There are various quotes about history repeating itself. Here are two such quotes:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. (George Santayana).
Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. (Winston Churchill).
And Mark Twain added a nice little nuance:
History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
Not sure where this post will go but here are a few background elements that provoked me to write this morning.
- I have been agitated over the various ‘again’ messages these past few years. ‘Again’ that looks back is not based in the eschatological vision of the New Testament. ‘I press on’ was one of my readings this very morning. Hence my seeking to understand how to align (chronological) time with heaven’s (‘kairotic’) time.
- Late 1990s / early 2000s a major emphasis was the rolling up of the Roman way which culminated in Steve Lowton initiating a walk from Whitby (UK, where the Celtic church effectively submitted to the pattern and teaching of Rome in 664 AD/CE) to St Peter’s Square, Rome to bring that focus to a conclusion.
- The strong belief that the Gospel is not from this world but is for this world. It is not political in the sense of ‘capitalism vs socialism’, or any other such supposed polarities but is deeply and essentially political with the language used being both explicitly and implicitly political.
- Jesus was offered to become the Caesar of the then Roman world – he was offered the oikoumene, the term that was used of the Imperial territory.
- Paul’s great desire, and understanding of ‘the gospel to the nations and then the end shall come’ was that of the Gospel from Jerusalem to Spain.
- And of course my understanding of the book that shapes us is that we do not have within it ‘history written in advance’ (popularised as ‘the bible predicts…’) but as a provocative call to shape the future through our actions, relationships, prayer in the power of the Spirit.
There are other aspects I might wish to add, but the above will give a something of a window into any bias I carry!
I do not find it a great surprise that in our historical setting we have conflict within the Western world currently, as the conflict area is over the ‘offer of the oikoumene‘ – the offer to shape the territory that can express the Roman order with a ‘God-order’. Hence I respect those who are writing about how Judeo-Christian values are what has shaped European / Western culture but the conclusive appeal is normally that we need to revert to Christendom. ‘My kingdom is not of this world….’ The sword does not belong in that kingdom but as Paul points out (with great irony) in Romans 13 to the world of Imperial authority. Today the Italian PM (Giorgia Meloni) heads to Washington to represent the EU… I am not suggesting this is sinister but I do read it as a sign. Will the West be held together as ‘Christianised’ or will there be a division that will allow space for the radical followers of Jesus who are to be like the wind to manifest? (I have said for decades that the strength of Islamic ‘sharia’ law is that of Christendom. The very thing that is thought needs to be brought in place to hold the ground is the very thing that tills the ground for all levels of terrorism.)
At this critical point of history, in the shift from the West to the East, we have much work to do if we are going to find an increase of pace in the right direction. Jesus died in Jerusalem so that the Gospel could go West and bring down the Roman order – surely it is significant that Paul’s Gospel is best outlined in some detail in the letter to the ‘Romans’? – but there is nothing in the NT about the work to the East. Unfinished work.
I am no great student of history but the shift from Republic to Empire in Rome seems to carry a lens through which we can see what is happening currently. Rome was effectively an Empire before it became an Empire, but the shift came in a defined way through Julius Caesar and solidified with Augustus (in power 27BC/BCE – 14AD/CE). Jesus appeared at the ‘fullness of times’ into that era, hence what was happening in the world at that time is highly significant.
Augustus… The early signs in his reign was of the Senate allowing him to bend the rules without pushing back; of he introducing unelected people (including those of his own family) into decision-making roles, and the move was made effective through the support of the ultra-rich of Rome. (A simplified summary but one that can be expanded on should one choose to read a history on Rome.)
Through his actions Rome became what it always was – an empire in disguise. Honour was given to the god of peace (Pax) with the phrase the Pax Romana being held up as something awesome, but visit Rome and you would have seen that the temple to Pax was built on Mars field (Mars the god of war).
History repeats / rhymes.
We are in this critical period. My prayer is ‘Europe do not concede’, or better… come on those of you born from above and act like the wind. No one really knowing where you came from, or where you are going but influencing the future through helping to hold a shape for all kinds of wholesome aspects to come through.
My reading this morning was in Philippians… a city that Rome had named as being Imperial. Those who lived there were to work to make sure that Rome’s values prevailed. Into that Paul wrote that their citizenship was in heaven (nothing to do with going to heaven when we die) and therefore in that context to ‘stand firm’ in a way that was consistent with those who were waiting for a Saviour to come from heaven to earth.
Many aspects are converging. Global crises. History rhymes. Fullness of times. West and East. Christendom or Jesus.
We are going through a time of shaking, a major transition. The first and most fundamental shaking is the climate. As it has moved into what feels like a major transformation, everything is challenged. Everything is shaken.
Accordingly people seek safety and stability. A populist that appears to be a ‘strongman’ often becomes desirable, especially for the 30% of most populations who feel more comfortable with a more authoritarian style administration. And if the elites are willing to support such in exchange for a corrupt regime that enriches them then nations tend to go that way. It is ugly. It is harmful. And often the narrative used to sell it is regressive.
If we hope to resist then we must offer another vision. We must imagine a new world. We are getting a new world anyway. It is forming before our eyes. We still have some power and agency to shape this new world. Others are stepping up to shape it. Those forces, corrupt elites, authoritarians and extreme right wing fascists are defining the future. They see scarcity and fear a lack of power to control resources.
What is the kingdom vision? I know we need to do disaster planning with communities. We must increase resilience at the local level to deal with everything from food scarcity to wildfires and floods. But we need to go further than that. Beyond survival to thriving. That will require imagination. I think a lot about regeneration. Can we bring about renewal of the earth, restoration, regrowth? Biodiversity, restoration and remediation of damaged land, regrowth of that which has been destroyed will go a long way to stabilize the climate and communities. It can promote equity and caring, connection to one another and the land.
It seems to me that is our task. Resistance requires regeneration, restoration, and regrowth. That is where we must invest our time and energy, creating communities that are connected and resilient, able to withstand the shocks ahead.
The history of the human species is quite long, aprox. 300,000 years. The history of empires and authoritarian regimes is very short, within the last 3000 years. We can certainly find examples of human communities that live and lived in closer harmony with nature. Or who shared power with each other, who governed by consensus. I suspect deep inside many of us is a genetic memory of living with each other and the earth before empires rose. If we are going to look to ‘again’, we can look to that. It can inform our looking forward.
A renewed Europe needs to redefine our relationship with the land. A renewed Canada must do the same. Reconciliation with indigenous peoples (a constant work in progress) is demonstrating ways forward. Reconciliation with the land will break our hearts but that is essential to give us the strength to commit to regeneration, to the rebirth of our places and communities. As we submit to that call we will find a vision to guide us.