Theorising Christian Anarchism

336 Pages·2011·25.55 MB·English

Theorising Christian Anarchism
A Political Commentary on the Gospel
Alexandre J. M. E. Christoyannopoulos
A Thesis Presented to the
Department of Politics and International Relations,
Rutherford College, University of Kent,
in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and Government
June 2008
Abstract
This thesis argues that there is a tradition in political theology and in political theory
that deserves to be called "Christian anarchism." The various thinkers that
contribute to this tradition have never before been considered to be part of a
theoretical movement or tradition, and the originality of this thesis is to weave these
thinkers together and present a generic theory of Christian anarchism.
Taken together, thinkers like Tolstoy, Ellul, Elliott and Andrews put forward
a comprehensive exegesis of Jesus' teaching and example as implying a critique of
the state and a vision of a stateless society. Based on this understanding of the
Gospel, they accuse both the state and the church of contradicting, betraying and
corrupting the essence of Christianity. Some Christian anarchists - Eller in
particular - even see Romans 13 and the "render unto Caesar" passage as not
discrediting but indeed confirming their interpretation, and although more activist
Christian anarchists sometimes disagree on the potential role of civil disobedience,
they do all stress that what matters above all is obedience to God. Moreover, they all
call for the "true" church to lead the Christian anarchist revolution by example,
despite the very demanding sacrifices which this involves. They point to numerous
examples of similar witness ever since the early church, and themselves strive to
emulate such examples in their own lives - the Catholic Worker movement being
perhaps the most notable example in this regard.
Thus, Christian anarchist thinkers' critique of the current order and appeal
to follow God's radical commandments echoes the voices of the prophets of old,
calling society to return to God's covenant. By weaving their scattered voices
together - by theorising Christian anarchism - this thesis provides a political
commentary on the Gospel which contributes as much to political theory as it does to
political theology.
II
Christianity in its true sense puts an end to the State. It was so understood from its
very beginning, and for that Christ was crucified.
- Leo Tolstoy
Where there is no love, put love and you will find love.
- St. John of the Cross
11\
Contents
INTRODUCTION - THEORISING CHRISTIAN "ANARCHISM"? ....................... 1
LOCATING CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM ...................................................................................... 2
In political theology ................................................................................................................. 2
In political theory .................................................................................................................... -I
THEORISING CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM ................................................................................... 9
Aims, limits, and originality .................................................................................................... 9
Technical issues ..................................................................................................................... 12
The structure o/this thesis ..................................................................................................... 1-1
CHRISTIAN ANARCHIST "THEORISTS" ................................................................................. 15
Leo Tolstoy ............................................................................................................................ 15
Jacques Ellul ......................................................................................................................... 18
Vernard Eller ......................................................................................................................... 19
Michael C. Elliott .................................................................................................................. 20
Dave Andrews ........................................................................................................................ 21
Key writers in the Catholic Worker movement ...................................................................... 21
Dorothy Day ............................................................................................................................ 23
Peter Maurin ............................................................................................................................ 24
Ammon Hennacy ...................................................................................................................... 25
Ciaron 0 'Reilly ....................................................................................................................... 26
Writers behind other Christian anarchist publications ......................................................... 26
Stephen Hancock (A Pinch ofS alt) .......................................................................................... 26
Kenneth C. Hone (The Digger and Christian Anarchist) ........................................................ 27
Contributors to The Mormon Worker ...................................................................................... 28
Andy and Nekeisha Alexis-Baker (Jesus Radicals) .................................................................. 28
Bas Moreel (Religious Anarchism newsletters) ....................................................................... 29
William Lloyd Garrison ......................................................................................................... 29
Hugh O. Pentecost ................................................................................................................. 30
Nicolas Berdyaev ................................................................................................................... 30
William T Cavanaugh ........................................................................................................... 31
Jonathan Bartley. ................................................................................................................... 31
Christian anarcho-capitalists ................................................................................................ 32
James Redford ......................................................................................................................... 32
Kevin Craig (Vine and Fig Tree) .............................., . .............................................................. 33
