Andrew

You say

But I think we must also allow for a real political dimension in the form of the collapse of the culture that supported the supremely blasphemous and ultimately satanic claim to rule the world and the emergence of the suffering community from oppression…..He disarmed the principalities and powers that ruled over Israel not through military action (or for that matter through torah observance) but through the cross

In what sense did Jesus disarm the principalities and powers that ruled over Israel? As far as I can see they just went on to bigger and better things: the Roman Empire endured in the West until the late 5th century and in the East for thousand years after that.