Words'nTone

November 19th is fast approaching and I continue to work on my paper for the conference in New Orleans.  I have drafted a section that frames a new way of thinking about poverty, at least for the Christian.  Here is a thread on “A New Paradigm for Thinking about Poverty: Idolatry.”

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In order to provide a vision for a Christian response to the issues of poverty many start with the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7; Luke 12), then proceed to other New Testament teachings (e.g., Acts 4; James).  Although an important element in any Christian approach to poverty, this tends to be directed more at church-life (by which I mean building-centered, locale specific) and Christian attitudes rather that assisting Christians in developing a biblical theological response to those living with the affects of poverty.  Many, on the other hand turn to the Old Testament, particularly the Pentateuch and the Prophets, to provide application for the roles and responsibilities of the individual and the State regarding the poor.  And, rightly so, for such biblical material is rich in addressing issues related to the poor and economically vulnerable.  The results however tend toward justifications—right/left, conservative/liberal—for political alignment and socio-economic policies.

Biblical scholars, as well as Christian political and social activists, across the spectrum, nonetheless, continue to wrestle with how the Pentateuch and the prophets apply to the modern/postmodern Christian and to the Christian’s world.  This is particularly important, for much of the debate and discussion regarding the poor, poverty, and the responsibilities of individuals, communities, and governing/ruling entities are found in the laws, codes, and land-stipulations of the Pentateuch and among the prophets.  Many still, however, question the relevance of such documents of antiquity spoken to an ancient nation whose social-political location is the Ancient Near East (ANE) and how the texts apply to the social-location of the contemporary American Church.  Although such dialogue is needed, there is an overlooked framework already existing in how the Gospel writers and Jesus utilize the Old Testament to define and give the Gospel content.  I believe that the Gospel, informed by the Old Testament texts and their contexts that are utilized to define, provide content, and give meaning to the Gospel of the Kingdom, offer an intrinsic framework that is to form Christian discipleship and promotes evangelistic outcomes regarding the issues and causes of poverty.

A way to decipher the significance of Old Testament laws and ethical texts and their contexts is to draw such significance from their incorporation into the Gospel itself.  In this paper, my interest is in the numerous quotes, contexts, and parallels utilized by Mark in his Gospel narrative.  There is a fascinating range of Old Testament contexts that Mark draws upon throughout his narrative that refer and allude to a number of texts and their contexts that reference both idolatry and the economically vulnerable.  These are embedded into his presentation of the Gospel of the Kingdom present in Jesus.  Although Mark’s use of the Old Testament is extensive beyond these particular contexts, he frames the Gospel with appeals to the Old Testament with contexts related to the economically vulnerable in some way, whether Law, land-stipulation, or prophetic announcement, which also contain within their Old Testament context or flow of thought mention of idolatry.

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