Jesus and Empire

Jesus and Empire
Author: Richard A. Horsley
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 196
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781451416671

A major advance in Jesus studies and a critique of oppression. Horsley focuses his attention on how Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God relates to Roman and Herodian power politics.

God and Empire

God and Empire
Author: John Dominic Crossan
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2009-03-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 006174428X

The bestselling author and prominent New Testament scholar draws parallels between 1st–century Roman Empire and 21st–century United States, showing how the radical messages of Jesus and Paul can lead us to peace today Using the tools of expert biblical scholarship and a keen eye for current events, bestselling author John Dominic Crossan deftly presents the tensions exhibited in the Bible between political power and God’s justice. Through the revolutionary messages of Jesus and Paul, Crossan reveals what the Bible has to say about land and economy, violence and retribution, justice and peace, and ultimately, redemption. He examines the meaning of “kingdom of God” prophesized by Jesus, and the equality recommended to Paul by his churches, contrasting these messages of peace against the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the book of Revelations, that has been co-opted by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify the United State’s military actions in the Middle East.

Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not

Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not
Author: Scot McKnight
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2013-03-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830839917

This volume brings together respected biblical scholars to evaluate the turn toward "empire criticism" in recent New Testament scholarship. While praising the movement for its deconstruction of Roman statecraft and ideology, the contributors also provide a salient critique of the anti-imperialist rhetoric pervading much of the current literature.

Jesus and the Empire of God

Jesus and the Empire of God
Author: Margaret Froelich
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2021-10-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567700852

Margaret Froelich examines the Gospel of Mark using political and empire-critical methodologies, following postcolonial thinkers in perceiving a far more ambivalent message than previous pacifistic interpretations of the text. She argues that Mark does not represent an entirely new way of thinking about empire or cosmic structures, but rather exhibits concepts and structures with which the author and his audience are already familiar in order to promote the Kingdom of God as a better version of the encroaching Roman Empire. Froelich consequently understands Mark as a response to the physical, ideological, and cultural displacement of the first Roman/Judean War. By looking to Greek, Roman, and Jewish texts to determine how first-century authors thought of conquest and expansion, Froelich situates the Gospel directly in a historical and socio-political context, rather than treating that context as a mere backdrop; concluding that the Gospel portrays the Kingdom of God as a conquering empire with Jesus as its victorious general and client king.

Christ and Caesar

Christ and Caesar
Author: Seyoon Kim
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2008-10-07
Genre: Bibles
ISBN: 0802860087

This title looks at what kind of responses Paul made to the Roman Empire. The author subjects the methods of current interpreters to critical scrutiny and discusses what makes an anti-imperial interpretation of Pauline writings difficult.

Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire

Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire
Author: Paul B. Duff
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2017-11-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467448389

When Jesus of Nazareth began proclaiming the kingdom of God early in the first century, he likely had no intention of starting a new religion, especially one that included former pagans. Yet a new religion did eventually develop—one that not only included non-Jews but was soon dominated by them. How did this happen? Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire by Paul Duff offers an accessible and informed account of Christian origins, beginning with the teaching of Jesus and moving to the end of the first century. Duff's narrative shows how the rural Jewish movement led by Jesus developed into a largely non-Jewish phenomenon permeating urban centers of the Roman Empire. Paying special attention to social, cultural, and religious contexts—as well as to early Christian ideas about idolatry, marriage, family, slavery, and ethnicity—Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire will help readers cultivate a deeper understanding of the identity, beliefs, and practices of early Christ-believers.

Paul and Empire

Paul and Empire
Author: Richard A. Horsley
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 280
Release: 1997-11-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781563382178

Over the centuries, Paul has been understood as the prototypical convert from Judaism to Christianity. At the time of Pauls conversion, however, Christianity did not yet exist. Moreover, Paul says nothing to indicate that he was abandoning Judaism or Israel. He, in fact, understood his mission as the fulfillment of the promises to Israel and of Israels own destiny. In brief, Pauls gospel and mission were set over against the Roman Empire, not Judaism.

Faith in the Face of Empire

Faith in the Face of Empire
Author: RAHEB
Publisher: Orbis Books
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2014-02-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1608334333

A Palestinian Christian theologian shows how the reality of empire shapes the context of the biblical story, and the ongoing experience of Middle East conflict.

The Bible and the Third World

The Bible and the Third World
Author: R. S. Sugirtharajah
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2001-06-11
Genre: Bibles
ISBN: 9780521005241

A comprehensive history of the Bible in the Third World.

Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation as Resistance

Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation as Resistance
Author: C. Wess Daniels
Publisher: Barclay Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2019-10-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781594980633

Revelation speaks to the reality that we are caught in the fray of cosmic conflict. We are guilty. We've already been contaminated. But it's not too late for us to exit empire and enter the kingdom. We are yet both victim and victimizer. We have healing work to do, and we must take responsibility for the ways in which we have benefited from and been complicit with the religion of empire. This is the truth of Revelation. God wants to liberate us in body, heart, soul, and mind.Revelation reveals how scapegoating functions within empire to define its own boundaries and contours as being over and against wicked others.Revelation critiques wealth and shows that even in the first century there was prophetic critique against an economic system that was based on abundance for some, while exploiting the rest.Revelation demonstrates the importance of liturgy as something that forms people into the likeness of either empire or the lamb.Revelation reveals an alternative social order which becomes the center of resistance rooted in a vision of what the book describes as "the multitude."