Strike the Root, Lew Rockwell and Libertarian Nation essayists ............................................ 33
George Tarleton .................................................................................................................... 33
Supportive thinkers ................................................................................................................ 34
Peter Chelcickj ........................................................................................................................ 3-1
Adin Ballou .............................................................................................................................. 35
Ched Myers .............................................................................................................................. 36
Walter Wink ............................................................................................................................. 36
John Howard yoder ................................................................................................................. 36
Archie Penner ......................................................................................................................... 37
PART 1- THE cnRlSTIAN ANARCHIST CRITIQUE OF THE STATE .......... · 38
CHAPTER 1 - THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: A MANIFESTO FOR
CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM .......................................................................................... 39
1.1 - RESIST NOT EVIL ......................................................................................................... 41
1.1.1 - Jesus' three illustrations ............................................................................................ -11
1.1. 2 - A purposeful reaction ................................................................................................ -13
1.1.3 - Beyond lex talionis ..................................................................................................... -1-1
1.1. -1- The cycle o/violence. ..... , ........................................................................................... -15
IV
1.1.5 - Overcoming of the cycle ofviolence ......................................................................... 49
1.1.6 - Anarchist implications ............................................................................................... 52
1.2 - JUDGE NOT .................................................................................................................. 56
1.3 - LOVE YOUR ENEMIES .................................................................................................. 57
1.4 - SWEAR NOT AT ALL .................................................................................................... 60
1.5 - THE GOLDEN RULE .................................................................................................... 63
1.6 - REFLECTIONS ON OTHER PASSAGES IN THE SERMON ................................................. 63
1.6.1 - Be not angry. .............................................................................................................. 6-1
1.6.2 - Commit no adultery ................................................................................................... 66
1.6.3 - Seek no praise ............................................................................................................ 66
1.6.4 - The Beatitudes ........................................................................................................... 67
1.6.5 - Worry not about security ........................................................................................... 68
1.6.6 - Be the salt and the light ............................................................................................. 68
1.7 - FULFILLING THE OLD LAW ......................................................................................... 69
1.8 - A MANIFESTO FOR CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM ............................................................... 72
CHAPTER1-THE ANARCHIST CRITIQUE IMPLIED IN JESUS' OTHER
TEACHINGS AND EXAMPLE .................................................................................... 75
2.1 - THE OLD TESTAMENT ................................................................................................ 75
2.1.1 -1 Samuel 8 ................................................................................................................. 76
2.1.2 - Other Old Testament passages .................................................................................. 80
2.2 - EXPECTATIONS OF A POLITICAL MESSIAH .................................................................. 82
2.3 - JESUS' THIRD TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS ........................................................ 84
2.4 - EXORCISMS AND MIRACLE HEALINGS ........................................................................ 86
2.5 - FORGIVE SEVENTY-SEVEN TIMES ............................................................................... 88
2.6 - NOT JUDGING ONE ANOTHER ...................................................................................... 89
2.7 - BEING SERVANTS ........................................................................................................ 91
2.8 - THE TEMPLE CLEANSING ............................................................................................ 93
2.9 - JESUS' ARREST ............................................................................................................ 96
2.10 - JESUS' TRIAL ........................................................................................................... 100
2.11 - JESUS' CRUCIFIXION ............................................................................................... 103
2.11.1 - Paul's "powers " .................................................................................................... 1 03
2.11.2 - The defeat of the powers ........................................................................................ 1 05
2.11.3 - The crucified "messiah " ........................................................................................ 1 06
2.11.4- The crux ofJ esus' political teaching ..................................................................... 10 7
2.11.5- Taking up the cross ................................................................................................ 109
2.12-JESUS' RESURRECTION ............................................................................................ 110
2.13 -REVELATION ........................................................................................................... 112
2.14 - ALLEGEDLY VIOLENT PASSAGES ............................................................................ 114
