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abstract
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Christology, Violence and Resurrection
Joseph A. Bracken
Xavier University
In Suffering: A Test of Theological
Method, Arthur McGill, Professor of Theology at Harvard in the
1960's, claimed that a culture of violence was all-pervasive in
contemporary society. People were exposed to scenes of violence every
day in and through newspapers, radio and television. Yet they failed to
demand any changes in the casual acceptance of violence either out of
indolence or fear of criticism. In response , McGill proposed a new
reading of the Gospel narratives, focusing on the life and death of
Jesus as one who refused to use violence even to defend himself but
instead took on the self-sacrificing role of Good Samaritan to humanity.
Christians, accordingly, must choose to which power they will in the end
submit: the demonic power of control through domination of others or the
divine power of self-giving love and service to others. In this paper,
combining insights from McGill and my own recent book Christianity and
Process Thought, I will argue that the demonic powers of which McGill
speaks are a manifestation of a collective power of evil at work in the
world which can only be effectively resisted by a collective power of
good. The Incarnation, accordingly, took place to give new focus and
impetus to this collective power of good. The passion of Jesus reveals
the intensity of the struggle between inordinate self-interest and
self-giving love at both individual and institutional levels of society.
The Resurrection is the guarantee that self-giving love paradoxically
prevails only after it has been apparently vanquished by the collective
power of evil.