A theology of radical change.

 Major themes in the bible are:

* a call for disadvantaged, marginalised and poor individuals to be treated equitably;

* a call for individuals  to help others at point of need;

* a call for systemic change to achieve social justice.

Taken together these themes are a call for radical change in how we as individuals and society at large treat the deprived, ignored and marginalised in our world.  It is a call for the development of an attitude in us  that seeks to give effect to the concepts of the Golden Rule and Love your Neighbour.

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer the service of Evening Prayer includes the Magnificat to be spoken by the priest and congregation.  I do wonder what impact the following has on congregations: do they think deeply about the message.

                       He hath showed strength with his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

                       He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the humble and meek.

                       He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away.

We are challenged to confront the establishment by campaigning for change, by promoting a positive option for the poor, the marginalised, the excluded.  Sadly, regrettably this aspect of the Christian faith is either ignored or relegated to minor consideration by some individuals and some denominations, particularly those of a conservative fundamentalist evangelical disposition.  Instead, emphasis is place on repentance, atonement, salvation and a ticket to heaven.  The earthly ministry attributed to Jesus, to develop the concept of heaven on earth and bring about a fairer, equitable, loving and caring society, is lost in the rush for the pass to heaven.

Those who define themselves as progressive christians or who have deconstructed  seek a caring society without the albatross of the demands of biblical literalism, church dogma and doctrine.  Whilst we  may be enthused by the concepts attributed to Jesus it is well to remember that concepts of fairness and love are to be found in other faiths and secular thought. 

Below is an interesting article by Jesse S Bean who has a big social media following. I do not subscribe to his conclusions.

Tom Holland isn’t a preacher. He isn’t a pastor. He isn’t even a Christian apologist. He’s a secular historian—and that’s what makes his admission so unsettling.

Holland argues that Christianity didn’t merely influence Western ethics; it rewired them. Ideas we now treat as obvious—human dignity, the value of the weak, moral equality, compassion as virtue—were not moral defaults of the ancient world. They were revolutionary claims born at the foot of the cross.

In Rome, power defined goodness. Strength justified rule. Mercy was weakness. Victims were disposable. Into that world stepped a crucified God—defeated, shamed, executed—and Christianity had the audacity to call Him Lord. The moral universe inverted. The weak mattered. The poor were seen. Suffering had meaning. Love became a command.

What makes Holland’s conclusion so disruptive is that it exposes a contradiction: modern secular ethics fiercely reject Christianity while quietly living off its moral capital. Concepts like “human rights,” “equality,” and “care for the marginalized” did not emerge from atheism or pagan philosophy. They are Christian claims, stripped of their source and rebranded as self-evident truths.

That admission angers atheists because it undermines the idea that morality can float free from Christ. And it unsettles progressive Christians because it suggests you can’t keep Christian ethics while discarding Christian theology. The fruit grows from a tree—and if you cut the tree down, the fruit doesn’t survive forever.

You don’t have to worship Jesus to live in a world shaped by Him.

But you can’t pretend that world wasn’t built on His cross.

Christianity didn’t just change beliefs.

It changed what humans mean by good.