2.15 - JESUS' ANARCHIST TEACHING AND EXAMPLE ........................................................ 116
CHAPTERl-THE STATE'S WICKEDNESS AND THE CHURCH'S
INFIDELITY ................................................................................................................. 118
3.1 - THE HISTORY OF CHRISTENDOM .............................................................................. 119
3.1.1 - Constantine's temptation of the early church .......................................................... 119
3.1.2 - Christendom and beyond ......................................................................................... 123
3.2 - THE MODERN STATE AND ECONOMy ........................................................................ 124
3.2.1 - The "state" .............................................................................................................. 125
3.2.2 - State violence ........................................................................................................... 12 7
3.2.3 - State deception ......................................................................................................... 129
3. 2. -I - Econom ic exploitation ............................................................................................. 13-1
3. 2. 5 - The state as idolatry ................................................................................................ 138
3.3 - CHURCH DOCTRINE IN SUPPORT OF THE STATE ........................................................ 141
3. 3.1 - Reinterpretations ofJ esus' commandments in the Sermon on the Mount ............... 1-11
3.3.2 - Reinterpretations ofn on-resistance ......................................................................... 143
3. 3. 3 - Support for authority ............................................................................................... 1-19
v
3.4 - DECEPTIVE DOGMAS ................................................................................................. 151
3.4.1 - Sanctimonious self-righteousness ................................................ , ........................... 151
3.4.2- Obscure rituals and beliefs ...................................................................................... 15-1
3.4.3 - Institutional religion ................................................................................................ 159
3.5 - AWAKENING TO TRUE CHRISTIANITy ...................................................................... 160
PART 11- THE CHRISTIAN ANARCHIST RESPONSE························.··.···· ... ·. 163
CHAPTER4-RESPONDING TO THE STATE ..................................................... 164
4.1-PAUL'S LETTER TO ROMAN CHRISTIANS, CHAPTER 13 ............................................ 165
4.1.1 - Paul's weaknesses ................................................................................................... 166
4.1.2 - The Christian anarchist exegesis: subversive subjection ........................................ 167
4.1.3 - Similar passages in the New Testament ................................................................... 174
4.2 - JESUS' ADVICE ON TAXES ......................................................................................... 175
4.2.1 - Caesar's things and God's things ............................................................................ 176
4.2.2 - The temple tax andjish episode ............................................................................... 178
4.3 - PONDERING THE ROLE OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ....................................................... 180
4.3.1 - Against civil disobedience ....................................................................................... 180
4.3.2 - For (non-violent) civil disobedience ........................................................................ 18 1
4.3.3 - Obedience to God .................................................................................................... 183
4.4 - DISREGARDING THE ORGANS OF THE STATE ............................................................ 184
4.4.1 - Holding office and voting ........................................................................................ 184
4.4.2 - Paying taxes ............................................................................................................. 185
4.4.3 - Conscription and war .............................................................................................. 186
4.4.4 - Other state services ................................................................................................. 187
4.5 - ON REVOLUTIONARY METHODS ............................................................................... 188
4.5.1 - No compromise with violence .................................................................................. 188
4.5.2 - Revolution by example ............................................................................................. 191
CHAPTER 5 _COLLECTIVE WITNESS AS THE TRUE CHURCH .................. 195
5.1 - "A NEW SOCIETY WITHIN THE SHELL OF THE OLD" .................................................. 196
5.1.1 - Repenting and joining the church ............................................................................ 196
5.1. 2 - An economy ofc are and sacrifice ............................................................................ 198
5.1.3 - Subversive organisation ........................................................................................... 202
5.2 - A DIFFICULT MISSION ............................................................................................... 205
5.2.1 - Dealing with evil in the community ......................................................................... 205
5.2.2 - Heroic sacrifices by church members ...................................................................... 211
5.3 - TRUST IN GOD .......................................................................................................... 214
5.3.1 - A beacon off aith ...................................................................................................... 21-1
5.3.2 - The mysterious growth ofa mustard seed ............................................................... 216
CHAPTER6-EXAMPLES OF CHRISTIAN ANARCHIST WITNESS ............. 219
6.1 - PRE-MODERN EXAMPLES .......................................................................................... 220
6.1.1 - Early Christians ....................................................................................................... 220
6.1.2 - The Middle Ages and the Reformation .................................................................... 222
6.2 - MODERN EXAMPLES ................................................................................................. 227
