Christian anarchism

Christian anarchism is any of several traditions which combine anarchism with Christianity. Christian anarchists believe that freedom is justified spiritually through the teachings of Jesus. This has caused them to be critical of government and Church authority. Some believe all individuals can directly communicate with God, which negates the need for a system of clergy. Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You is a key text in modern Christian anarchism.

History

The Life and Teaching of Jesus

More than any other text, the four Gospels provide the basis for Christian anarchism. Dorothy Day, Ammon Hennacy, Leo Tolstoy and others constantly refer back to the words of Jesus in their social and political texts. For example, the title "The Kingdom of God is Within You" is a direct quote of Jesus from Luke 17:21. Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement particularly favored the Works of Mercy (Matthew 25:31–46), which were a recurring theme in both their writing and art.

Many Christian anarchists that say Jesus opposed the use of government power, even for supposedly good purposes like welfare point to 22:25 Luke 22:25, which says:

The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over the people; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves ‘Benefactors.’ But you are not to be like that.

The early Church

See also: Early Christianity

Some of the early Christian communities seem to have practiced certain features of anarchism. For example, the Jerusalem group, as described in Acts, shared their money and labor equally and fairly among the members. From the earliest period, women and men seem to have shared religious duties equally, though the public offices, such as missionary work and Temple observances, seem to have been held exclusively by men. In respect to the latter, Christianity did not differ from any of the other Jewish sects active in the ancient world.

Some, such as Ammon Hennacyand Keith Akers, have claimed that a "shift" away from Jesus' practices and teachings of nonviolence, simple living and freedom occurred in the theology of Paul of Tarsus. These individuals suggest that Christians should look at returning to pre-"Pauline Christianity". Although there is some evidence that egalitarian Jewish Christians existed shortly after Jesus's death, possibly including the Ebionites, the majority of Christians soon followed a more hierarchical religious structure.

Jesus vertreibt die Händler aus dem Tempel, a depiction of the Cleansing of the Temple, by Giovanni Paolo Pannini

As the Christian community grew and spread, some prominent members began to advocate legalism and strict obedience to church doctrine. This type of religious authority and adherence has been compared to the theological economy of Israelite sacrificial religion in the second Temple period which Jesus directly attacked in throwing the money changers out of the Temple district (Matt 21:12–27).

Other Christians say that Paul's teachings emphasized congregational autonomy, servant-like leadership within the churches, prohibitions on one-man rule even in a local church, and other practices which contrast with this claim. Evidence of this interpretation can be found in Galatians 3:28 .

The conversion of the Roman Empire

See also: Constantine I and Christianity

After the conversion of the emperor Emperor Constantine, Christianity was legalised under the Edict of Milan in 313 bringing an end to the persecution of Christians. Some Christian anarchists argue that this merger of Church and state marks the beginning of the "Constantinian shift", in which Christianity gradually came to be identified with the will of the ruling elite and, in some cases, a religious justification for the exercise of power.

Anarchist Biblical views and principles

Antinomianism

Main article: Antinomianism

Some Christian anarchists are antinomian, often meaning that they do not consider themselves subject to a moral law given by religious or other authorities, but most frequently applying to the Old Testament. Many base their beliefs upon an interpretation of the simple principles and historic messages of Jesus, such as the Sermon on the Mount, while others hold a higher critical view of the Bible, allowing for more lenient interpretation.

Opponents of Christian anarchism, ranging from Jewish to Catholic to certain Protestant sects, have criticized the anarchist viewpoint for what they view as rejection of the "inerrant Word of God" and also of church leadership. They believe that there is a need for a law to maintain order, while anarchists claim that good people do not require a law. See also Biblical law in Christianity.

Mysticism

See also: Christian mysticism and Christian meditation

The spirituality of a Christian anarchist can be as diverse as in any Christian tradition. For Christian anarchists who have their roots in the New Testament their spirituality may be described as mystical but is also very orthodox. In both Christian monasticism and lay spirituality certain elements of anarchism which, while being present in normative Christianity, move more to the forefront. Thomas Merton, for instance, in his introduction to a translation of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers describes these early monastics as "Truly in certain sense 'anarchists,' and it will do no harm to think of them as such."

Directly, anarchists have borrowed from Quakerism the method of facilitation and meetings known as consensus decision making. This technique, which forms a fundamental part of Quaker worship, is used in most anarchist meetings.

Other anarchists would hold to the syncretisms of Christianity and the New Age movement, which describes a broad movement of the late 20th century and contemporary Western culture. It is characterized by an eclectic and individual approach to spiritual exploration, such as mixing Christian principles with meditation and yoga practices from the East. One could describe Spirituality as anarchic if it is seen as being based on individual freedom and choice rather than keeping within rigid boundaries.

