evil-Confederate_Constitution.jpg

Evil in Institutions

 

Photograph: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America, finalized on March 11, 1861 and now housed in the University of Georgia Library.  Photo credit:  Public domain. 

 

Introduction

The resources below are examples of evil beyond simply laws — evil done by humans via patterns of relationship, information-dissemination, and formal and informal organizations we build. They serve as examples of the need to believe in good and evil as moral categories, a larger vision of human relationship and institutional power which can critique our own. They illustrate our need for a loving God to heal human nature in a loving way so we might transform our institutions.

 

Conversation Stations

These are the images used in artistic physical displays. They are survey questions and conversation starters that are topically and thematically organized. They demonstrate how Jesus is relevant to each topic or theme. You can also just view the images on your device. If you would like, see all our Conversation Stations; below are the ones that relate to the topic of Evil in Institutions.

Whose Justice? (and instructions and Christian Restorative Justice Study Guide)

Whose Justice? for Harvard Law School

What Can We Do About Evil? (and instructions and conversation tree) and smaller version and brochure version

Que Podemos Hacer Sobre La Maldad? for the Asociacion Dominicana de Estudiantes Evangelico, 2014

Does the Good Outweigh the Bad? (and instructions)

Race What's the Problem? (and instructions) and brochure version

God, Peace, and Violence (and instructions) 

Is God a Liberator or an Oppressor? (and instructions) 

 
 

This video, the tenth in our video series on Tolkien found on our Arts and Theology page and our YouTube channel, looks at lessons about power and leadership from those three contexts. The Scouring of the Shire teaches us why we should resist "plantation capitalism." Rohan has lessons about migration, conflict, treaties, and peace. Gondor sifts its legacy from Numenor: an influential blessing at first, an imperial terror at the end. As usual, we look at Christian theology and ethics: the biblical theme of Empire, the question of women in power and leadership, and land, property, and hospitality.

00:10:36 The Shire

00:25:57 Rohan

00:38:14 Gondor

00:53:25 The Biblical Theme of Empire

01:07:08 Women Ruling and Leading

01:26:45 Land and Property

 

Video of a message given at Neighborhood Church of Dorchester, Aug 2, 2020. The New Testament understands structural, systemic injustice perfectly well, as shown by Luke 3:12 - 13. Tax collectors were given special instructions about how to resist being tools of imperial exploitation. This message explores the U.S. as founded as a legal gray zone for Christians to exploit people, and escape responsibility for Christian ethics. See also text in pdf format. This is part of our Church and Empire material.

 

Video of a message given at Neighborhood Church of Dorchester, Aug 9, 2020. This message explores the fact that the New Testament understands structural, systemic injustice perfectly well, as shown by Luke 3:14. The Roman soldiers performed a police terror function and extorted conquered peoples. We explore the police today in general as a way racial terror has been inflicted on American citizens. See also text in pdf format. This is part of our Church and Empire material.

 

Video of a message given at Neighborhood Church of Dorchester, Aug 16, 2020. Pentecost in Acts 2:1 - 11 is the expression of Jesus’ new humanity for all humanity. It is outward, self-giving, missional, and embracing of other languages and cultures. It is not monocultural, monolingual, self-protective, and fearful. Explains why Christian nationalism in the U.S. is such a problem, and wrong. See also text in pdf format. This is part of our Church and Empire material.

 

A message given to New Hope Fellowship Baltimore, MD, May 2015. This explores multiple biblical passages criticizing interest rate lending. Not only was such behavior exploitative of people in poverty, even if they “consented” to their own exploitation, it reflected a relational dynamic that cannot be grounded in the Trinitarian relations between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. See also the slides.

 
 

More Resources on Evil in Human Institutions

 
 
 

Evil: Topics

Christian teaching explains the Evil Within Us as the source of the Evil Between Us, Evil in Human Laws, and Evil in Institutions. So if you are on a spiritual search, consider browsing through our materials in that sequence.