On Time Team, the fun part is the finds; digging in the trench, discovering something, and then pulling the expert over to talk about what the find tells us about the story, about the context.
Now that we’ve had the crash course in biblical history, now that we have the hypothesis of American Evangelicalism living the dangers of temple theology…let’s start talking about some of the finds, the little pieces of evidence in the rubble of today and compare them to what we know:
Samuel Perry is a sociologist who studies religion and the poor, and I discovered the chart above on Twitter, outlining some of the findings of his research.
The bible records the words of the prophets as they challenged Israel and Judah’s kings and queens—you know, the ones whose palace sat next door to the temple:
“What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?”
Isaiah 3:15
“For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.”
Amos 2:6-7
“You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.”
Amos 5:11
“Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they robe them of their inheritance.”
Micah 2:1-2
“On your clothes is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, ‘I am innocent.’”
Jeremiah 2:34-35
There are so many biblical examples like this, and we see in these the critique of ruler and people: your wealth comes at the expense of others. The wealthy are causing poverty by accident and by intent.
Our first find, this survey, shows the attitudes of White Evangelicals in America. It demonstrates they do not accept the message of the prophets. We want less “demonizing” of wealth. We want to believe it is the fault of the poor for their situation in life.
What does this find tell us about the story we are in? Mark this evidence, this find, as one consistent with temple theology.