As promised, this is a follow-up to my previous post on the metaphors for sin and God found in Scripture that we commonly use to help us understand how to view both. As I mentioned in that entry, I feel that there are at least four commonly used metaphors in Christian literature but the conversation in evangelical Christianity here in North America tends to be dominated by one of those metaphors; that of sin as either rebellion or crime against the kingdom of God and God as the "Just Judge" who passes sentence on those who are sinners.
The Scriptural support for this view is found in several places in the Bible, most prominently in the Psalms in the Hebrew Testament and in Romans, and to a lesser degree in Hebrews and Galatians, in the New Testament. In my discussion here I'd like to focus on the metaphor as expressed by the apostle Paul to the church in Rome. Many commentators have noted that the language Paul uses in discussing sin and the process God has in dealing with it is very technical. It is loaded with specifically judicial words from Greek that any citizen of the city of Rome, the seat of the greatest empire of the time, would have been familiar. Much like Washington, D.C. now, Rome was filled with law and policy makers from all over the Empire. While the Romans weren't always known as the most artistically creative people ever, they are notable for their abilities to administrate, legislate and engineer. This led to a society that placed a lot of emphasis in good law making and good law enforcement which led to a very strong judicial system. So, when Paul writes to the church in Rome he chooses to use a metaphor with which they will be familiar to describe how God deals with sin. In this metaphor, he describes sin as an infraction against the kingdom of God (either as a crime or, more seriously, a rebellion). He explains very clearly that the sentence for this infraction is death (which was always the Roman penalty for rebellion). In the dealing with this sin, God is described as the adjucant or judge; the One who will decide whether rebellion has taken place and what the sentence will be by an examination of the evidence. If the rebel is found to be innocent, not only is a verdict of innocent registered but the very accusation that a crime has ever occurred is removed from the defendant's "record". The way in an innocent verdict is arrived at is through the intervention on behalf of the rebel by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who vouches that He knows the defendant that that the accused is "with Him", as it were.
This is expanded upon by the church in the West through the inclusion of other Scriptures to produce a fully judicial model wherein the defendant (you and me) will stand before the Judge on the "last days". At the prosecutor's table will be the Accuser or Adversary whom we usually refer to as Satan. As our side will be the Paraclete, which is the name given to the Holy Spirit by Christ at the Last Supper as recorded by the apostle John. In the Roman legal system the defendant had to conduct their own defense but could have someone to stand beside them to offer counsel, advice, support and comfort. In this court the Accuser will offer up to the Judge all of the ways in which the defendant has committed crimes against the realm. He will exhort the defendant to admit to the guilt of his or her actions and to accept the punishment of death for the rebellion they have lived out. The Advocate will stand beside the accused and counsel them to confess their rebellion and beg for the court's mercy, unwarranted though it may be. The Judge will then call but one Witness, the Lamb, to speak. The One will speak and either say that He knows the defendant and that He has taken upon HImself all of the guilt for their crimes or He will say that He knew them not. On the basis of this testimony the Judge will render His verdict.
I think Paul uses this metaphor not only because the church in Rome and it's descendants will understand it in the context of those things that were important in their culture but because it offered great hope. The time at which Paul wrote was a time of great political and judicial instability. For those who still followed the old Romans gods, they had to admit that Jupiter and the gang were a pretty capricious bunch. As one writer said, the gods were more like superpowered humans than some sort of moral force upon which to found an ethical system. They lied, cheated, had sex, fought wars and much, much more for reasons that had more to do with their own egos than any higher purpose. In his metaphor, Paul was offering a God that ruled according to just principles and the higher ethic of love. In addition, the Roman judicial system was often compromised by corruption and the machinations of the three immoral and increasingly erratic emperors; Caligula, Claudius and Nero. In describing God as a Just Judge, Paul was, in essence, telling the people of Rome that while true justice might not be attainable in this world, the One, True God would see that justice was done in the hereafter.
This is a powerful metaphor for an oppressed, minority church struggling to survive persecution and terror brought about by a system hostile to its existence. I believe that this metaphor still has a great deal of resonance in America in reaching out to the disadvantaged or to those who are locked out from social or economic justice. Many African-American spirituals sing of a God who is just and good and who will judge fairly. In addition, in third world countries where justice can be bought and sold and where right is determined by the people who have accumulated the most power, a metaphor of God who is above such manipulation is one of astounding hope.
The difficulty with the metaphor, especially when it is the only one offered, is that it can present a significantly distorted picture of God. In this picture, God sits far away from creation and humanity on some great and royal throne. His purpose becomes only that of pronouncing judgment while the other aspects of the Christian message are placed on the persons of either the Son or the Spirit. With that assignment, Christianity can become a faith of judgment rather than love and of division and separation instead of inclusion and unification. For those who have not suffered oppression from any place but a church that struggles with judgment this is a very difficult picture to accept. There is a real contradiction between the messages of "God so loved the world that He sent His Son to save and redeem it" and "God is a righteous judge that will send you to eternal damnation if you don't have the right relationship with Him." In a postmodern society which questions whether anyone, including God, has the authority to pronounce such judgment it is clear that a different metaphor is needed in order to reach out to those seeking to escape the emptiness of a culture that sets each person up as their own authority with no accountability to anyone or anything and that offers nothing beyond the titillations of the here and now. What is also clear is that this metaphor must offer things which the "Just Judge" metaphor does not; things such as unification, wholeness and rescue. In my next post I'll begin to speak to just such metaphors.
Thanks for Reading.