6.2.1 - Garrison and his followers ...................................................................................... 227
6.2.2 - Ballou and the Hopedale community ....................................................................... 228
6.2.3 - Tolstoy'S personal example ..................................................................................... 228
6.2.-1- Tolstoyism and Tolstoyan colonies .......................................................................... 230
6.2.5 - Gandhi: a leader by example ................................................................................... 23-1
6.2.6 - The Catholic Worker movement .............................................................................. 236
6.2.7 -A Pinch ofS alt and The Digger and Christian Anarchist ....................................... 237
6.2.8 - Online communities ................................................................................................. 239
6.2.9 -Andrews' community work ...................................................................................... 240
6.3 - INCOMPLETE EXAMPLES ........................................................................................... 241
VI
CONCLUSION - THE PROPHETIC ROLE OF CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM .... 243
"CHRISTIAN ANARCHISTS" AND "CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM" ............................................. 243
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN HISTORY .................................................................................. 245
"Hastening" God's kingdom ............................................................................................... 246
History's mysterious unfolding. ........................................................................................... 2-18
The temptation ofn ormal political action ........................................................................... 251
RELENTLESS PROPHECY AT THE MARGINS ........................................................................ 255
Love, justice, and social ontology. ....................................................................................... 255
Christian anarchists as prophets ......................................................................................... 258
Distinguishing church and state .......................................................................................... 261
CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM'S UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION .......................................................... 263
APPENDIX A --THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT ................................................ 268
A.1 - THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 5-7 ................................ 268
A.2 - THE SERMON ON THE PLAIN ACCORDING TO LUKE 6 .............................................. 272
A.3 - THE HARMONISED SERMON ACCORDING TO TOLSTOy ........................................... 274
APPENDIX B-MISCELLANEOUS BIBLE PASSAGES ...................................... 279
B.1 - ISRAEL REQUESTS A KING ........................................................................................ 279
B.1.1-1 SamueI8 ............................................................................................................... 279
B.2 - MARY'S MAGNIFICAT .............................................................................................. 280
B.2.1 - Luke 1:39-56 ........................................................................................................... 280
B.3 _ THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS ..................................................................................... 280
B.3.1 - According to Matthew 4: 1-11 ................................................................................. 280
B.3.2 -According to Luke 4:1-13 ........................................................................................ 281
B.4 - JESUS' MINISTRY BEGINS ......................................................................................... 281
B.4.1-Luke 4:14-30 ........................................................................................................... 281
B.5 - NOT PEACE BUT DIVISION ........................................................................................ 282
B.5.1 - According to Matthew 10 :34-39 .............................................................................. 282
B.5.2 -According to Luke 12:49-53 .................................................................................... 282
B.6 - A WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY ........................................................................... 283
B.6.1-John 8:1-11 ............................................................................................................. 283
B.7 - JESUS TEACHES ABOUT SERVING OTHERS ................................................................ 283
B. 7.1 - According to Matthew 20:20-28 .............................................................................. 283
B. 7.2 -According to Mark 10:35-45 ................................................................................... 284
B.8 - JESUS CLEARS THE TEMPLE ...................................................................................... 284
B.8.1-According to Matthew 21:12-22 .............................................................................. 284
B.8.2 -According to Mark 11:11-26. .................................................................................. 285
B.8.3 -According to Luke 19:45-48 .................................................................................... 286
B.8.4 - According to John 2:13-17. ..................................................................................... 286
B.9 - TAXES FOR CAESAR ................................................................................................. 286
B. 9.1 - According to Matthew 22: 15-22 .............................................................................. 286
B. 9.2 - According to Mark 12: 13-17. .................................................................................. 286
E.9.3 -According to Luke 20:19-26 .................................................................................... 287
B.l 0 - PAYMENT OF THE TEMPLE TAX .............................................................................. 287
B.10.1-Matthew 17:2-1-27 ................................................................................................. 287
B.l1 - JESUS' ARREST ....................................................................................................... 287
B.11.1 - According to Matthew 26:-17-56. ...........................................................................
