The Upside Down Kingdom Summary

The Upside-Down Kingdom by Donald B. Kraybill has become an interpretation tool in helping one unravel the Bible. The way in which Kraybill develops his book is to give those who may be first time biblical connoisseurs an insightful interpretation of the seemingly difficult text. In other words, Kraybill focuses on the elements of the Kingdom of Heaven, and how it is truly an upside-down place of euphoria. The Upside-down Kingdom told through Kraybill’s text, accommodates all cultures with a surprising new outlook on how one may have viewed Jesus. One of his main goals is for the reader to understand that the Kingdom of God announced by Jesus was a new order of things that looked upside-down in the midst of Palestine culture in the first century. Kraybill gives his readers a relatable

In relations to the thesis, chapter 8 “Impious Piety” allows readers to better acquaint themselves with Jesus and his personality. As a vast majority of us know, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. However, his purpose for roaming the earth was to spread the way of the heavenly kingdom and to shape the individuals who followed the Lord, and to hear his word instead of merely listening. Throughout this chapter, a deeper understanding of why Jesus deplored religious rituals, scorned civil laws, and broke the rules of piety by working on the Sabbath is acknowledged which may shock many individual readers. In example, I was personally influenced by the boldness of Jesus’ ways due to the fact of always thinking he was not one to go against laws. However, Jesus needed to spread the message which was prevalent in ancient times, and still relevant today, that we must serve God and only God. This meant breaking the rules such as working on the Sabbath, and going against civil law, for they were not right in the eyes of the