Power Relationships In The New Testament

When I signed up to take this course, I came into the class expecting to get an Easy A because I assumed it would be like many other classes I had taken before that had merely thrown facts into my head and forced me to memorize them for a test or two. I was especially confident considering that I had come from a strong Christian background, and my knowledge of the Bible, I believed, was pervasive. The first day of class, however, thankfully, changed my perspective, of not only the course, but the way that I learn, and how to challenge my beliefs. Faith is not something that is easily tested. When many people are taught to believe something their whole lives, it is almost impossible for people to free themselves of an unchanging mindset. However,

Understanding the power relationships that are present in the New Testament is important because it also helps to understand power relationships that exist in society today as both the connections in the New Testament and even in today’s world often parallel. Understanding the various power relationships not only helps to strengthen faith, but it also helps our society grow by allowing people to realize just how essential power relationships can be by seeing patterns of power relationships in the New Testament, one of the most influential texts to our society

When Jesus lived, he and his disciples were often stripped of their power by the Pharisees, who defended the Old Testament laws and traditions. While Jesus and his disciples peacefully spread their message of the gospel across Jerusalem and performed miracles, the religious leaders still persecuted them as if they were criminals, to the point that Jesus died on a cross for his cause. Even after Jesus had supposedly been raised from the dead and people had witnessed many of the miracles that were performed by him and his disciples, the religious leaders of Jerusalem still persecuted the Paul and the apostles when they continue to spread the gospel. They took away their power to teach by putting many of them in prisons. This type of power relationship that is evident in a significant portion of the New Testament is similar to social activists in our society today. Many people who try to spread messages of change throughout society remain persecuted for trying to create change. Black Lives Matter activists, LGBTQ supporters, or gun control activists, are often susceptible to persecution, and they often lose power to evoke change because people with more power silence them by limiting recourses. This type of power relationship that limits change needs to be removed from our society if we wish to grow in our