Year: 2017

Concerning Global Imperialism, Global Capitalism, and Global Terrorism

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized

Concerning Global Imperialism, Global Capitalism, and Global Terrorism

The bottom line about global imperialism, global capitalism, and global terrorism is that 

they benefit a selected group of influential individuals, powerful corporations and systems,  and powerful nation-states in the modern world at the expense of the consistent exploitation and abuse of the world’s poor, international workers, and the individuals, ethnic groups, and races belonging in the bottom of the social ladder.

The paradoxical aspect of global imperialism, global capitalism, and global terrorism is that they’re adequately financed by an international network of power and global forces. One of the driven motives and passions of those powerful peoples and nations, and corporations, maintaining these three forces, lie in the aggressive pursuit of more wealth, more international and crosscultural power, and more transnational leadership to rule the world and subdue people—resulting in more global poverty and hunger, more human alienation and death, more human despair and insanity, and more human degradation and oppression.

While the intricacies of global capitalism, global imperialism, and global terrorism can’t be clearly determined, we should, however, ask decisive questions to help us get a better understanding of the human nation and the politics of the nations in the twenty-first century culture. 

1. What if the violence of global imperialism and capitalism and the violence of terrorism share a few things in common?

2. Could it be possible for imperial violence and aggressive neocolonization and global capitalism to beget global terror?

3. Is global terrorism a strategic response to or a consequence of global imperial violence and global capitalism–at least in the 21st century world?

4. In the absence of global imperialism/terrorism, is it possible to have global peace in the world and for the nations to forge constructive international alliances grounded in the politics of civility, respect, friendship, and human dignity?

Retaliation is not an effective way to reconciliation and peace the same way the oppression and exploitation of people and weak nations lead to alienation, enmity, and fear.
The hope of humanity in the twenty-first century does not lie in the cleverness of secular humanism nor in the pursuit of more human techniques and scientific advancements to manipulate human relations and regulate the human boundary–while these things in themselves are of great importance to human life, they do not constitute true happiness and peace. 

God is the ultimate ground of both present and future human hope and peace.  Because God has created human beings, both male and female, for love, spiritual intimacy,  and meaningful relationship, in order for us to foster genuine peace and interractional love, as well as to sustain effective human dynamics in the modern world, human beings must be reconnected spiritually with their Creator and must live a life that focuses on a God-entranced worldview. Jesus Christ is God’s paradigm for human peace, shalom, and love.
A Prayer to God for Peace and Comfort!

Our gracious Father and living God: We lift up our hands to you and humble our hearts and minds before your holy throne. We pray for your comfort and peace on behalf of those who have been affected by the recent terrorist attacks in England, Cameroon, and other places in the world.

We pray for the families who at the moment mourn  their loved ones who have been taken away from them by the forces of evil. 

In the same way, we beseech you on behalf of victims of terrrorism and human violence in other parts of the world. 

May your radical love and transformative presence invade their hearts and souls. Give them sustaining peace and hope. Grant them doors of opportunity to dream again in the midst of despair, fear, and disappointment! 


We pray Oh loving Father that you would grant us the courage and strength to work in solidarity to resist the forces of evil and systems of oppression in this world and those that come to exploit, oppress, and destroy the weak and the poor.  We pray for repentance, forgiveness, world unity, peace, and reconciliation. 

In your Name, we pray.


Amen!

“Evangelical Paradoxes: American Evangelicalism and the Destruction of American Christianity”: A Book Proposal

