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The words revolution and rebellion or rebel and revolutionary are interchangeable to many. However, the seemingly synonymous words are almost at opposition with each other. A rebel confronts and denies an institution.
Rebellion is satire and deconstruction. Rebellion tears down walls, institutions, systems, and beliefs. Rebellion opposes. The word rebel calls to mind violence, anger, destruction, and confrontation.
Revolution is creativity and ever-expanding. Revolution constructs art and belief and relationship. Revolution creates. The only thing in common is their relationships to and recognition of dysfunction.
Jesus was a revolutionary. To simply deny or oppose something, to rebel, is in direct conflict to the concept of being a peacemaker. Revolutionaries of course criticize and embarrass the powerful, the bloated, the corrupt, but revolutions cannot be started by pacifists, in fact pacifism is sort of a rebellion too.
The American church is a place of much rebellion AND dysfunction. Its leaders build castles filled with jobs that quite possibly never needed to become professionalized and its followers have become crippled customers of social gatherings. It is also a place of rebellion. Young people think creativity and revolutionary freedom in God is wearing jeans and playing an electric guitar in church. I think the American Revolutionaries of the late 18th century would laugh at us. The leadership of churches rebel against Islam, culture, and the discomfort of diversity. They oppose, ridicule, mock, and reject these and many other groups...which is not peacemaking.
Its time for a revolution where people talking about power-hungry leaders and comfort seeking followers happens, and we're talking about tea parties in the harbor, not blue jeans in the sanctuary. Where dysfunction is challenged...with creativity and bridging through peace. This place is a discourse on a revolution that has existed in many places, for a long time, but lost itself somewhere in America, in the past 100 years.
Every week check this site for a catalyst. It can be a place to spark individual thought, conversation among friends, and most importantly, inspire revolutions. No one here claims expertise, the site is simply attempting to be one piece of the Peace Revolution that has occurred since time began and God reached out to us. Each has a role and some of us are just looking for some more people to join. Make sure to comment on posts for editorial accountability.
Sow a revolution, in peace.
2 comments:
Interesting comparison. It reminds me of an observation G. K. Chesterton once said about revolutions and reforms.
He mentions how France has a long history of drastic revolutions and social upheavals. The causes of these big changes were always 'good ideas' from brilliant minds: their philosophers laid the foundation for the modern conceptions democracy and freedom. But, in the process of creating this revolution, they totally messed with the entire way that the country worked, and not much of what they were going for actually stuck (anyone who read A Tale of Two Cities back in high school should know a little about this).
He says that the history of reforms in France came about because the people in charge loved the ideas they were advocating more than the country itself: they liked 'Freedom,' more than they liked 'France.' So, they put their ideas and causes up against their surroundings, and the whole system eventually collapsed on itself. Ideas are important, but if you're advocating them to the detriment of the group you're working with, they might end up doing a lot more harm than good.
Your idea of revolution seems to be going at a similar idea. A good revolutionary doesn't act because 'it's a good idea,' or 'it's how things should be,' but instead because she is dedicated to making life better for the people she loves and cares about. You revolt because you think you can make changes in the Church (or gov't, or whatever) to make it better for people, for those on the inside and the outside.
Revolution is most successful not in advocating new ideas or philosophies but in improving and fixing broken relationships.
YEAH!
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