Which Kingdom of God are you?

I’m on facebook, and you get those all those ridiculous surveys, right? The ones where you answer some simplistic questions and find out all sorts of critical life-lessons about yourself. Like…

• Are you an Introvert or an Extrovert?
• Which Lord of the Rings character are you?
• Which Bible character are you?
• What 80s song are you?

A Survey I’d like to write is this one:

Which Kingdom of God are you?

1. What is the nature of God? (a) Violent (b) Non-violent?
2. What is the nature of Jesus’ message? (a) Exclusive (b) Inclusive
3. What is faith? (a) Literal belief (b) Trust in God
4. What is deliverance? (a) Salvation from hell (b) Liberation from injustice

There are three evaluations from this. Choose one or the other and read on for more…

If you chose (a) for three or more, Congratulations! You have…

• A THEOLOGY OF EMPIRE shaped by the Roman Empire’s notion of “Peace through Victory.” When Jesus returns, only those with the right beliefs will be saved, and when Jesus claims victory over the devil, then there will be peace.

If you chose (b) for three or more, Congratulations! You have…

• A THEOLOGY OF KINGDOM shaped by Paul and Jesus’ notions of “Peace through Justice” where the kingdom is found in the continuing struggle for compassion and justice. When all live in harmonious relationships, then there will be peace.

If you have equal parts (a) and (b), Congratulations! You have…

• THE THEOLOGIES IN THE BIBLE, as both of the above theologies are prevalent and strands can be traced throughout the entire bible.

Very simplistic, but that’s the nature of such polls. Of course there is middle mucky ground between the (a)s and (b)s, but to break it down so simplistically helps define the drastically different stories and pursuits by the people of God found in the bible and in contemporary society.

What hacks do is draw the connecting points between two divergent points of view. If they can exist simultaneously in the bible, then they can exist peacefully in contemporary theologies as well. And that’s what we’re doing here at HX.net: finding those connecting points to better bridge the divide between people with very different notions of what the Kingdom of God looks like…and especially who is in it!

Indulgences to John Dominic Crossan and his work on theologies of Empire and Gaia Rising for the idea.