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized ,
“Evangelical Paradoxes: American Evangelicalism and the Destruction of American Christianity”: A Book Proposal
It seems that my book proposal still can’t find a home at a major christian publisher. I have tentatively entitled it “Evangelical Paradoxes: American Evangelicalism and the Destruction of American Christianity.”
I must admit this is a tough book proposal and hard critique of the state of American Christianity and American Evangelicalism. As a Christian and follower of Jesus Christ, I lament over the state of American Evangelicalism, American Christian Leadership, and the dynamics between American Christianity and American Culture and Politics. In its present condition, American Evangelicalism is a deeply wounded system and worldview. It is heartbroken!
* If I can’t get this book published by a major Christian press like #Eerdmans, #FortressPress, #Zondervan, #IVPAcademic, etc…I will probably not publish it.
Book Description
In “Evangelical Paradoxes: American Evangelicalism and the Destruction of American Christianity,” Dr. Celucien L. Joseph advances the courageous claim that American Evangelicals have destroyed Christianity in America, and that Evangelicals are Christianity’s worst enemy. In other words, the enemy is within. As a result, American Evangelicals have not only produced many atheists in the American culture, they have been and are trapped in a cultural war and politico-ideological worldview that question the integrity of the Gospel of transformative grace and correspondingly the enduring meaning of Biblical Christianity in contemporary American culture and life. Moreover, the world of American Evangelical is characterized by serious conflict, tension, and resistance to biblical discipleship. Contemporary American Evangelicalism is not an optimistic faith nor is it a culture that has the power to confront responsibly, ethically, and christianly the challenges and pressing needs of America’s 21st century culture.
In this critical analysis of contemporary American Evangelicalism, Professor Joseph highlights ten major issues or critical factors, what he phrases, “evangelical paradoxes” and “evangelical contradictions” to not only demonstrate how Evangelicals engage culture, politics, ethical issues; they also represent a major crisis in contemporary American Evangelical thought, leadership, and Evangelical practice. Accordingly, (1) American Evangelicals zealously defend the life of the unborn and in the womb, but are reluctant to protect and defend life after birth; (2) They claim that abortion and homosexuality are moral issues that all Christians should reject, but undermine major ethical or moral issues such as war, poverty, hunger, racism, the exploitation of workers by big corporations, etc., (3) They fervently preach Jesus’ pacifist teachings, but support U.S. military invasion in the world or in Third World countries; (4) They despise the cruel empires of the Biblical era that led to the suffering, humiliation, and forced exile of the Israelites—the chosen people of God—and eventually the death and persecution of countless Jewish and Gentile Christians in the Roman Empire, but do not renounce American imperialism and European neocolonialism in the world that contribute to greater suffering, poverty, and countless death in the world; (5) They passionately preach the unconditional love of God to all people, but support racist politicians and bigot leaders; (6) They believe that it is a Christian duty to care for the poor, feed the homeless, and welcome the immigrant, but vote politically against the poor, the homeless, and the immigrant. Or they become allies with lawmakers and politicians who created (intend to create) policies against the welfare of underprivileged families and the poor; (7) They claim that they are not citizens of this world and do not need the world’s power to succeed, but sell their soul and compromise their faith to pursue political power and to have cultural influence; (8) They believe that it is a Christian duty to evangelize and win the lost for Christ such as the Muslims, but sees their neighboring Muslims in the United States as a threat to Christianity and an enemy to American democracy; (9) They give sacrificially to international missions and even send missionaries on both short and long term missions in foreign and distant lands such as black countries in Africa, Jamaica, or Haiti, but maintain segregated churches and defer the project of racial reconciliation and harmony in contemporary American society and churches; and (10) finally, American Evangelicals eagerly announce the fatherhood of God to all people, but approve of America’s foreign policy that dehumanizes peoples who have been created equally in the image and likeness of God.
While the current state of contemporary American Evangelicalism is depressing and seems hopeless, as described above, the book makes a clarion call to Evangelical Christians, churches, and leaders to uproot itself from cultural attractions and the pursuit of political power and influence in the American culture. The imperative call is to biblical Christianity and faithfulness, and to relentless commitment to hospitality, justice, and care for the poor, the afflicted, and the needing neighbor in our midst. The Message of Jesus is the antithesis of Political-Bourgeois American Christianity. We need to stop assuming that American Cultural Evangelicalism is synonymous with Biblical Christianity. In other words, an American Cultural Evangelical is not (or should not be) equated with being a follower of Christ. It is time to divorce Biblical Christianity and American Cultural Evangelicalism.
Evangelical Paradoxes: American Evangelicalism and the Destruction of American Christianity is divided in three equal parts, and each part consists of three chapters. Each represented chapter is an attempt to deal carefully with the ten evangelical paradoxes and contradictions noted above. The final part of the book provides biblical solution to the predicament of contemporary American Evangelicalism. This twenty-first century is a critical time in American history for American evangelicalism to rethink in a revolutionary sense about its ethical framework/system and reconsider itself both as a religious movement and liberation movement that also values life after birth, and prizes equally the demand for justice, peace, dignity, respect, love, unity, reconciliation, and democracy for all. American Evangelical contemporary ethical system is not “thick” and rigorous enough to confront the pressing human needs of contemporary American society and the radical transformation of the human condition and nature in these urgent times. The peril of the Evangelical mind is inevitably its unreadiness to face critically and responsibly the changing American culture. In the same line of thought, the danger of Evangelical theology is its inadequacy to be relevant to the culture and values of the “millennial” generation.

The word of democracy & the work of democracy are not inseparable. The democratic life becomes meaningful and attainable whenever the rhetoric of democracy contributes to social change and pushes humanity forward together to explore and actualize future hope and emancipative possibilities.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Introduction:

 Part I.  American Evangelicalism and the International Conflict

Chapter 1

The Message of Jesus vs. Political-Bourgeois American Christianity

Chapter 2

The American Flag is Not Christian, and Christianity is not America, but It is

okay to celebrate the Flag!

