Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not
Evaluating Empire in New Testament Studies
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- €13.99
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- €13.99
Publisher Description
The New Testament is immersed in the often hostile world of the Roman Empire, but its relationship to that world is complex.
What is meant by Jesus' call to "render unto Caesar" his due, when Luke subversively heralds the arrival of a Savior and Lord who is not Caesar, but Christ? Is there tension between Peter's command to "honor the emperor" and John's apocalyptic denouncement of Rome as "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots"?
Under the direction of editors Scot McKnight and Joseph B. Modica, respected biblical scholars have come together to investigate an increasingly popular approach in New Testament scholarship of interpreting the text through the lens of empire. The contributors praise recent insights into the New Testament's exposé of Roman statecraft, ideology and emperor worship. But they conclude that rhetoric of anti-imperialism is often given too much sway. More than simply hearing the biblical authors in their context, it tends to govern what they must be saying about their context. The result of this collaboration, Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not, is a groundbreaking yet accessible critical evaluation of empire criticism.
Contributors include:
David Nystrom on Roman ideology
Judith A. Diehl on the state of empire scholarship
Joel Willits on Matthew
Dean Pinter on Luke
Christopher W. Skinner on John's Gospel and Letters
Drew Strait on Acts
Michael F. Bird on Romans
Lynn Cohick on Philippians
Allan R. Bevere on Colossians and Philemon
Dwight Sheets on Revelation
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Prolific author and New Testament professor McKnight (The King Jesus Gospel), and Modica, biblical studies teacher at Eastern University, edit a collection of chapters for an educated audience that introduce and evaluate the recent scholarly interest in empire criticism. This viewpoint asserts that early Christianity was deeply influenced by and fundamentally opposed to the Roman imperial system. As empire critics read it, an anti-imperial tone pervades the New Testament. After a sketch of the imperial culture of Rome and introduction to empire criticism, the authors evaluate how empire criticism scholars have approached eight books from the New Testament, including the gospels, Acts, some letters of Paul, and Revelation. Most conclude that, while the Roman context informs the writings, empire criticism overstates the importance of anti-Roman rhetoric. Because the work largely consists in questioning the claims of other scholars, those wanting clearer examples of empire criticism at work will need to look elsewhere. This work does, however, offer a glimpse into current scholarly debate and suggest empire criticism has more to do with American concerns about current empires.
