Supportive Critique of Mackenzie, Article Critique Example

Ed Mackenzie in his article The Quest for the Political: Paul Assessing the Apostle’s Approach to Empire is appropriate for bringing out the life of Paul and his political role. Mackenzie brought out clearly a political Paul and his significance in the New Testament in criticizing the Roman Empire, Mackenzie succeeded in connecting events and its contribution in political development of Paul.[1] He clearly outlined the instances where Paul advocated for the rights for the believers and how the same principals are applied in the modern world, in fighting oppression from the governing authorities. German Christians in the Third Reich and Dutch reformed Church in South Africa are classic examples of how Christians fought for their freedom, which is significant in theology.

In my view, the article successfully creates a sense of reality since uses biblical references in his discussing Paul’s political life. The article was significant in exploring approaches of Paul’s political subversive, outlining recent criticisms of these approaches and finally in assessing the approaches used by the apostle in approaching the empire.

The writer’s decision to show how Paul actively participated in politics especially in deliberately undermining the empire, which became significant in showing how the church utilize the freedom accorded in challenging the imperial society.

In his article, Mackenzie was successful in connecting significant aspects Paul’s theology with the political position of the church and global fundamental changes witnessed in various continents like Europe.[2] This article has been of significance to the churches of the recent churches in understanding the political life of Apostle Paul and the contribution of theology to the political growth in any given country, which is significant in the nurturing of a good system of leadership.

Bibliography

Elliott, Neil. Liberating Paul: The justice of God and the politics of the apostle. Fortress Press, 2005.

[1] Elliott, Neil. Liberating Paul: The justice of God and the politics of the apostle. Fortress Press, 2005.

[2] ibid