Chapter 3

The Predicament of White Evangelical Scholarship and Evangelical Theological

Education:  Radical Reconciliation for a New Christian Community

Part II.  Human Dignity, Race, Culture, and the Politics of Respectability and Civility

 Chapter 4

Trumping Evangelical Christianity and the Rejection of King Jesus

Chapter 5

Evangelical Ethic: Racializing the Poor, the immigrant, and the Meaning of Life

after Birth

Chapter 6

Is Black or Brown Life Sacred? The Desecration of Black or Brown Life and the

Silence of American Evangelicals

Part III.  American Evangelicalism and the Promise of the Gospel

 

Chapter 7

How deep is Evangelical Love?

Chapter 8

How Now Shall We Live Together and Gently? A Biblical and Theological Perspective

Chapter 9

Jesus: An Old Story for a Dying American Evangelical Christianity, Desperate Humanity, and Disoriented World!

On Evangelical White Privilege, Racial Unity, and Biblical Love

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized

On Evangelical White Privilege, Racial Unity, and Biblical Love

​If Evangelicals want to pursue pure racial justice and unity, they must first acknowledge that white privilege & white supremacy ingrained in White Evangelicalism is the antithesis of Biblical Christianity and detrimental to the new Christian ethic and life that all Christians of all races and ethnicity are called to live by.

White Evangelical privilege and supremacy also contribute to a history of suffering, humiliation, and dehumanization of non-white Christians, and by consequence, all non-Christian folk.

Renouncing  white privilege and white supremacy is the first step toward justice and unity. It is a mark of genuine love, self-denial,  and reconciliation. True Christian Love seeks the interest of those who are weak, vulnerable, and the disheartened.

The Problem with Modern Theology

Dr. Celucien Joseph Identity Politics, Modern Theology, Uncategorized ,
The Problem with Modern Theology
 
One of the dangers of identity politics theology is that it focuses less on the spiritual communion of the individual with God, but prioritizes the physical needs of the individual than the individual’s essential need for Christ to satisfy the human soul and the deep longing for healing. Theological discourses framed within this ideological worldview are more anthropocentric than theocentric or christocentric. To express this differently,  the emphasis is on the social dimension of theology and human care.
 
On the other hand, non-identity politics theological discourses seem to ignore the existential needs and daily struggles of the individual and the group; the priority is put only on the spiritual communion between the individual and God. The spiritual life fulfills the social life, and the social life is divorced from the spiritual sphere. Theological discourses framed within this ideological perspective are deliberately theocentric or christocentric. In this perspective, God or Christ is concerned primarily with the cultivation of a robust Christian mind or the nurturing of the human intellect. In other words, the stress is on the intellectual dimension of theology and the life of the Christian mind.

Medical Trip to Haiti: July 19-29, 2017

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized , ,

Medical Trip to Haiti: July 19-29, 2017

In this video presentation, Dr. Celucien L. Joseph (Docteur Lou​”), President of Hope for Today Outreach​, discusses his upcoming medical trip to Haiti in July 19-29, 2017. He also discusses the distribution of school supplies to Haitian families in this same trip.

Happy Listening!

​Medical Trip to Haiti: July 19-29, 2017

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized

Medical Trip to Haiti: July 19-29, 2017

I and a team of nurses from Port St Lucie will be in Haiti in July 19-29. We will do 3 different health care workshops: two in Cap-Haitian/Okap, and the other one in a little town called Port-Margot.

We will provide free medical consultation to families and children and be distributing first medical aids/over-the-counter medications. We will also provide hot meals and clothes and shoes to families in Okap.

We will also provide school supplies to underprivileged families for the academic school year, 2017-2018.

If you want to make a contribution toward this trip to support the Haitian families, here are the list of things we need:

1. Backpacks

2. Notebooks & Binders/Composition notebooks

3. Pencils, pens, color crayons, erasers, glue sticks, rulers, pencil sharpeners, etc.

4. Socks–any size for elementary to high school students.

*Our goal this year is to provide school supplies to 300 Haitian families. The deadline to provide any of the items listed above is May 31, 2017.

You can contact me directly at celucien_joseph@yahoo.com (Dr. Lou)

We would love to hear from you. We can be reached in a number of ways:

• By Mail

Hope for Today Outreach (HTO)

P.O. Box 7353

Port Saint Lucie, FL 34985

• By Phone

772-985-0696

• By Email

customers@hopefortodayoutreach.org

Thank you,

Dr. Lou

Recently-Acquired Books

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized , ,
Recently-Acquired Books
 
Here’s a list of a selected books that I recently acquired on amazon in the month of April for my home library:
Books
 
1. The Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Volumes 1 & 2
Gregory A. Boyd
 
2. Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63BCE-66 CE
E. P. Sanders
 
3. Paul: The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought
E. P. Sanders
 
4. Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness
Hays, Richard B.
 
