Born and raised in India, Fr. Joash served as a U.S. political consultant and lobbyist before pivoting to global human rights advocacy. Now based in the Toronto area, he holds a master’s degree in Political Management from The George Washington University, and two master’s degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary in Christian Leadership and Theology. An ordained Priest in the Diocese of St. Anthony, he is the author of the #1 Amazon Canada Bestseller in Liberation Theology, The Justice of Jesus (published by Brazos Press / Baker Publishing).
Fr. Joash serves on the leadership team at St. Stephen’s University as Director of Fundraising & Advancement and Instructor in Public Theology, Peace & Justice. You can keep up with Fr. Joash’s writing on his Bestselling Substack, Masala Chai Theology
Joash was the sixth speaker in Act Five’s 2026 Winter Learning Series.
An Interview with Joash Thomas:
This past Winter Learning Series, Fr. Joash Thomas invited us to consider a challenging question: What does it mean to follow Jesus in a world shaped by power, injustice, and Empire? We caught up with Joash after the event to reflect on the evening and the conversations it sparked.
Your session explored the relationship between Jesus, justice, and Empire. What are the key takeaways you hope people left with?
Jesus lived and taught under the shadow of Empire. Forces of Roman occupation, economic exploitation, and religious collaboration with power shaped the world of the Gospels and continue to shape our own. I wanted to invite people to read the life and teachings of Jesus through the lens of justice, power, and Empire. We need to ask what it means to take Jesus seriously in a postcolonial world marked by domination, inequality, and resistance.
Throughout the evening, we drew on the Gospels alongside postcolonial theology, political theology, liberation theology, and voices from the global Church. Together, these perspectives help us examine how Christians have historically confronted systems of oppression and articulated a vision of justice that challenge empire-shaped ways of thinking and being. Along the way we explored themes such as nonviolence, colonization and decolonization, race, ecumenism and interfaith hospitality, and the Church’s complicity with power. We also looked at both ancient, precolonial Christians and contemporary church leaders who faithfully resisted the empires of their day.
My hope is that people left with tools for critical biblical interpretation, theological reflection, and faithful public engagement. This evening was especially for those wrestling with Christianity’s entanglement with Empire and seeking a more liberative way forward.
Was there anything you wish you had more time to explore?
I’m incredibly grateful for the time we had together. The one thing I wish we’d had more of was Q&A. It was clear that people were wrestling with the content in deeply thoughtful and contemplative ways, and I would have loved to make more space for those conversations.
If I have the opportunity to serve the Act Five community again, I’d love to reorient the second half of the evening toward an extended Q&A session so we could explore those questions together.
I also really appreciated the opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist as a newly ordained priest to close out the Winter Learning Series. It was an incredible way to connect the dots between historical spiritual practices that we often see as ordinary parts of Christianity and the reality that they were always intended as peaceful, nonviolent resistance to Empire. The Eucharist breaks down the divisions that Empire enforced within both the Church and society.
Any final reflections on your time with the Act Five community?
I’ll close by expressing my deep appreciation and gratitude to the Act Five team—not only for creating spaces like this in my home city year after year, but also for the incredible community they steward and lead throughout the year.
It was a gift to share a meal together, and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to continue serving this community as a local priest and resource in the days to come.
As someone who has the privilege of teaching and serving as a missional priest in churches and at conferences around the world, there was something especially meaningful about the final night of the 2026 Winter Learning Series.
Thank you for joining us in the learning of our community. We publish new reflections and conversations every other week. We’d love to have you continue the journey with us.
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