to Christ’s Lordship or the redemption of the Kingdom of God? In other words, why should any of the above items, left or right, be viewed in such exalted spiritual terms, as the materialization of the reign of Christ? In my view, the above policies can be debated pro and con, and perhaps some are pragmatically better for society than others, but none are distinctively Christian, and certainly they should not be characterized as the political materialization of the kingdom of God.

But I still have great appreciation for Kim’s book, particularly in the two main sections dealing with Paul and Luke-Acts. Although I am skeptical of his brief thoughts in “Some Implications for Today,” Kim raises some excellent critical doubts about the methodology and exegesis of counter-imperial reading(s) of the New Testament.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 4:32 pm and is filed under Paul & Empire. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.