5. Anthologie de poésie haïtienne contemporaine : 73 poètes
 
6. C. S. Lewis — A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet
McGrath, Alister
 
7. God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith
Cardinal Robert Sarah
 
8. Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
Harris, Sam
 
9. The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology
Yong, Amos
 
10. Greek Religion
Burkert, Walter
 
11. Creation of the Sacred: Tracks of Biology in Early Religions
Burkert, Walter
 
12. Salvation by Allegiance Alone: Rethinking Faith, Works, and the Gospel of Jesus the King
Bates, Matthew W.
 
13. Ancient Mystery Cults (Carl Newell Jackson Lectures)
Burkert, Walter
 
14. Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth
Burkert, Walter
 
15. A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story
Bass, Diana Butler
 
16. Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters: A Historical and Biographical Guide
Taylor, Marion Ann
 
17. Old Testament Today: A Journey from Original Meaning to Contemporary Significance
Walton, John H.
 
18. Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence
Sacks, Jonathan
 
19. Jesus Among Secular Gods: The Countercultural Claims of Christ
Zacharias, Ravi
 
20. The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest: Covenant, Retribution, and the Fate of the Canaanites
Walton, John H.
 
21. No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity
Qureshi, Nabeel
 
22. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity
Qureshi, Nabeel
 
23. To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility
Sacks, Jonathan
 
24. John: The NIV Application Commentary
Gary M. Burge
 
25. Gospel of Glory: Major Themes in Johannine Theology
Bauckham, Richard
 
26. Reading John for Dear Life
Clark-Soles, Jaime
 
* This is not a complete list. I also purchased more than two dozen books from Goodwill, which are not listed here. I love to brag about my home library because I absolutely LOVE BOOKS. I believe I’m close to have 4500 books in my home library and office at work.
 
Now, you can see why I do not have any money in the Bank.
 
🙂

This is how You Should Love and Live!

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized ,

This is how You Should Love and Live!

One of the most challenging matters in our life is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Love in this sense is a difficult action to undertake, a puzzling thing to practice as some of our neighbors are not nice individuals nor do they intentionally seek our well-being or best interest in life. What makes this matter more paradoxical and urgent is the identity of (some of) our neighbor.

The neighbor could be a poor, an immigrant, an undocumented individual, a prostitute, a murderer, a rapist, a child molester, a stranger, a racist, or someone who has mistreated you or abused someone you love.

In the biblical sense, “to love your neighbor as yourself” is a deliberate commitment, even an imperative. Can you command love? Can you command emotion since love is also an emotion?

To love one’s neighbor means to stand up for the life of one’s neighbor, and to treat him or her (even them) with kindness and justice. To love your neighbor as yourself also means not to mistreat or exploit that individual, but to empower, uplift, and build up that person, and to seek his or her best interest and welfare.

Here’s a more detailed instruction from a biblical perspective on this important matter:

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God….You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord……You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

 

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”–Lev. 19:9-18

Admittedly, it is difficult to love intentionally someone who has caused you misfortunes in life. Can you love a rapist or someone who has raped you, your child, a family member, or your friend? Can you love a child molester? Can you love a spouse abuser? Can you love someone who has assaulted you or caused you profound pain and suffering?

It seems to me love as an imperative is not something one can cultivate on his or her own. It requires repetition and a set of practices. To love in the biblical sense requires divine intervention in one’s life and one’s intentional collaboration with God who can and will empower us to love unconditionally and unreservedly. To love in that manner  means to live meaningfully in relation to God and in relation to other people.

 

Love thy neighbor as thyself sometimes may not be an instantaneous act, but a journey in life that involves growth, maturity, patience, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  However, in all things, we must strive to love–intentionally, completely, and unconditionally.

CNN & Dialogue on Vodou at Legacy 1804

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized

“Legacy of 1804 | CNN Vodou Doc | Was it a Hack Job? 🇭🇹Join a manbo, an ordained minister,  a philosopher and me for a spirited discussion about CNN’s recent documentary on Haitian vodou. 

9-9:30 👉🏽Pawol ak Mizik Opening segment: Paul Beaubrun on being a Beaubrun,  on his tour with Lauryn Hill, his latest album and his future plans

9:30 – 11👉🏽Guests for vodou discussion: GwetoDe Manbo Fabiola Abellard | Dr. Celucien Joseph,  Pastor and Academic | Dr. Paul Mocombe, author of The Vodou Ethic and the Spirit of Communism

Listen live at kiskeacity.com  or  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pancaribbean/2017/05/06/legacy-of-1804-cnn-vodou-documentary-was-it-a-hack-job-lof1804. You can also listen live only on the phone at 714-242-6119.

#haiti #vodou #religion #spirituality #lof1804 #kiskeacity #cnn #rezaaslan #paulbeaubrun @paulbeaubrun”