John Dominic Crossan speaks during Monday’s Interfaith Lecture. He will each day share the podium with Joerg Rieger (seated, in black) during Week Seven’s 2 p.m. lectures. Photo by Ellie Haugsby.
Rebecca McKinsey | Staff Writer
John Dominic Crossan asked the Hall of Philosophy crowd to imagine a hypothetical scenario at 2 p.m. Monday.
He described a group of people who made a specific declaration of identity. This declaration stated that all people are created equal and have certain rights that can’t be taken away: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — purely a hypothetical situation, he stressed.
A declaration such as this is a vision, he said. The Pledge of Allegiance is a vision. Much of the United States’ building blocks are based on a vision. When a nation is built on a vision, a biblical admonishment comes into play, Crossan said.
“‘Where there is no vision, the people perish,’” he said, quoting Proverbs 29:18. “It could also have said, ‘Where there is the wrong vision, they perish even faster.’”
Crossan presented the ties between vision and government at the first of a week of lectures that will feature him and Joerg Rieger. The two theologians and authors will offer separate lectures each day this week on the week’s theme, “The Heart and Soul of Money.” Crossan will tackle the theme from a biblical standpoint, while Rieger will present a broader theological view.
Crossan’s Monday lecture was titled “Prophesy: Assassination or Confrontation?”
Crossan asked the audience to consider the economy as a household — etymologically, he said, “economy” means “the rule, the law of the household.”
“Could you imagine a household in the first century or the 21st century, in the ancient world or the modern world, in which some of the children were starving, while others were overfed?” he said. “The law of the household is not egalitarianism. It is, if I may coin a terrible word, enoughism. It is about everyone — rich house, poor house, ancient house, modern house — everyone getting a fair share.”
If money actually has a heart and soul, Crossan said, a vital question rises. Does the heart and soul of money consist of power or justice?
Crossan’s Monday lecture focused on power; the focus of Tuesday’s presentation would be justice, he said.
Power can be further split into two concepts: violent power and the power of persuasion, Crossan said. The two extremes are reflected in the stories of two biblical dynasties — Omri and Jehu.
The dynasty of Omri was one that needed a drastic response, Crossan said.
“What’s so wrong about the dynasty of Omri that God would send a prophet to conduct violent regime change?” he asked.
In Omri, King Ahab demanded land from people living in the territory, who protested because of God’s statement in Leviticus that he alone distributed land among people and they should not trade or sell it. After his wife, Jezebel, had one such person, Nahab, killed for his land, Elisha came on the scene.
“What’s wrong with the dynasty of Omri is that it’s not obeying the Torah, which is a desperate attempt to retain justice and fair distribution,” Crossan said.
At God’s command, the prophet Elisha sent a new ruler, Jehu, to kill off the last member of the Omri dynasty — a clear example of violent power, Crossan said.
When problems arose in Jehu’s dynasty, though, the solution was a different one. God sent Amos, a prophet who had nothing going for him, Crossan said, but his voice and his courage. Amos passed on a warning to Jehu about punishment that could come from God. He did not present violent power but rather used the power of persuasion.
This idea led to a proposal Crossan said he would explore throughout the week. Is there any concrete evidence presented in the Bible, he asked, that God outright punishes people? He suggested that perhaps what is seen instead is natural consequences that flow directly from people’s actions.
When he was questioned about this during the Q-and-A session following the lecture, Crossan provided a concrete example. If a person jumps from a 20-story building, God doesn’t punish that person by hitting him in the face with the sidewalk — the resulting consequence is a natural one that stems from that person’s actions.
“Does God ever punish anyone, ever, anywhere?” he asked.
‘We have to wake up’
Rieger’s first lecture was titled “Economics as Religion: What Does Jesus Have to Do with Wall Street?”
Before it is possible to explain how religion affects economy — or economy affects religion — it is necessary to recognize the dangers presented in both arenas by blind faith, Rieger said.
Economic inequality might be at the worst place it ever has been in history, he began.
“This is the scary thing,” he said. “We know there has been economic inequality in the past, but perhaps we’re moving in a direction where economic inequality is becoming bigger than ever before, and the question is, what difference does religion make here?”
The line drawn between economics and religion has become blurred, Rieger said.
Long-held ideas about economics state that this field is based on realism. It involves facts, numbers and concrete details.
“The religionist, on the other hand, is perceived as someone who lives in the world of lofty ideals, who is a dreamer, perhaps — somebody who dreams things out of nowhere, who looks up into the sky and gets his or her inspiration,” Rieger said.
However, these two descriptions are caricatures and do not provide an accurate description, he said.
Today, many economists argue that economics functions more like a religion. One such economist is Robert Nelson, Rieger said.
According to Nelson, the top economists no longer are the people crunching numbers or conducting empirical studies. Rather, they present big ideas to people.
With the lines blurred, though, blind faith becomes a problem in both economics and religion.
One example of blind faith is when people brush aside economic problems by saying the economy goes in cycles, Rieger said.
However, this justification doesn’t accurately explain economic problems, because although economics itself may be cyclical, the effects on individuals do not always improve in a parallel manner.
He added that it is easier for people experiencing economic difficulties to grasp this concept than those who are not as negatively affected by economic downturns.
“Here’s a scary connection I want to point out to you,” Rieger said. “I suspect that people who are used to accepting religious principles on blind faith … are also the ones who are more likely to accept economic principles on blind faith … without asking the question, ‘What’s really going on?’”
Jesus himself encouraged questions, Rieger said, and continuing to question and examine is the way to avoid blind faith in economics and religion.
“So the problem here is not religion or economics,” Rieger said. “The problem is blind faith. And when religion or economics turn into blind faith, we have to be very careful. We have to wake up.”
The answers Jesus provided to questions were concrete ones, Rieger said — blind people could see again; lame people could walk; dead people were brought to life.
However, one of the most difficult tasks is to bring good news to the poor, and that is a task that blind faith can’t accomplish, Rieger said.
“How is there this material component in religion that actually makes a difference?” Rieger said. “This is why I’m here. This is why I’m still raising these questions in my own professional life. And I think there are some answers.”
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