Week 7: Monday

In today’s class we spent time watching a documentary on Jesus in historical context, especially with regard to a post-colonial lens. An interesting statement in the documentary was the concept that Jesus was charged and crucified for political insurrection and sedition, and to view his death as merely a spiritual and redemptive death would be to lose the depth of what he stood for and against. A historical understanding also helps to understand the kind of imperial resistance that Jesus was standing for, one in which he gives up his rights as Son of God, takes on violence and oppression, and in doing this doesn’t perpetuate its spread, but in his nonviolent death, he stands in opposition to the Pax Romana, or a cheap form of peace…bringing peace authentically, through sacrifice, leading to resurrection and fulfillment.