The word Anarchy comes from a Greek root which translates to ‘no ruler’ and has several meanings which have developed. These are several of those meanings:
"No rulership or enforced authority."
"A social state in which there is no governing person or group of persons, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder)."
"Absence or non-recognition of authority and order in any given sphere."
“Legitimacy of a state is gained through consent, not through coercion.”
When you look at these definitions it becomes more easy to associate Christian practice and tradition with the philosophy of anarchy. The basic premise of anarchy states that we can all live together in harmony through the application of our free will. When this free will is governed by selfishness, greed and other destructive forces anarchy will create a lawless state of chaos. But if the free will embraces peace, love and hope, then anarchy becomes the ideal state of being for Christians and is perhaps a snapshot of heaven. While we wait for heaven to unite with earth, our Christian communities can take this form of anarchy and begin to live it today, as do some communities that operate without direct governence and ministerial hierarchies. You may wonder why someone like me is advocating anarchy when I am part of one of the most autocratic Christian movements in the world, but there is method to my madness. I believe in the power of transformation. I believe that while The Salvation Army may not be a vehicle for anarchy, it is a vehicle for bringing about liberation and freedom from oppression. Through the social justice arm of The Salvation Army, it puts individuals in a position to exercise their free will and either embrace freedom and a spiritual life without rulership or to take on the yolk that often is the church. Regardless, free will is paramount, and part of freedom is the ability to have choice. I am part of The Salvation Army with my eyes wide open, fully aware of the burden that it can be to some people with its beuracratic structure. I feel that while I am able, I will take this burden off of those people who I meet that need help, freedom or transformation. Giving them time to heal and make the changes necessary to move forward. While I am an officer I still am only answerable to God and therefore, not overly concerned with career or political ramifications that may lay in wait when taking certain stands in the Army. I do not respect someone as an authority figure in my life just because of their rank or title. I respect them as an authority when they have shown they deserve that trust. In this way I can ‘give to Ceaser what is Ceasars’ while functioning as a theoretical anarchist. When the time comes that I can no longer bear the yolk, I will put it down and walk away.
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There is no logical reason for you to "bear the yoke" for one day. You can serve the oppressed better without the pointless and unneccesary task of bearing an entirely illegitimate and humanly generated 'yoke'.
ReplyDeleteGod has nothing to do with the situation, anything you are doing within the army you can do better and more authentically outside it.
If you ignore EVERYTHING except delivering care to the oppressed, the institution will soon demonstrate it's true nature - other things actually matter more to the institution and you will be expected to do less care delivery and more of the 'important' things. You know this already. You will regret wasting years if you waste them in a situation you know is fundamentally wrong and wasteful. Purity of heart is to will one thing. Consider it.