On Tuesday, April 6, 2004, at 08:27 AM, Jon Johanning wrote:
> Yes, but weren't prophets like Isaiah the dissenters of their time?
> Certainly when you look at Christianity (which I know a lot more about
> than I do about Judaism and Islam), the folks who preach nonviolence
> and compassion are almost always the dissenters and heretics, and more
> often than not end up either being ignored, mocked, or persecuted.
well, isaiah wasn't so much persecuted as ignored, but your point is still a good one. yes, isaiah was a kind of dissenter or activist, but he is by no means small. indeed, the job of the classical prophets was to shake things up and bring folks back to the right way. although, technically, in the case of isaiah, he's told no one will listen because it's time for the people to be punished, but it's also clear that god is punishing them specifically *for being bad people*. and the punishment turns out to be exile in babylon and the destruction of the temple -- that is, punishment *in history*, not in some next life.
so, while isaiah is, so to speak, a dissenter (minority report?), he represents a powerful tradition, and a very significant one, the babylonian exile being the crucial event in the history of israel (the exodus from egypt being framed in retrospect from the perspective of exile in babylon).
the concern for social justice is represented as a call from unrighteousness to righteousness (or, if you prefer, the call to righteousness is represented as a call for social justice), even should we choose not to listen to it. in a way, isn't that the capsule history of religions such as these? there's a significant social component in the gospels of matthew (sermon on the mount, especially, but also john the baptist's preaching) and luke (leveling of mountains, etc.), as well as in mark, but when people in power construe religious texts, they tend to ignore the ways in which these religions were initially preached to and framed in terms of the dispossessed. the apocalyptic aspects of christianity are precisely a symptom of the hopelessness and powerlessness of the evangelist and the audience.
imho, etc. ;-)
j