Anarchist Jesus is Risen!

There are already as many books about Jesus and the Bible as Mount Everest, but there are very few that view Jesus as an anarchist.
The author, an atheist, calls for a new faith in the 'anarchist Jesus' who taught powerlessness and abandoned the idolatry of power and money in this era.
Instead of the gospel of Jesus, the Old Testament authoritarianism has dominated the church and the world, but now is the time to end that authoritarianism.
I believe that we must revive the dead Christian anarchism and restore the anarchism of Jesus, resurrect the anarchist Jesus, and bring a new anarchist Jesus to this land in the 21st century so that this country, this world, and this Earth can regain their original freedom, autonomy, and nature.
So the author calls Jesus a friend and an anarchist, and eagerly awaits the resurrection of the anarchist Jesus on this earth to create a new anarchic society that respects freedom, autonomy, and nature.
Whether Christian or not, I invite everyone to take an interest in the teachings of the anarchist Jesus and to work together to create the new world of powerlessness he spoke of, a world of powerlessness where no one rules and no one is ruled.

The sight of weary Palestinians painstakingly digging Jewish sites under Jewish supervision was a sight I saw everywhere I traveled in Israel.
Among them was Jesus, a poor carpenter who was tired from his work.
All the workers in the world were visible.
In Israel I first saw the worker Jesus.
The most rewarding thing I felt in Israel was discovering that worker, Jesus.
He approached me as a Palestinian, not a Jew.
--- p.77

The Palestinians are the ones Jesus must lead to revolution and freedom, but unlike during Jesus' lifetime, the Jews, who were exploiters, are now also the target of human revolution, and thus they need the revolutionary Jesus.
No, all of humanity, including the so-called advanced nations like the United States and the United Kingdom, which gave birth to the Palestinian problem and have turned a blind eye to it to this day, is the target of revolution.
Therefore, the anarchist Jesus spoken of in this book is someone who will come in the future, not someone who has already died.
--- p.100

Like the Tower of Babel, a single language is a symbol of centralization.
God's differentiation and dispersion of languages ​​to prevent centralization shows that decentralization is God's will.
The world God desires is not a concentration of power, but a decentralization of power.
Rather than a uniform world requiring only one language, the decentralization of power makes it possible for people to live in diverse ways with different languages ​​and cultures within the created world.

--- p.133

Anarchism, like the Anabaptists, a radical religious reform movement of the 16th century in the authoritarian Reformation, is a revolutionary movement based on Marxism-Leninism that is premised on the rejection of state power rather than the seizure of it.
Just as Anabaptism was despised by both Protestants and Catholics, anarchism has been equally ignored by both the political left and right in the modern era.
As Jacques Ellul argues, anarchism needs to be rethought, especially by Christians, and even more particularly by modern Anabaptists.
--- p.135

For Christian anarchists, God clearly warns the Israelites about the potential abuse of power that could result from their decision to choose human government.
We can even see a divine warning suggesting that political power is always tyrannical, excessive, and unjust.
The Bible is absolutely clear that even a shift from Mosaic anarchy to what we would call a "limited government" by today's standards would have dire consequences.

--- p.143

In other words, the Old Testament is a debate between an empire religion (a religion in which a faithful, powerful, secure, wealthy, and vast nation is centralized in Jerusalem, where Jehovah and his king reside) and a creation religion (a religion in which the faithful live in the Jubilee, encountering Jehovah among creation and people, living as kin without earthly rulers).

For Christian anarchists, the obvious conclusion is that rejection of the state is a necessary part of declaring allegiance to God.
--- p.144

After rejecting Peter's way of thinking, Jesus immediately opens a window into a new world, a nonviolent order, where the logic of earthly victory defies its validity.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25) Therefore, the third temptation of Jesus in the wilderness can be said to be the first story that clearly shows the anarchism of the anarchist Jesus, a story of rejection of the state that gets its power and authority from Satan.
--- p.177

Jesus called his disciples to go “on the road” to overturn the existing unequal order.
Being a disciple of Jesus means becoming a worker with that kind of sense of mission, and it can be said to refer to the path of a disciple who walks the same path that Jesus walked.
--- p.184

The forgiveness Jesus preached can be seen as having the effect of weakening the state's coercive tools.
Thus, the Gospel's repeated references to forgiveness can be seen as further evidence of a radical and strict interpretation of turning the other cheek.… In the Lord's Prayer, Christians ask to be forgiven as they forgive, yet foolishly continue to inflict punishment and retaliation through the state.
If they truly seek God's forgiveness, they should seek to forgive even the worst crimes and free themselves from the state's means of retaliation.
Jesus' exhortation to forgive, driven by its ultimate logical implications, further confirms that what follows from Christianity is anarchism.
--- p.208

For Christian anarchists, Jesus' explicit and implicit teachings on judgment clearly condemn the state's judicial system.
Christians should not judge one another (or at least ask third parties to do so), so when government agencies judge and condemn, they are acting in direct contradiction to Jesus' instructions.
--- p.212

Instead of 'inciting rebellion and physical struggle' against such tyrannical forces, Jesus encourages his disciples to 'ignore them and establish a new society where there is no need for power, authority, or hierarchy.'
By telling us not to imitate the current social hierarchy, Jesus further clarifies the nature of his leadership.
That is, “I did not come to be served, but to serve.”
And elsewhere in the Gospel he expects the same from his disciples.
“The greatest among you will be your servant.” Therefore, Jesus continually appeals for an anarchist community of mutual service, not a community of sovereignty and authority.
--- p.214

Leadership belongs only to those who learn and follow the path of nonviolence.
They are people who are 'ready' to serve and suffer on Jesus' side, not to rule.
Jesus calls Christians to be leaders not for the privilege of inflicting physical pain for righteousness' sake, but because he competes for the privilege of endurance and is a wonderful example of non-resistance.
--- p.215

The starting point for most Christian anarchists is not so much a critique of the state as an understanding of Jesus' radical teachings on love and forgiveness, which, when contrasted with the state, lead to anarchistic conclusions.
Therefore, the most important passage to examine in the Sermon on the Mount is the one where Jesus asks his disciples not to resist evil.

--- p.222

Non-resistance to evil goes further than the stricter law of reciprocity.
In fact, this is one of the meanings of Jesus' 'fulfillment' of the law, not 'destroying' it, by re-examining it according to its original purpose.
Jesus tells his disciples to go beyond the Old Testament and develop its original intent.
For Christian anarchists, Jesus does this to prevent the general tendency of the law of retaliation to spiral out of control and degenerate into a perpetual cycle of violence and revenge.
--- p.228

Because Jesus sought to eliminate all forms of oppression and create a new society.
Those who follow Jesus are Christians, and their faith is Christianity.
Among them, those who see Jesus as an anarchist and follow him can be called Christian anarchists.

--- p.313