Pacifism and nonviolence

Main articles: Christian pacifism and Anarcho-pacifism

Many Christian anarchists, such as Leo Tolstoy and Ammon Hennacy, are pacifists opposing the use of both proactive (offensive) and reactive (defensive) physical force. Hennacy believed that adherence to Christianity meant being a pacifist and, due to governments constantly threatening or using force to resolve conflicts, this meant being an anarchist. These individuals believe freedom will only be guided by the grace of God if they show compassion to others and turn the other cheek when confronted with violence.

Christian anarchists appear far more likely to be pacifists than either secular anarchists or non-anarchist Christians.

A few of the key historic messages many Christian anarchists practice are the principles of nonviolence, nonresistance and turning the other cheek, which are illustrated in many passages of the New Testament and Hebrew Bible (e.g. the sixth commandment, Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17, "You shall not murder").

Simple living

Main article: Simple living

Christian anarchists, such as Ammon Hennacy, often follow a simple lifestyle, for a variety of reasons, which may include environmental awareness or reducing taxable income.

States and state control

The most common challenge for the Biblical literalists is integrating the passage in Romans 13:1–7 where Paul defends obedience to "governing authorities", arguing that "there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Christian anarchists who subscribe to Paul's teachings argue that this chapter is particularly worded to make it clear that organizations like the Roman Empire cannot qualify as governing authorities because they are not "approved" of God and do not recognize Him in word or action. If it could, then, according to Paul, "they [Christians] would have praise from the authorities" for doing good. Instead the early Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire for doing good, and became martyrs. Further, the "governing authorities" that are legitimate in the passage were never given the authority to make laws, merely to enforce the natural laws against "doing harm to a neighbor" in verses 8-10 (see tort and contract law). This interpretation makes all statute laws of states illegitimate, except as they restate Biblical moral precepts. Some Christians subscribe to the belief that God did not establish all authorities on the earth.

A different interpretation of Romans 13 which is used to support Christian anarchism grants that the passage commands submission to all governing authorities, but points out that this does not equate to a vindication of those authorities. Vernard Eller articulates this position by restating the passage this way: "Be clear, any of those human [authorities] are where they are only because God is allowing them to be there. They exist only at his sufferance. And if God is willing to put up with ... the Roman Empire, you ought to be willing to put up with it, too. There is no indication God has called you to clear it out of the way or get it converted for him. You can't fight an Empire without becoming like the Roman Empire; so you had better leave such matters in God's hands where they belong." This was the position held by French philosopher and Christian anarchist Jacques Ellul.

Ernst Kaseman, in his Commentary on Romans, has challenged the usual interpretations of Romans 13 in light of German Lutheran Churches using this passage as justification to support the Nazi holocaust. Others hold that Romans 13 teaches submission to the state while not encouraging or even condoning Christian participation in the workings of the state. According to this view Jesus submitted to the state while still refusing its means.

Another passage of the New Testament also appears to require some amount of harmonization with the ideals espoused by Christian anarchism. Hebrews 13:17 commands Christians to "obey your leaders and submit to their authority", without referencing to any circumstantial qualifications as to when this command applies.

There are other Christians, such as Ammon Hennacy, who do not see the need to integrate Paul's teachings in Romans 13:1–7 into their anarchist way of life. Ammon Hennacy believed "Paul spoiled the message of Christ" [1].

Tax resistance

Main article: Tax resistance

Some Christian anarchists resist taxes in the belief that their government is engaged in immoral, unethical or destructive activities, such as war, and paying taxes inevitably funds these activities.

Adin Ballou wrote that if the act of resisting taxes requires physical force to withhold what a government tries to take, then it is important to submit to taxation. Ammon Hennacy, who, like Ballou also believed in nonresistance, managed to resist taxes without using force.

Opponents cite that Jesus told his followers to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's," (Matthew 22:21) but that passage is actually referring to being detached from possessions, and in this case money.

Vegetarianism

See also: Christian vegetarianism and Anarchism and animal rights

Vegetarianism in the Christian tradition has a long history commencing in the first centuries of Church with the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers who abandoned the "world of men" for intimacy with the God of Jesus Christ. Vegetarianism amongst hermits and Christian monastics in the Eastern Christian and Roman Catholic traditions remains common to this day as a means of simplifying one's life, and as a practice of asceticism. Many Christian anarchists, such as Tolstoy and Hennacy, extend their belief in nonviolence and compassion to all living beings through vegetarianism or veganism.

