Resistance to Empire and Militarization - Reclaiming the Sacred - Jude Lal Fernando
21. Empire, the Caribbean Church and the Gospel of Resistance
Resistance to Empire and Militarization - Reclaiming the Sacred - Jude Lal Fernando
Garnett Roper [+]
Jamaica Theological Seminary
Description
This paper explores the role of the church in the Caribbean with regards to the violation of people’s rights by exploring the exorcism of Legion narrative in the Gospel of Mark. The working hypothesis is that the way Mark treats the subject of demonization is the rough equivalent of post-traumatic stress disorders or the disorientation brought about among the victims of militarization. The role of Jesus as exorcist in the story is therefore paradigmatic of the role of the church in circumstances where people are made victims of militarization, domestication and distribution of military arsenal, and deportation. Mark’s narrative emphasizes the problems that arise after exorcism, the push back by the entrails of empire. It explores the options for intervention in such cases and the counter-narrative constructed in the wake of the push back, opposition, and persecution in the experience of the Caribbean Church.