Teaching to Resist Empire

If we understand empire not just in terms of territorial occupation, but also in terms of institutionalizing and intellectualizing domination that are operative in the realms of religion, culture and social affairs because of unequal distribution of power and uneven allocation of resources, Christian educators must be committed to deconstruct and reconstruct faith practices. In order to foster a Christian presence in the world that reflect Jesus' compassionate ministry of the gospel, teachers of the Christian faith needs to take teaching for justice and empowerment seriously.

Justice is not a footnote to Christianity or Judaism. It should not be seen as an application or consequence of faith. Justice is part and parcel of what faith in God is about. Biblical scholarship informs us that Jesus' ministry was not about how to go to heaven when one dies. Instead, Jesus inaugurated a new community where economic and social justice is the core of the realm of God. This realm of God is about defending the poor and defying forces of domination. Christian churches and places of learning are places where social consciousness and transformative leadership are formed. Such places of learning can play a crucial role in the development of critical pedagogies that help decolonize Christian praxis from empire ideologies. By "decolonize" I mean the critical reflection and constructive process of theologizing and meaning making that purge imperial mindset and practices. I think Christian teachers need to realize empire is not just political and economic empires exist "out there," but Christianity was and still is an empire. Christians are obligated to examine our complicity in reinforcing empire agenda in the name of God, and sometimes, education.

Teachers need to teach students to examine critically much of what the church calls "tradition" has deep European roots and cultural adaptions. Although these traditions are valuable in many ways, because of its deep European assumptions and the unequal distribution of power, not everyone, every time, and every culture in the world benefits equally from this "tradition." For learners who come from cultures of privilege, teachers need to empower them to name and critique their social location. For learners come from the historic colonized countries and cultures, naming their social locations will also empower them to name the forces that shape them. Churches and places of learning need to be intentional about creating space for learners to re-examine the colonial assumptions and beliefs and commit to free them from being imprisoned by the colonial past. As much as we value the traditions of the past and employ them in our reflections, none of us need to be guardian of the European establishments as if those findings are eternal but must be free to imagine for our contexts and our future.

Resisting empire implies a political undertaking, risk taking, and the exercising of power in life honouring ways. Making space for forgotten marginal voices through creating forums for these voices to be heard show our desire to listen and to change for the better.