Later anarchistic Christian groups

The Doukhobors

The origin of the Doukhobors dates back to 16th and 17th century Russia. The Doukhobors ("Spirit Wrestlers") are a radical Christian sect that maintains a belief in pacifism and a communal lifestyle, while rejecting secular government. In 1899, the Doukhobors fled repression in Tsarist Russia and migrated to Canada, mostly in the provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The funds for the trip were paid for by the Quakers and Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. Canada was suggested to Leo Tolstoy as a safe-haven for the Doukhobors by anarchist Peter Kropotkin who, while on a speaking tour across the country, observed the religious tolerance experienced by the Mennonites.

Catholic Worker Movement

The Catholic Worker Movement, founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin on May 1, 1933, is a Christian movement dedicated to nonviolence and simple living. Over 130 Catholic Worker communities exist in the United States where "houses of hospitality" care for the homeless. The Joe Hill House of hospitality (which closed in 1968) in Salt Lake City, Utah featured an enormous twelve feet by fifteen foot mural of Jesus Christ and Joe Hill.

The Catholic Worker Movement has consistently protested against war and violence for over seven decades. Many of the leading figures in the movement have been both anarchists and pacifists. Catholic Worker Ammon Hennacy defined Christian anarchism as:

…being based upon the answer of Jesus to the Pharisees when Jesus said that he without sin should be the first to cast the stone, and upon the Sermon on the Mount which advises the return of good for evil and the turning of the other cheek. Therefore, when we take any part in government by voting for legislative, judicial, and executive officials, we make these men our arm by which we cast a stone and deny the Sermon on the Mount. The dictionary definition of a Christian is one who follows Christ; kind, kindly, Christ-like. Anarchism is voluntary cooperation for good, with the right of secession. A Christian anarchist is therefore one who turns the other cheek, overturns the tables of the moneychangers, and does not need a cop to tell him how to behave. A Christian anarchist does not depend upon bullets or ballots to achieve his ideal; he achieves that ideal daily by the One-Man Revolution with which he faces a decadent, confused, and dying world".

Maurin and Day were both baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church and believed in the institution, thus showing it is possible to be a Christian anarchist and still choose to remain within the Church. After her death, Day was proposed for sainthood by the Claretian Missionaries in 1983. Pope John Paul II granted the Archdiocese of New York permission to open Day's "cause" in March of 2000, calling her a Servant of God.

Student Christian Movement

Streams within the World Student Christian Federation, an international ecumenical network, follow anarchistic principles of Biblical interpretation, including non-creedal faith expressions, radical social justice activism, non-hierarchical decision-making structures and commitment to resisting oppression and imperialism. Some member movements, or Student Christian Movements, openly embrace a Christian anarchist ethic and structure, for instance the Student Christian Movement of Canada which makes decisions by consensus, adheres to a decentralized, autonomous structure and opposes hierarchies.

Anarchist quotations

Petr Chelčický

The man who obeys God needs no other authority (over him).

Ammon Hennacy

An anarchist is anyone who doesn't need a cop to tell him what to do.

Oh, judge, your damn laws: the good people don't need them and the bad people don't follow them, so what good are they?

Being a pacifist between wars is as easy as being a vegetarian between meals.

David Lipscomb

The people of Maine and Texas, of England and India, could never become enemies or be involved in strife and war, save through the intervention of human government to spread enmity and excite to war. […] Whatever tends to wean men from this government of God, and to substitute other governments for it, brings confusion and strife (95).

Leo Tolstoy

All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.

In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.

Jacques Ellul

There are different forms of anarchy and different currents in it. I must, first say very simply what anarchy I have in view. By anarchy I mean first an absolute rejection of violence.

What seems to be one of the disasters of our time is that we all appear to agree that the nation-state is the norm. […] Whether the state be Marxist or capitalist, it makes no difference. The dominant ideology is that of sovereignty. (Anarchy and Christianity, 104–5.)

So I can very well say without hesitation that all those who have political power, even if they use it well have acquired it by demonic mediation and even if they are not conscious of it, they are worshippers of diabolos. (Si tu es le Fils de Dieu, 76)

Nicolas Berdyaev

It is beyond dispute that the state exercises very great power over human life and it always shows a tendency to go beyond the limits laid down for it. (Slavery and Freedom, 145)

There is absolute truth in anarchism and it is to be seen in its attitude to the sovereignty of the state and to every form of state absolutism. […] The religious truth of anarchism consists in this, that power over man is bound up with sin and evil, that a state of perfection is a state where there is no power of man over man, that is to say, anarchy. The Kingdom of God is freedom and the absence of such power … the Kingdom of God is anarchy. (Slavery and Freedom, 147–8)

List of key individuals

The following people may be considered key figures in the development of Christian anarchism. This does not mean that they were all Christian anarchists themselves (see Category:Christian anarchists).