28~
B.11.2 - According to Mark 1-1:43-52 ................................................................................. 288
B.11.3 -According to Luke 22:35-53 .................................................................................. 288
B.11. -1-According to John 18: 1-11 .................................................................................... 289
B.12 - JESUS' TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION ............................................................................ 289
B.12.1 - According to Matthew 26:57-27:56............................................ .................. . .... 289
\' II
B.12.2 - According to Mark 14:53-15:41.. .......................................................................... 292
B.12.3 - According to Luke 22:66-23:49 ............................................................................ 294
B.12.4 - According to John 18: 12-19:37 ............................................................................ 296
B.13 - PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS .......................................................................... 298
B.13.1-Romans 12-13 ........................................................................................................ 298
APPENDIX C-NOTABLE DEFINITIONS OF CHRISTIAN ANARCHISM ..... 301
C.1- WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON'S DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS .............................. 301
C.2 - AMMON HENNACY'S DEFINITION ............................................................................ 303
C.3 - DAVE ANDREWS' DEFINITION ................................................................................. 304
8lBLlOG:R.A.PHY. ........................................................................................................
305
VIII
Introd'uction -- Theorising Christian
"Anarchism"?
Christianity and anarchism are rarely thought to belong together. Surely, the
argument goes, Christianity has produced about as hierarchic a structure as can be,
and anarchism not only rejects any hierarchy but is also often fervently secular and
anti-clerical. Ciaron O'Reilly warns, however, that Christian anarchism "is not an
attempt to synthesise two systems of thought" that are hopelessly incompatible, but
rather "a realisation that the premise of anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the
message of the Gospels."} For Christian anarchists, Jesus' teaching implies a critique
of the state, and an honest and consistent application of Christianity would lead to a
stateless society. From this perspective, it is actually the notion of a "Christian state"
2
that, just like "hot ice," is a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron. Christian
anarchism, therefore, is not about forcing together two very different systems of
thought - it is about pursuing the radical political implications of Christianity to the
3
fullest extent.
A generic "theory" of Christian anarchism, however, has yet to be
enunciated. Several writers have adopted a Christian anarchist position, and some of
these writers are aware of some of the others who have come to the same position, but
a detailed and comprehensive synthesis of the main themes of Christian anarchist
4
theory has yet to be produced. That is, an overall theory Christian anarchism has yet
to be "theorised." The central aim of this thesis is to do just that - metaphorically
speaking, to weave together the different threads presented by individual Christian
anarchist theorists, to arrange into a symphony the already harmonious tunes played
by each of these theorists. In other words, this thesis theorises Christian anarchism by
bringing together the main insights of individual Christian anarchist theorists.
First, however, such a theory must be located in the broader literature, both
in political theology and in political theory - the first task of this Introduction. This
makes it possible to then spell out in more detail the main aims of this thesis, its
originality, and its chapter structure. The more substantial part of this opening chapter
then introduces each of the thinkers who contribute to this generic theory of Christian
anarchism.
Ciaron O'Reilly, "The Anarchist Implications of Christian Discipleship," Social Alternatives 2/3
I
(1982), 9 (in which "Christianity" is spelt "christianity").
Leo Tolstoy, "Church and State," in On Life and Essays on Religion, trans. Aylmer Maude (London:
2
Oxford University Press, 1934), 338.
This opening paragraph is almost identical to that in Alexandre J. M. E. Christoyannopoulos,
3
"Christian Anarchism: A Forgotten Alternative for the Peaceful Ordering of Society," paper presented
at The Political Studies Association's Annual Conference, Reading University, 4-6 April 2006,
available from http://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2006/Christoyannopoulos. pdf (accessed 16 April
2008),3.
