Living Faithfully in the Midst of Empire - The United Church of Canada

various “Praetoria” 23 (John 18:28) of the powerful contemporary Pontius Pilates—be it the World Trade
Organization, the International Monetary Fund, or otherwise—and being reminded who has “power to
release” us and “power to condemn” us (John 19:10). 24
The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, adopting a similar point of view, also affirmed the
obligation of Christians to resist empire:
Empire has been sustained by the unbridled capitalist system backed by military force. Therefore the
most effective way to resist it is to render the production base of Empire impotent. When we resist the
consumptive lifestyle of Empire, the production base will gradually lose ground to a non-capitalist
lifestyle (or economic system) based on the spirit of justice, sharing and cooperation which can be termed
a “divine economy.” 25
Partners in Canada, Aboriginal peoples in particular, have also provided compelling testimony on
the subject of empire. For example George Erasmus, former Grand Chief of the Assembly of First
Nations, has described the naming by Europeans of landmarks, communities, and even people in
terms foreign to their understanding. Aboriginal peoples became the acted upon, not the actors,
named from the outside as “Indian,” “status or non-status Indian,” or “Métis.” 26
It is through the eyes and experience of partners, global and Canadian, that we can best gain insight
into the empire phenomenon and its destructive impact on God’s people and the earth.
Through the survey, partners helped the task group break down “empire” into seven forms or forces
that are united in their will to control and dominate: political, economic, military, cultural, religious,
environmental, and patriarchal. The stories from or about partners contained in this report exemplify
these inter-connected forces. The following section is a commentary on the stories that demonstrates
how these forces converge to create a dynamic that negates other forms of power and alternatives to
empire. It is intended to assist readers to derive the most from the stories that follow.
Commentary on the Stories from Global and Canadian Partners
The stories “Empire and the Privatization of Water Is ‘Killing My People’” and “Empire, Militarism,
and Human Rights in the Philippines” demonstrate how governments in the global South, already
weak from crushing external debts, are forced to acquiesce to Western political influence and
development schemes shaped by neo-liberal economic policies. The results are often damaging social
cost-cutting and the cynical exploitation of their natural resources, water in the case of Lesotho and
minerals including gold in the Philippines. Creditors like the World Bank use the debts as leverage
to force these countries to cede public ownership, operation, distribution, and management of their
most valuable resources and social services and place them into private, often foreign, hands. Once
privatized, water, health care, education, and other vital services are made unaffordable for millions
of people.
The result of such stringent economic policies and political pressure to adopt them has created a
host of life-threatening socio-economic and health-related problems. Governments in countries
like Lesotho and the Philippines have become almost powerless to change a global trade system that
23 “Praetoria” was the name given to the elite bodyguard of a Roman emperor, approximately the size of a legion, or to a
member of this bodyguard. The term is sometimes applied to the inner circle of advisers to a major political figure.
24 A Partner Perspective on Empire: Synthesis Report of United Church of Canada Partners Survey, Justice, Global and
Ecumenical Relations Unit, 2005.
25 Ibid.
26 George Erasmus in “We the Dene” in Dene Nation: The Colony Within, Toronto University Press 1977.
Living Faithfully in the Midst of Empire THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA