Thanks for the thoughts Andrew. By all means, once you’re done, pick up his "Jesus for President". In the last section of this second book, he repeatedly emphasizes the pluriformity of the church. What he and his co-conspirators are doing is ONE way of being the Church prophetically.

This suggests that there are several ways of being faithful.

However, I would like to suggest that even if one buys into your very peculiar eschatological framework (and I confess to being so inclined), it does not rule out the possibility that there could some significant resemblances between a contemporary situation and Rome. If Roman oppression calls for a particular response, perhaps contemporary situations which are analogous likewise require some form of Christian ‘extremism’.

In addition (or perhaps this is just the same thought in different words), I find your distinction between eschatological paradigms for discipleship and new creation paradigms for discipleship to be somewhat contrived. Ok, perhaps ‘run to the hills’ isn’t advice for the contemporary church. But sustainable, vegetarian, communal living à la Claiborne seems compatible with both paradigms.

Wouldn’t you say?

 Peace,

 -Daniel-