As It is in Heaven, It Shall be on Earth

On The Permanence of the Things Above

Abstract

This article aims to raise the question of the permanence of some fundamental questions regarding the Christian Church, considering mainly the Pauline exhortation “to the things above” in his Epistle to the Colossians. The ever-present reality of totalitarian and exploitative powers, of human orientation to violent and unruly passions, as well as to vulgar distractions and the greed for material things, remains a powerful and obstinate obstacle to Christian action in the world. Without the foundation in the faith that comes from the Word of the living God, a rigorously mystical foundation, the war against the evils in the world, which are associated with the language of death, turns against itself, validating even more the exploitative imperatives and its inhuman logic. A living and active Church is one that is still in martyrdom in this world – we can say, unfortunately –, since this world is still dominated by the language and desires of the flesh.