Adin Ballou

Adin Ballou (1803–1890) was founder of the Hopedale Community in what is now Hopedale, Massachusetts, and a prominent 19th century exponent of pacifism, socialism and abolitionism. Through his long career as a Unitarian minister, he tirelessly sought social reform through his radical Christian and socialist views. Tolstoy was heavily influenced by his writings.

Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), a Danish philosopher and theologian who some consider to be the archetypal Christian anarchist for his theory that the claims culture and state make on an individual lie in opposition to the claim God makes on all people. Kierkegaard advocated perfect obedience to God even if that conflicted with customs, secular law and government. He has been compared to Max Stirner, the great individualist anarchist. Kierkegaard is regarded as the father of Christian existentialism.

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American author, pacifist, nature lover, tax resister and individualist anarchist. He was an advocate of civil disobedience and a lifelong abolitionist. Though not commonly regarded as a Christian anarchist, his essay Civil Disobedience does include many of the Christian anarchist ideals.

William B. Greene

William B. Greene (1819–1878), an individualist anarchist based in the United States, was a Unitarian minister, and the originator of a Christian Mutualism, which he considered a new dispensation, beyond God’s covenant with Abraham. His 1850 Mutual Banking begins with a discussion (drawn from the work of Pierre Leroux) of the Christian rite of communion as a model for a society based in equality, and ends with a prophetic invocation of the new Mutualist dispensation. His better-known scheme for mutual banking, and his criticisms of usury should be understood in this specifically religious context. Unlike his contemporaries among the nonresistants, Greene was not a pacifist, and served as a Union Army colonel in the American Civil War.

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) wrote extensively on his anarchist principles, which he arrived at via his Christian faith, in his books The Kingdom of God is Within You, What I Believe (aka My Religion), The Law of Love and the Law of Violence, and Christianity and Patriotism which criticised government and the Church in general. He called for a society based on compassion, nonviolent principles and freedom. Tolstoy was a pacifist and a vegetarian. His vision for an equitable society was an anarchist version of Georgism, which he mentions specifically in his novel Resurrection.

Nikolai Berdyaev

Nikolai Berdyaev (1874–1948), the Orthodox Christian philosopher has been called the philosopher of freedom and is known as a Christian existentialist. Known for writing "the Kingdom of God is anarchy" he believed that freedom ultimately comes from God, in direct opposition to anarchists such as Mikhail Bakunin, who saw God as the enslaver of humanity (symbolically; Bakunin was an atheist). Christian anarchists claim Man enslaves Man, not God.

Léonce Crenier

Léonce Crenier (1888–1963) first rejected religion, becoming an anarcho-communist when he moved to Paris from rural France in 1911. In 1913 he visited his sister in Portugal where he stayed for several years. During this period he suffered a debilitating and agonising illness. Receiving the attentions of a particularly caring nurse, he survived, despite the gloomy predictions of the doctors. Converting to Catholicism, he became a monk. He is particularly known for his concept of precarity, and was influential on Dorothy Day.

Ammon Hennacy

Ammon Hennacy (1893–1970) wrote extensively on his work with the Catholic Workers, the IWW, and at the Joe Hill House of Hospitality. He was a practicing anarchist, draft dodger, vegetarian, and tax resister. He also tried to reduce his tax liability by taking up a lifestyle of simple living and bartering. His autobiography The Book of Ammon describes his work in nonviolent, anarchist, social action, and provides insight into the lives of Christian anarchists in the United States of the 20th century. His other books are One Man Revolution in America and The Autobiography of a Catholic Anarchist.

Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day (1897–1980) was a journalist turned social activist (she was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World) and devout member of the Roman Catholic Church. She became known for her social justice campaigns in defense of the poor, forsaken, hungry and homeless. Alongside Peter Maurin, she founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933, espousing nonviolence, and hospitality for the impoverished and downtrodden. Dorothy Day was declared Servant of God when a cause for sainthood was opened for her by Pope John Paul II.

Jacques Ellul

Jacques Ellul (1912–1994) was a French thinker, sociologist, theologian and Christian anarchist. He wrote several books against the "technological society", and some about Christianity and politics, like Anarchy and Christianity (1991) asserting that anarchism and Christianity are socially following the same goal.

