Render Unto Caesar
The Struggle Over Christ and Culture in the New Testament
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
The revered Bible scholar and author of The Historical Jesus explores the Christian culture wars—the debates over church and state—from a biblical perspective, exploring the earliest tensions evident in the New Testament, and offering a way forward for Christians today.
Leading Bible scholar John Dominic Crossan, the author of the pioneering work The Historical Jesus, provides new insight into the Christian culture wars which began in the New Testament and persist strongly today.
For decades, Americans have been divided on how Christians should relate to government and lawmakers, a dispute that has impacted every area of society and grown more rancorous over the past forty years. But as Crossan makes clear, this debate isn’t new; it can be found in the New Testament itself, most notably in the tensions between Luke-Acts and Revelation.
In the texts of Luke-Acts, Rome is considered favorably. In the book of Revelation, Rome is seen as the embodiment of evil in the world. Yet there is an alternative to these two extremes, Crossan explains. The historical Jesus and Paul, the earliest Christian teachers, were both strongly opposed to Rome, yet neither demonized the Empire.
Crossan sees in Jesus and Paul’s approach a model for Christians today that can be used to cut through the acrimony and polarization roiling our society and dividing us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This stimulating history by Crossan (The Historical Jesus), a retired religious studies professor at DePaul University, examines first-century clashes between the Christian church and Roman state. "What biblical vision best empowers contemporary American Christians to confront... the tragedy of Rome-like decline with violence at home?" asks Crossan, studying Jesus's relationship with Rome for guidance on how Christians might respond to current crises of American democracy. The author finds the model of a vindictive relationship between church and state in Revelation's demonization of Romans as Christian-killers. Luke-Acts promotes the alternative of assimilation, Crossan argues, through its celebration of the "Holy Spirit's transfer of headquarters from Jerusalem to Rome." Positing a third option, Crossan looks to the work of Jewish historian Josephus to suggest that Christianity can critique power from within non-Christian institutions. Despite some clichéd points of comparison ("Any Rome/America parallel must now focus on... when republicanism slouches toward dictatorship"), this is an illuminating exploration of how Christians might relate to broader society, written with style, panache, and accessible erudition. Specialists and general readers of history should take note.
