#glassdimly

The testimony of activist Jeremy John, written for Geez Magazine, who spent six months in prison for civil disobedience while working to close the School of the Americas where he found Christ.  

I lived in a state of incredible tension for the next few months.  I found the chapel, and I found a Bible.  Before prison, I had set out to read the entire Bible, and, depending on what I found, either refute or endorse it.  I had gotten to Daniel by the time I was incarcerated.  Prison provided plenty of time to continue reading.  The Old Testamend didn't really do it for me.  And I really didn't like the Christians in the camp.  I crashed a Bible study by arguing against obedience to the governing authorities.

But something happened when I got to Matthew -- something that had never happened in all my love affair with knowledge.  I had read Taoism, Buddhism, Confucius, Proudhoun and Malatesta.  I had read Wittgenstein, Camus, Sartre and Fanon, but nothing compared to the story of Jesus.

Jesus story cannot be dismissed as yet another action that makes sense from a rational perspective because he chose to die.  If Christ's action could "make sense," then it would not be a perfect love, it would instead be an everyday selfish act, explained away by self-serving motives and purposes.

I may make a few posts on his testimony, because at the end, there are great thoughts on moving from focusing on structures to people and justice to love.