Poem - Burn Down the Churches!
Our institutions bring nothing but fear and death,yet we anoint the exploited when they breath their last breaths,
and whisper about pie in the sky when you die,
but it's all I can do to sit here and cry,
because... I want to bring heaven to earth!
I know you're afraid to stand up and speak out,
there's you job, there's your wife, there's the kids, there's the house,
but whatever your excuses, it won't change the fact,
that nothing will happen, unless we act,
And this silence 'aint holy.
This silence is sick.
We need prophetic visions,
not televisions, but knife incisions!
We need to slice off our apathy, replace boredom with desire,
not just our hearts, but the whole world must be set on fire.
So, let's burn down the churches, lets set fire to the banks,
and our prisons, our courtrooms, our guns and our tanks.
You can't have a revolution stuck in your head,
if a seed does not fall to the ground it's... dead
And despite how destructive this might seem,
we can't have a better world, till we have space to dream.
And hope that, when the state falls and the economy crashes,
we'll see flowers grow from the ashes.
Poem - Thou Shalt Obey
Be careful, fearful Christian,to pay Caesar what is due,
To withhold taxes from Her Majesty,
is sinful, well and true.
And take care, dear Christian,
to obey the law's commands,
Be it pillage, rape or torture,
your government demands.
But do not think a second,
to love the outcast first,
In the eyes of King and Country,
that crime is sure the worst!
And do not dare consider,
to give to God his worth,
For not much is left for Caesar,
when the meek own all the earth!
Poem - Christ Died With a Raised Fist
Christ died with a raised fist,though fastened there with a nail through his wrist,
fought till his last breath,
no-way to silence this rebel... but death.
Yet what could be louder than the silence resounding from that hill?
His last act no great miracle,
but an act of compassion for his friends,
I am helpless now, he said, now you must help each other,
my hands and feet are bound, now you must be my hands and feet.
He spoke to those three, as though the crowd, his crucifixion, did not matter,
what mattered was that they were there, together - a true last supper!
This is the solidarity that rocks nations, shatters churches,
Peter just wanted his revolution, that night he wept alone,
But these four, that night they wept together.
Leaflet - Christian Anarchism
I made this a while back to try and convert church-goers to Christian Anarchism. Sadly I did not manage to convert anyone (I have always been a terrible evangelist) :-(Leaflet PDF: http://ifile.it/sdf5nej (click on 'request download ticket', and it takes you to a link to get the leaflet)
Leaflet text:
"This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots[...] will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day. - 1 Sam 8
The judge Samuel warned the Israelites that if they set up a King, he would bring war and slavery to them. Is it any wonder then, that with a government ruling over us, we are stuck funding endless wars in the middle east, and are at threat of loosing hard-won civil liberties every time leaders think our backs are turned? Christian Anarchists believe that following the way of Jesus often means resisting the evils of the state, and requires us to work towards a new society (the Kingdom of God), based on sharing rather than greed, and without governments and violence.
But Don't We Need Leaders?
“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. - Luke 22
Maybe we do need people with vision and experience to guide us, and maybe not.The main thing that Christian Anarchists have a problem with is 'coercion' - forcing others to do what you want, normally by violence. I f you try to change the world by taking power or getting into government, 'coercion' is what you will be relying upon. You will create laws that, if someone disobeys, they will be violently arrested and imprisoned. Is that really how to bring the Kingdom of God to earth - with tasers, batons and cages? Just as God didn't force his Kingdom on us, but became human (Jesus) and lead by example, so we are called to 'lead' others by doing good, and hoping they will follow. (see Matthew 5:16)
What About Romans 13?
At many times in history, governments have made it illegal to be a Christian. How have Christians 'dealt' with Romans 13 (which instructs people to 'submit to the authorities') then? By saying that we may only obey when it does not contradict the law of God. What is God's law? To love him, and to love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:31 ). At the end of the day, that covers almost every situation, so laws are pretty irrelevant! As St Peter said, 'We must obey God rather than man' (Acts 5). This doesn't explain everything - it's a hard passage to make sense of. But does it make more sense to follow an instruction, which occurs in only two places in the bible, which seems to contradict teachings and example of Jesus?
Anarchism Won't Work!
Tens of thousands die of hunger every day, while there is enough food in the world for everyone to eat. Gay people are denied the right to express themselves, and asylum seekers are persecuted every day. Is the current system really 'working'? Maybe it's about time we gave the way of Jesus a go. Perhaps we'll find that trusting God and each other rather than leaders and systems works out...
Ok, So What Do I Do?
- Resist injustice through direct action (changing things yourself), as Jesus did when he ejected the money-changers from the temple in Jerusalem (John 2). On the eve of the war on Iraq, a group of Catholic Anarchists dis-armed one of the bombers about to fly out, saving lives. Imagine if just 1% of those who marched on London had done the same - there would have been no war!
- Share what you have and spend time with those left out by the system so you see first-hand what it does and how you can help - Work to build structures that are an alternative to the corporations and nation-states around you
- Work and organise alongside anyone else who's interested in living and acting this way (Christian and non-Christian), so that you can gain from their experience and insights
- Change people through loving non-violence (see Romans 12, Matthew 5:40)
Random Thought Fragments:
God does not want to command peopleGod is in me
Jesus is with me, alongside me - brother
God is fire,
the fire is
I am a part of this song, I am not watching it. I am in it.
Justification for an action I joined in with while still a pacifist & Christian: (dw, it isn't actually incriminating, for various reasons)
In the last few months, it has become clearer what the current governments aims really are. While slashing budgets at home, they continue to spend billions year after year on an unjust and endless war. Why is it that they are happy to spend billions sacrificing our young people overseas, and yet unwilling to spend anything on allowing them a higher education at home? Why is it that when a window is broken in Millbank, a national campaign is launched to find the perpetrators, yet in Afghanistan not only buildings but the bodies of innocent children are dashed to pieces, and no-one bats an eyelid? Why is it that this war is organised in our name by people behind closed doors and fences at Northwood, despite the better judgement of the majority of the general public and many of our soldiers?
I attempted to enter the Northwood military base today to tell the people inside to STOP the war. To STOP seeing the rich as important but the poor as expendable in battle. To STOP killing innocent civilians. I would like to call the public to resist the war in any way they can, and to show solidarity to those already opposing it, especially those in the military - who are currently the people doing the most out of all of us to try and bring this war to an end.
The upside-down cross is the true symbol of Christianity!
The cross was the weapon the Roman Empire used to put down the Hebrew insurrections - it was the symbol of the superiority of Rome, of the insignificance and indignity of the people before the might of Empire. Is it not, therefore, the inverse of this symbol - the upside-down cross - that should truly represent Christianity? The up-right crucifix represents Rome triumphant: Christ commodified and strung up in their temples for all to see. The reversed and empty cross symbolises defiance, resurrection, and above all, resistance!
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