“The Bible as a Call Out of Empire into the God of Peace” with Wes Howard-Brook
Saturday, August 2, 2025, 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern
The Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus
Today we welcome scripture scholar and author Wes Howard-Brook to teach us that the entire Bible is a divine summons out of empire and into God and God’s reign of universal love and peace, based on his best-selling book, “Come Out My People,” (Orbis Books), which you should get and study.
Did God want Israel to be a powerful nation or a faithful people? What about us today? If Jesus proclaims a Gospel of nonviolence, why does the Bible seem to support those who want to see the US dominating the world? Over the centuries, this struggle has often been presented as the “Old Testament God vs. the New Testament God,” as if Jesus believed in or embodied a different god than YHWH. And, of course, such a view is deeply anti-Jewish at the core.
Wes Howard-Brook invites us to consider another option: that the Scriptures have always been a battle between two, divergent understandings of who God is and what it means to be the people of God. Wes presents this contrast as two ends of a spectrum between the “religion of creation” and the “religion of empire.” Jesus took sides in this battle, embodying the religion of creation and denouncing the religion of empire and its upholders. Wes will explain why there is no biblical basis for “Christian nationalism.”
This session will last an hour and a half; Cost: $30. Scholarships are available! Join us! You will be sent a zoom link for the event on the Wednesday before the event. Please be on the lookout for it! You will receive a recording of the event two days after it, in case you were not able to attend the live program, or want to watch it again.
Cancellation Policy: Refunds will not be honored after the zoom link is sent out. If you have any questions, please email Kassandra at:
beatitudescentermb@gmail.com See you then!