Welcome to Raising Basileia!

I hope I wasn’t excessively obtuse in choosing the name of my blog.  My wife reminds me of that tendency from time to time.  Not a positive attribute for a preacher, I suppose.  I only hope that occasionally I will have something edifying to say.

I’ve been threatening to launch this project for some time now, and I wanted to begin an intelligent and sensitive dialogue about what I perceive as the heart of the Christian faith.  The Greek word basileia is often translated into English as kingdom, as in “kingdom of God.”  It’s the word the gospel writers used when Jesus taught what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount (or on the plain).  Jesus often spoke of the “kingdom” as being in us and around us.  And yet, its essence is often just beyond our grasp in the present.

Raising Basileia, with a discernible nod to the Coen brothers (e.g Raising Arizona), which I hope is neither pedestrian nor crass, is an attempt to talk about the notion of heavenly kingdom in a manner that avoids offensive piety and reminds all of us of the Divine Presence in every day life.  There is way too much rancor in religious circles these days, much of it taking a decidedly nasty political tone.  I want to avoid that, for it is not helpful to any of us.

Since none of us can hasten the coming of the Kingdom, although we social liberals often fall into the trap of thinking we can, I submit that what we all ought to be doing is striving to recognize the reality of the Kingdom in our midst.  I have come to believe that the Christian faith–or rather the faith of Jesus– is not about individual salvation, but about living with this kingdom awareness.

So, here’s to raising a little basileia!