Thomas J. Hagerty

Thomas J. Hagerty was a Catholic priest from New Mexico, USA, and one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Hagerty is credited with writing the IWW Preamble, assisting in the composition of the Industrial Union Manifesto and drawing up the first chart of industrial organization. He was ordained in 1892 but his formal association with the church ended when he was suspended by his archbishop for urging miners in Colorado to revolt during his tour of mining camps in 1903. Hagerty is not commonly regarded as a Christian anarchist in the Tolstoyan tradition but rather an anarcho-syndicalist. Christian anarchists like Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy have been members of the Industrial Workers of the World and found common cause with the axiom "an injury to one is an injury to all."

Philip Berrigan

Philip Berrigan was an internationally renowned peace activist and Roman Catholic priest. He and his brother Daniel Berrigan were on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for illegal nonviolent actions against war.

Ivan Illich

Ivan Illich was a libertarian-socialist social thinker, with roots in the Catholic Church, who wrote critiques of technology, energy use and compulsory education. In 1961 Illich founded the Centro Intercultural de Documentación (CIDOC) at Cuernavaca in Mexico, in order to "counterfoil" the Vatican's participation in the "modern development" of the so-called Third World. Illich's books Energy and Equity and Tools for Conviviality are considered classics for social ecologists interested in appropriate technology, while his book Deschooling Society is still revered by activists seeking alternatives to compulsory schooling. Ivan's view on Jesus as an anarchist is highlighted here.

Vernard Eller

Vernard Eller is a member of the Church of the Brethren and author of Christian Anarchy: Jesus' Primacy Over the Powers (1987) [2].

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky in many respects can be considered to have believed in Christian anarchism/autonomy. His greatest novel The Brothers Karamazov postulates the idea that all men should be monks and that everyone is responsible for everyone else. Also, that belief in God can only be found through the practice of active love.

Anarchist organisations

• Ecclesia
• Life and Labor Commune
• Plowshares Movement
• Tolstoyan Moscow Society

See also

• Anarchism and Islam
• Anarchism and Orthodox Judaism
• Catholic Worker Movement
• Christian communism
• Christian libertarianism
• Christian socialism
• Christian vegetarianism
• Christian pacifism
• Diane Drufenbrock
• Early Christianity
• Gnosticism
• Liberation theology
• Nonconformism
• Precarity
• Postmodern Christianity
• Self-ownership
• Thomas Merton
• Weak theology
• "Fool for Christ": Christian ascetic and non-conformist tradition within Eastern Christianity, see also "Hermit", and "Stylite".
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull
• Simone Weil: French philosopher, social activist, and Christian mystic of Jewish heritage; Weil died under forced exile in Britain during World War II at 34 years of age. Her major works, including "Oppression and Liberty", "Gravity and Grace", and "Waiting for God" were all published post-humously and to great acclaim. Since her death in 1944 her thought has steadily grown in influence. Pope Paul VI, a great proponent of Catholic Social Teaching, counted Simon Weil as one of his major early influences.
• New Monasticism
• Order of Watchers: A French Protestant community of Hermits.
• God: Sole Satisfier
• Jan Tyranowski, solitary, mystic, and student in the teachings of John of the Cross. He was a central figure in the spiritual formation of young Karol Wojtyla, who became pope John Paul II.
• The Mormon Worker

References

• Dave Andrews (1999). Christi-Anarchy: Discovering a radical spirituality of compassion.
• Ammon Hennacy (1994). The Book of Ammon.
• E. Glenn Hinson (1996). The Early Church
• David Lipscomb (1866-1867). On Civil Government: Its Origin, Mission and Destiny and The Christian's Relation to It.
• Jaroslav Pelikan (2003). Credo: Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition.
• Leo Tolstoy (1894). The Kingdom of God is Within You [3].

External links

• Psalters
• The Apostles Creed
• Jesus Is an Anarchist (PDF), James Redford, June 1, 2006; or in HTML: [4]
• The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Leo Tolstoy– Free e-text English translation
• Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind: A Manifesto for Nonviolence, Part 1
• Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind: A Manifesto for Nonviolence, Part 2
• Totalitarian Daydreams and Christian Humanism
• Kenneth Rexroth, Communalism: From Its Origins to the Twentieth Century
• Student Christian Movement
• "Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth"– University of Virginia Library
• prayer-i58– Christian-based anti-capitalist network
• "Paul, anarchiste éclairé", by Dr Yves MARIS
• When the State is Ultimate
• Vine and Fig Tree– Christian Anarchist Homepage
• Jesus Manifesto: Christian Anarchism and New Monasticism
• Jesus Radicals
• CatholicAnarchy.org
• The Mormon Worker Newspaper Homepage