Ch. 13 "Politics and Religion"-In Jesus' time there was no such thing as Church vs. State. If one's religious values did not translate into their political or social outlook, all the opinions of that person where considered hypocritical and worthless.
- Major political Jewish groups had their roots in religious convictions, such as the Zealots and the Pharisees.
- Jesus wanted to create a social revolution, in order to do that he would have to change
all parts of society. Among these are politics and religions.
-When Jesus declares he does not want to overthrow the Roman government (as many thought the Messiah was supposed to d0), he does not mean he doesn't want to liverate Israel. Jesus saw that the ultimate liberation Israel needed was from itself and the corruptness, selfishness, and hypocricy in its society. That was more constraining than any government. That is why he did not attempt to take down the Romans.
-Jesus wanted to get rid of any type of oppresion. Jesus wanted to instill compassion into the lives of the Jewish poeple because, "without compassion all [] practices and beliefs are useless and empty [whether they are political or religious].
-When the Bible speaks of useing violence it change it does not mean physical harm but it means using different manners to achieve that change, like not using the laws, like changing the beliefs of each individual to change a society.
