Turning the world upside down

Turning the world upside down

From Think Question Believe by Kevin O'Brien

December 10, 2025 · 22 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the theme of 'holy reversal' in the context of the Christian faith and societal values.

Luke’s story of the boastful Pharisee and the repentant tax-collector addresses the theme of what we might call ‘holy reversal’.That the standards of this world, the values of so much of our world, the one with which we are so familiar, in which some of us deem themselves so successful and dominant, are in fact but the shadows of the true reality to which we are called.Up is down and down is up.But what of our present world?Daily on our news we see the Christian faith upended into a cult of greed, pride, hostility and hate – lovers of guns and violence parading Jesus as their hero and guide. But when once we might have at least contented ourselves with the belief that these things happened far away, and in cultures different to our own, now we see, that the sickness has spread rather closer to home, the emergence of enmity and prejudice, no doubt deceiving itself that it is something else.How are we to contend with this challenge both within our world – and within ourselves?

Topics covered

  • holy reversal
  • Christian faith
  • values
  • prejudice
  • greed
  • hostility

Keywords

  • Pharisee
  • tax-collector
  • Christianity
  • spirituality

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