The words "synthesise," "synthesis" and their derivates are used here not in the Hegelian sense of
4
reaching a new idea by resolving the conflict between an initial proposition and its negation, but in the
original and etymological sense of generating a new unified whole by combining different elements.
Introduction - Christian "Anarchist" Theory?
Locating Christian anarchism
In order to clarify what is original about Christian anarchist theory, it is necessary to
first contextualise such a theory in the wider literature in both politics and theology.
In political theology
The modem, Western assumption that religion and politics are best kept separate has
been coming under increasing strain lately, from a variety of angles. Recent
scholarship, for example, has questioned the motives and the historical origins of the
claim that religion should be kept out of politics in the first place. William T.
Cavanaugh in particular argues that the very "creation of religion" as a set of private
and therefore apolitical beliefs "is correlative to the rise" of the modem state, in other
words that the modem liberal myth of their necessary separation was a far from
innocent product of the state's successful outmanoeuvring of the church for power
and legitimacy in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe.5 Even the typical
Christian rationalisation for this separation - the "distinction of planes" interpretation
of the "render unto Caesar" passage - was absent "until at least the late medieval
6
period," contends Cavanaugh. Hence whether secular or Christian, the rationale for
the separation of religion and politics has been questioned.
Moreover, a growing body of scholars has made the case for the direct and
indirect political implications of Jesus' teaching to be fully recognised. John Howard
Yoder's Politics of Jesus, for example, is an eminent example of such scholarship.7
His book also helpfully provides a very comprehensive set of references to the many
other studies that have similarly emphasised the political nature and context of Jesus'
teaching. Partly thanks to such work, "political theology" is an increasingly popular
field of study in academic circles (despite the uneasiness caused by this term's
association with Carl Schmitt).8 Nowadays, therefore, while it is possible to disagree
5 William T. Cavanaugh, "A Fire Strong Enough to Consume the House: The Wars of Religion and the
Rise of the State," Modern Theology 1114 (1995), 403 (and up to 408 for the argument). See also
William T. Cavanaugh, "Killing for the Telephone Company: Why the Nation-State Is Not the Keeper
of the Common Good," Modern Theology 20/2 (2004). Note that this topic is addressed in more detail
in Chapter 3 and in the Conclusion.
6 Note that Cavanaugh is not saying that the distinction of planes was absent until the late Middle Ages
(some Christian anarchists accuse Augustine, for instance, of precisely such a distinction, as noted in
Chapter 3) - but that the interpretation of the "render unto Caesar" passage as implying such a
distinction was absent until then. William T. Cavanaugh, Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics,
and the Body of Christ (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), 191. The Christian anarchist interpretation of this
passage is explained in Chapter 4.
7 John Howard Yoder, The Politics ofJ esus: Vicit Agnus Noster, Second ed. (Grand Rapids: William
B. Eerdmans, 1994), especially chap. 1. Other scholarship on the political relevance of Christianity
includes, for instance, David McLellan, Unto Caesar: The Political Relevance of Christianity
(London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993); David McLellan, ed., Political Christianity: A
Reader (London: SPCK, 1997); Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's
Story ofJ esus (Maryknoll: Orb is, 1988); Alan Storkey, Jesus and Politics: Confronting the Powers
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005); Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a
World of Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992). For Christian anarchists stressing the importance
of Jesus as a political figure, see for instance Jonathan Bartley, Faith and Politics after Christendom:
The Church as a Movement for Anarchy (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2006), 14-18; Vernard Eller,
Christian Anarchy: Jesus' Primacy over the Powers (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 1987), xi-xiv, 1-23;
Michael C. Elliott, Freedom, Justice and Christian Counter-Culture (London: SCM, 1990), chap. 2;
O'Reilly, "The Anarchist Implications of Christian Discipleship," 9-10.
8 Carl Schmitt (who never regretted his enthusiasm for Nazism) coined the term "political theology" to
describe the secularisation of theological concepts, the theological ancestry of secular concepts.
Following Johann Baptist Metz, however, the term has also been used to describe "theology doing