Render to Caesar: Jesus, the Early Church, and the Roman Superpower
"For those interested in religion and politics (and who is not?), Bryan can help us grasp the clarity of the perspective that runs through the whole Bible. This kind of New Testament theology illumines both historical context and theological significance." --America"...a fine book, readable, closely argued, and assidusously documented.Render to Caesaris a valuable correction of certain forms of political theology, and also of pacifist and other abdications of political responsibility. It is, at the same time, a compelling call for the Church to muster the wisdom and courage to do its public duty." --First Things"With admirable learning and balanced judgment, Bryan covers a wide range of ancient texts pertaining to religion and politics. In showing that the prophets, Jesus, and the NT writers were mainly concerned with the origin and purpose of political power, he clarifies in what sense the biblical tradition is and is not political. While providing sensible correctives to overstatements by other scholars, Bryan also presents an accurate picture of the early church's place in the Roman empire."--Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., author ofThe Church According to the New Testament: What the Wisdom andWitness of Early Christianity Teach Us Today"Bryan cogently and elegantly argues that the biblical tradition confronts human power structures not to displace them, but to insist that they recognize their origin in God and their purpose of serving God by promoting justice and peace."--Christian Century"...a fine book....Render to Caesaris a valuable correction of certain forms of political theology, and also of pacifist and other abdications of political responsibility.  It is, at the same time, a compelling call for the Church to muster the wisdom and courage to do its public duty."--FirstThings"The interface between the gospel of Jesus and the empire of Caesar has suddenly become a hot, and disturbingly relevant, topic in biblical studies. Christopher Bryan's new book, full of his characteristically shrewd and original observations and scholarly insights, cuts across much current thinking and raises questions which cannot be ignored, either by historians or by those keen to rediscover the relevance of the gospel in today's world."--N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham and author of the three-volumeChristian Origins and the Question of God"Were Jesus and the first Christians political revolutionaries? Given the chance, would they have replaced the Roman imperium with some other social and political order? Against several strands of recent exegesis, Christopher Bryan thinks not. In my view, he makes his case. But almost as important, he does it with clear arguments and in literate English.Render to Caesaris a good read, which lamentably can now be said of few scholarly works."--Robert W. Jenson, author ofSystematic Theology, Volume 1: The Triune God and Volume 2: The Works of God