Donald B Kraybill: The Upside Down Kingdom

When I first started to read this book I was confused and all over the place. I had been so use to reading about the bible, straight from the bible, I was kind of nervous to read it from a different perspective. As I forced myself to read the book, the way the author went in depth about the scripture allowed me to be have a clear visual of what I was reading. I even had a dream about Jesus returning to earth. The Upside-Down kingdom does a great job with describing the way Jesus came and announced the kingdom of God and why the people took the coming of the kingdom hesitantly. The Upside-Down Kingdom is a book written by Donald B Kraybill’s. This book was published in 1978 and has since been revised several times. The thesis that Kraybill

15). John the Baptist was forewarning every one, of the coming, of the Kingdom and God. He began to tell them that a dramatic change was coming and the valleys and mountains would look different as so the straight curves and level bumps. The Baptist told the people that there would be a transformation of their normal social patterns and all flesh will see the salvation of God. This way of life that John the Baptist was speaking of seemed upside down to the people. Mary was also singing about the hope to come in her song The Magnificent. In chapter one, according to Kraybill, Mary sings about five different types of people that will be started and surprised. The people that were used to being at the top of the food chain such as the mighty, the rich, and the proud would no longer hold that position. They would be stripped of everything and sent away empty handed, and the poor and hungry would be no longer and they will be at the top of the pyramid. Mary’s song was almost referencing the same thing that John the Baptist was shouting to the people which was an unusual from what they were used to. Kraybill talks a lot on

Chapter six also states, “Jesus does not condemn private property. He doesn’t call for a new Christian commune. He does however condemn greed,” (Kraybill, 2011, p. 99). Jesus problem was with greediness and pride. Jesus talked about this in (Matthew 19:24 New Revised Standard Version) when he said, “Again I tell you, it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than the rich man to enter into heaven,” He did not condemn wealth but he knew how quickly one could let it mislead them and lead them a stray from the kingdom of God. This was one of the views that the people saw as upside- down. When Jesus first came to earth, the rich people continued to get richer whiles the poor continued to suffer. Jesus warned that the people could begin to idolize wealth. Jesus was right on point with his analysis because the same way that people idolized wealth thousands of years ago, some are still doing it in this day and age. One section of chapter six that I thought was interesting was the topic of The Worrier. This too was centered on wealth. Although I try to turn my worries to God, finical issues can bring about apprehension. Money can caused anxiety whether we have money or we don’t; money is also the root of many arguments that we have. In the society that we live in today, people have become more consumed with wealth than we are with looking out for one