Totalism of dominant cultures

“The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.” 

 The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann, page 3.

Consider the "cultural moments". For each there was a dominant culture that claimed to be the only option, was well-ordered to protect the power and wealth of the rulers who stifled questioning and criticism.

The first four are considered by Brueggemann in The Prophetic Imagination.

1. Israel in slavery to Egypt. Pharoah ran a royal household and extensive system with absolute rule. The Israelites were enslaved not just for productivity but also for subjugation. Moses gave the Israelites and alternative vision of a community built around the freedom of God [YAHWEH, I am who I am, I will be who I will be], justice, and compassion.

2. Israel under King Solomon. Some considered this period to be the "golden era" of Israel. The twelve tribes were united in a single kingdom. The king was wise and just. Jerusalem was secure and there was a beautiful temple for worship. 

But actually, Solomon was an idolater, an adulterer, who murdered political enemies, made dubious foreign alliances, and had an insatiable desire for wealth, power, and women. People were heavily taxed and conscripted for his vanity projects such as his palace [which was much bigger than the Temple]. Through his family life and public life Solomon sowed the seeds for the division of Israel, civil war, and the eventual destruction of Israel and Judah.

3. Israel in exile in Babylon. The people were subjugated by the violence, power, economic might, vanity, and idolatry of Babylon. To this day Babylon remains a symbol of iniquity. The people seemed to have no option or hope. Many capitulated and enjoyed the comforts of assimilation.

4. Palestine in the time of Israel. Oppression occurred via two powers in a dubious and symbiotic relationship: the Roman imperialists and the Jewish religious leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees). The only economic option was to pay the heavy taxes to Rome and eke out a living. The only political option was to submit to Roman law, enforced by violence. The only religious option was to accept the power of the male elders and their theology and interpretation of the law. The only social option was to conform to the expectations and social norms prescribed by the Pharisees, particularly concerning relationships with Gentiles, "sinners", and the marginalised. The Prophet Jesus disrupted all this presenting a very different theological, moral, social, economic, and political vision. The cross was the embodiment of this vision.

5. Life in communist countries of Eastern Europe ruled by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The only option was to accept the rule of the Party, parrot empty slogans, not ask questions, trust no one, vote in sham elections, pretend to work, and queue in line for hours for bread. Vaclav Havel captures the dehumanising nature of this totalism in his book, Power to the Powerless, published illegally in 1978.

6. The Western world today. On the one hand, it seems a different context to those above. We enjoy freedom of the press, democratic elections, accountability of individuals and institutions through the rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of association, and economic freedom. On the other, there are dominant ideologies that we are soaked in: individualism, consumerism, and instrumentalist. These ideologies define the lives of individuals and how institutions (government, schools, hospitals, universities, churches, and charities) function. They are all hard to question. Many assume these are good. Others may acknowledge there are problems but consider there are no alternatives.

Individualism defines identity, sexuality, autonomy, careerism, and self-actualisation.

Consumerism defines social relationships and priorities. Relationships are transactional. Comfort, materialism, acquisitiveness, immediacy, and insatiability are the order of the day.

Instrumentalism is concerned with efficiency. Truth is defined by what works. It leads to a focus on money, marketing, metrics, and management. People are defined by their performance and productivity.

Here is what Havel said almost half a century ago. 

“It would appear that the traditional parliamentary democracies can offer no fundamental opposition to the automatism of technological civilization and the industrial consumer society, for they, too, are being dragged helplessly along by it. People are manipulated in ways that are infinitely more subtle and refined than the brutal methods used in the post-totalitarian societies.”