3/03/2004

On Revolution, Haiti, the US, and Karl Barth's commentary on Rom. 12:21-13:7

I was in Haiti in '93. Saw the conditions before Aristide. Believed Aristide to be the good guy. Priest, liberation theologian. Sojourners mag's man in '94. Now Sojourners is all but silent. Were they pulling a Pat Robertson Charles Taylor thing and now their quiet? Or will they have answers in the next issue? To me Haiti serves as an illustration of why a Christian political revolution is never a real possibility. Enter KB on Rom. 12:21-13:7. Rom. 13:4 says in essence that government rulers are God’s agents working for your good, so keep your nose clean and you’ve got nothing to fear. Its historically been used to walk all over the poor and racial minorities in the name of God. Christian revolutionaries and anarchists go to great lengths to read around these passages, discredit them, or just say Paul is not speaking to the current situation. So what’s it gonna be? Ignore Paul as it regards the current political situation with Bush in office and refuse to believe he is God’s agent as the passage suggests, or come to terms with Karl Barth who really builds on Paul’s got to say? And what of Aristide for that matter? Here’s a guy we all thought could change Haiti? Clinton helped put him in power and now Bush helps him out of it! Haiti has seen more revolution to my knowledge than any other country in the Western Hemisphere. Has any other country had more US intervention? And what is our Haitian policy year round? What is our longterm strategy for helping Haiti out? What’s our history been with Haiti economically? Do we really give a damn?