Developing a Theological and Sociological Model for Confronting Evil Within Urban Power Structures
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DEVELOPING A THEOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL FOR CONFRONTING EVIL WITHIN URBAN POWER STRUCTURES A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by James Richard Jackson May 1995 i ABSTRACT DEVELOPING A THEOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL FOR CONFRONTING EVIL WITHIN URBAN POWER STRUCTURES James Richard Jackson, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1995 Chairperson: Dr. John P. Dever In this dissertation, a theological and sociological foundation for confronting evil within urban power structures was established. From this foundation, a model was developed for guiding churches in confronting evil within the power structures of their communities. Chapter 2 focused on the development of a theological understanding of the nature of evil within urban power structures derived from the writings of Walter Wink. Chapter 3 examined urban power structures from a sociological perspective. This chapter aided in understanding how and where systemic evil resides within the major urban power structures of society (governments, economic and cultural institutions, and corporations) and within American capitalism as a whole. Chapter 4 offered a practical eight-step method for discovering the individuals within particular power structures who hold the power. This helps in locating the pressure points of change. In addition, this chapter aided in understanding what it is about the nature and function ii of urban power structures that often make them appear impervious to change. This section related urban power structures to conflict theory and, specifically, to the writings of C. Wright Mills and Ralf Dahrendorf. Chapter 5 examined three community organizations that illustrate what is involved in struggles against urban power structures. The first example is drawn from Saul Alinsky's organizing of Rochester, New York's, African- American community. The second is concerned with the mobilization of Brooklyn, New York's, underclass. The third example, taken from the South Bronx, provides an excellent illustration of an attempt at community organizing which failed. Chapter 6 focused on a case study of Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA), a community organization which has met with a great deal of success in confronting systemic evil. This particular case focused on KYA's attempts to bring Kentucky into compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). Chapter 7 was dedicated to the development of a model for organizational confrontation of evil as found within urban power structures. This model was developed out of the theological and sociological research of chapters 2, 3, and 4, and the case studies of chapters 5 and 6. iii To My Parents, whose compassion is a model for me iv © Copyright by James Richard Jackson 1995 v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................ ix Chapter 1. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE............................. 1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROPOSAL....................... 5 METHODOLOGY...................................... 10 Chapter 2...................................... 10 Chapter 3...................................... 13 Chapter 4...................................... 14 Chapter 5...................................... 15 Chapter 6...................................... 17 Chapter 7...................................... 18 2. A THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: SYSTEMIC EVIL IN THE THOUGHT OF WALTER WINK................... 19 Background to Wink's Study of the Powers...... 20 Walter Rauschenbusch........................ 20 Reinhold Niebuhr............................ 23 Jacques Ellul............................... 26 William Stringfellow........................ 27 Walter Wink's Concept of Systemic Evil......... 30 vi The Language of Power........................ 32 Interpreting the Powers...................... 35 Unmasking the Powers......................... 54 Chapter .................................................... The Domination System........................ 64 The Nature of the Domination System........ 77 Unmasking the Domination System............ 83 Jesus' Third Way............................... 90 A Brief Evaluation of Wink..................... 94 3. A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: URBAN POWER STRUCTURES AS THE EMBODIMENT OF SYSTEMIC EVIL (I)............................... 98 The Critique of Domination: "God's Domination-Free Order"...................... 98 Servanthood................................. 99 Economic Equality.......................... 101 Racial and Ethnic Inclusion................ 103 Equality for Women and Children............ 104 Healing and Exorcism........................ 107 A Critique of Urban Power Structures.......... 108 The Nature of Power......................... 110 The Foundational American Power Structure: Capitalism................................ 113 Urban Power Structures Within American Capitalism................................ 123 American Capitalism and God's Domination- Free Order................................ 168 vii 4. A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: URBAN POWER STRUCTURES AS THE EMBODIMENT OF SYSTEMIC EVIL (II)............................. 171 The Distribution of Power Within Urban Power Structures........................... 171 Approaches to Determining the Distribution of Power................................. 171 A Method for Measuring Local Power.......... 183 Chapter Page The Intransigence of Power Structures: The Relevance of Conflict Theory................ 192 Intellectual Roots of Conflict Theory....... 195 Modern Conflict Theory...................... 197 Conclusion.................................... 209 5. CONFRONTING EVIL WITHIN POWER STRUCTURES: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS IN ACTION.............. 211 The Alinsky Model: FIGHT--The Organizing of Rochester's Black Community............. 212 Background to the Action................... 214 The Birth of FIGHT......................... 216 Action and Outcome......................... 218 General Analysis and Evaluation ............ 226 The Organization and the Powers............. 232 The Brooklyn Challenge: The Mobilizing of Brooklyn's Underclass ..................... 238 Background to the Struggle.................. 239 viii Initial Action.............................. 240 Initial Reflection.......................... 240 Follow-Up Action............................ 244 General Analysis and Evaluation............. 247 The Organization and the Powers............. 250 When Community Organizing Fails: The Story of the South Bronx................ 252 Background to the Action.................... 252 The Action.................................. 255 The Collapse of the Organization............ 259 General Analysis and Evaluation............. 260 Chapter Page The Organization and the Powers............. 262 Conclusion.................................... 265 6. "ENGAGING THE POWERS": KENTUCKY'S NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT..................... 267 Introduction................................. 268 A Description and History of Kentucky Youth Advocates............................ 270 An Overview of KYA's Engagement Strategies................................. 274 Administrative Advocacy.................... 274 Legislative monitoring or lobbying.......... 281 ix Litigation and Other Legal Strategies....... 281 Public Education and Constituency Development............................... 283 The Importance of Leveraging................ 284 A History of KYA's Involvement with the General Issue of Juvenile Detention......... 284 The Process of Choosing the Issue........... 285 The Results of the Analysis..................287 KYA's Initial Attempts at Reform............ 289 KYA's Previous Attempts to Bring Kentucky into Compliance with the JJDPA............ 290 KYA's Latest Effort to Bring Kentucky into Compliance with the JJDPA................... 294 Barriers to Compliance with the Federal JJDPA............................. 295 The Proposal................................ 302 KYA and the Powers............................ 306 Conclusion.................................... 311 Chapter Page 7. THEOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY INTERSECTING: ENGAGING THE URBAN SYSTEMS OF SOCIETY................... 312 Introduction................................. 312 The Model.................................... 314 Discerning the Angel of a Congregation........................... 314 Transforming the Angel of x a Congregation............................ 323 Engaging the Powers: The Prophetic Task............................ 339 Engaging the Powers: Non-Violent Direct Action............................. 357 Strength for the Journey.................... 361 Conclusion.................................... 366 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................... 369 xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to recognize the special contributions of several individuals whose suggestions were of inestimable value during the preparation of this dissertation. Dr. Jerry L. Barnes was instrumental in the initial stages of this work, providing both encouragement and feedback as the topic took shape. Drs. John Dever and Glen Stassen provided numerous suggestions for the form and content of each chapter. Chapter 6 could never have been written without the support and encouragement of David Richart. He provided complete access to all relevant documents and tolerated numerous questions and requests for meetings. The author's parents, Harold and Frances Jackson, and his brother