Author and activist Shane Claiborne has recently proposed an “exorcism” of Wall Street (as opposed to an occupation). \u00a0Claiborne takes the story of Jesus’ exorcism of the demon-possessed man, “Legion,” as biblical precedent for the idea. \u00a0What do you think- “exorcism” or “occupation”? \u00a0I have republished Claiborne’s post, which was first posted on the blog, “Red Letter Christians,” in full below:<\/p>\n
There was an occasion in the 60’s where a bunch of hippies surrounded the Pentagon and tried to exorcise the demons. It didn\u2019t work. Despite their valiant effort, not much happened that day.<\/em><\/p>\n Nevertheless, I am one of those Christians who believes in angels and demons. But I think the traditional Christian understanding of these things needs a major makeover. Seems to me the Tempter comes in many forms, and is just as likely to dote a three-piece-suit and wingtips as he is to have horns and a pitchfork. And perhaps the angels look more like the bums in the alley than the feathered white babies on Hallmark cards.<\/em><\/p>\n One of my favorite demon stories from the Bible is about a guy named \u201cLegion\u201d. As the story goes, Jesus is walking through an area near the sea of Galilee and meets a dude who is in chains, violently possessed by demons. When asked his name the fellow says, \u201cMy name is Legion, for we are many\u201d. Jesus drives the demons from the man into a bunch of nearby pigs that charge into the water and die. And the man is free.<\/em><\/p>\n But here\u2019s why I like the story. As with most good stories, there\u2019s a whole lot more going on than meets the eye. For starters, the word \u201cLegion\u201d was a familiar word, used for a division of Roman soldiers (much like a platoon), and there would have been many legions in the area. The Decapolis where Jesus meets the guy was a group of ten cities (hence the name) under Roman occupation, and a hub of the Roman military. The man in the story is said to be \u201coccupied\u201d by a demon, a word loaded with meaning both then and now, especially among people whose land was under foreign occupation. The demon occupation was leading the man to hurt himself, bound up in chains, living in the cemetery among the dead. Death was in the air, in a land infected with violence and militarism. Nearby is a band of pigs, a quintessential \u201cunholy\u201d animal for first century Mediterraneans, and the demons ask to be sent among the pigs.<\/em><\/p>\n Read: Shane apologizes for misquoting U.S. Gov\u2019t War Spending Statistics<\/em><\/p>\n So Jesus grants the request and casts them into the pigs, which immediately \u201ccharge\u201d into the sea and drown. No one could have missed the subversive symbolism of the pigs \u201ccharging\u201d into the sea, as they remembered their own liberation story which climaxes with Pharaoh\u2019s legion of troops \u201ccharged\u201d into the sea where they drowned, hundreds of years earlier.<\/em><\/p>\n It is also noteworthy that the word \u201ccast out\u201d used in the exorcism is the same phrase used when Jesus drives the money-changers from the temple because they had turned it into a market. No wonder the story ends with folks telling Jesus to leave their town.<\/em><\/p>\n I started wondering what that story might look like today. Maybe it would go something like this.<\/em><\/p>\n Jesus was walking down Wall Street in the Empire State. He met a man occupied by evil spirits that had caused the man to gorge himself on food and cover himself in gold chains. He lived in the shopping malls and banks. When Jesus asked the man his name, the man replied, \u201cNASDAQ\u201d. Meanwhile, about a mile away a train loaded with cows was passing by, on the way to the market. Jesus cast the demons out of the man and into the bulls, which charged down Wall Street and into the Hudson River where they drowned. The man was set free. The crowd told Jesus to get out of town.<\/em><\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I love about the story. The man gets set free. Sure the pigs drown and the owner was undoubtedly ticked, but the oppressed man is delivered from the self-destructive patterns of his occupation. He is free.<\/em><\/p>\n This story can still be true today. We\u2019re all recovering from our own demons\u2026 whether we are occupied by violence or the market, or racism or hatred. We can all be set free.<\/em><\/p>\n And the good news is no one is beyond redemption \u2013 not even the 1%, the CEOs, the bankers, the terrorists. The revolution is big enough to set both the occupied and the occupiers free.<\/em><\/p>\n Perhaps what we need today is not an occupation of Wall Street\u2026 but an exorcism. And after Wall Street gets cleansed, maybe we\u2019ll move on to the Pentagon and give that another shot.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Author and activist Shane Claiborne has recently proposed an “exorcism” of Wall Street (as opposed to an occupation). \u00a0Claiborne takes the story of Jesus’ exorcism of the demon-possessed man, “Legion,” as biblical precedent for the idea. \u00a0What do you think- “exorcism” or “occupation”? \u00a0I have republished Claiborne’s post, which was first posted on the blog,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":461,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[180,136],"tags":[167,465,464],"class_list":["post-1345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity-in-politics","category-social-justice","tag-occupy-wall-street","tag-red-letter-christians","tag-shane-claiborne"],"yoast_head":"\n