Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder

Editorial Reviews. From the Publisher. A major advance in Jesus studies and a critique of Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder - Kindle edition by Richard A. Horsley. Download it once and read it on your.
Table of contents

Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder

Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Refresh and try again.

Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — Jesus and Empire by Richard A. Jesus and Empire by Richard A.

You are here

Jesus and Empire really liked it 4. Building on his earlier studies of Jesus, Galilee, and the social upheavals in Roman Palestine, Horsley focuses his attention on how Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God relates to Roman and Herodian power politics. In addition he examines how modern ideologies relate to Jesus' proclamation. Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

To ask other readers questions about Jesus and Empire , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Feb 07, Adam Ross rated it liked it Shelves: I wanted to like this book more than I ended up doing.

Horsley's overall point is well taken - that Jesus' teachings are too often co-opted by individualism and contemporary philosophical categories, including a split between religion and politics. He wants us to return to the covenantal, Jewish Jesus who was political and railed against power and empire. On these points Horsley is quite good. Unfortunately, his methodology is suspect. An acceptance of the supposed Q document source sours the go I wanted to like this book more than I ended up doing.

An acceptance of the supposed Q document source sours the good in the book, but the problems then begin to compound upon one another. He pits Jesus as a peasant prophet against the Jewish rulers, arguing that Jesus was relying not on the OT nor attempting to scrape away the encrustations of Pharisaical legalism from that Old Testament, but rather relying on a peasant "low village tradition" that was in competition with the Jewish rulers who maintained the "high tradition" of the Old Testament. He then pits Gospel against Gospel, trying to argue that the anti-imperial sections are of the authentic Jesus while the later "Kingdom" passages were added later to justify the Church's acceptance and compromise with imperial power.

Just because somebody has a Ph. D doesn't mean they know what's up. This sort of chopping I have absolutely no time for. Yet there were a good number of insights scattered throughout, enough to warrant three stars, but definitely for the reader willing to pick through a book for gems.

Jesus and Empire by Richard A. Horsley

Nov 10, Rick Webster rated it really liked it. Horsley begins by dismantling the ways in which our contemporary culture views and subsequently understands Jesus.


  1. Request a Review copy?
  2. The Millennium of Revelation 20.
  3. Strangers at Home: Amish and Mennonite Women in History (Center Books in Anabaptist Studies).
  4. Metastasis (Novartis Foundation Symposia);

He aptly shows how the lenses through which we view Jesus, and the conclusions we draw as a result, present a picture of Jesus that represents our priorities rather than those of the first century peasant we have come to revere and worship. He suggests a new way of understanding the historical Jesus: That context was one of tremendous economic oppression, and the subsequent downward pressure exerted in the form of economic injustice from the rich and powerful to the poor.

The Roman empire extorted a huge financial obligation on the peasantry and this in turn led to common people losing farms, vineyards and gardens and orchards, becoming enslaved through indebtedness and being, by virtue of the economic and military power being wielded to the Romans, continually kept in abject poverty. Furthermore, Jesus spoke out against the temple 'system' in which the powerful elite had been corrupted and compromised by Roman rule, and against the Pharisees, for much the same reasons.

Jesus' agenda was not, Horsley claims, a spiritual agenda, as much as throwing off the Roman yoke and restoring Israel to it's Davidic place of power. Jesus was to accomplish this by ushering in the Kingdom of God, a way of life based on the justice of God. Although so much of Horsley's writing is insigthful, it's difficult to accept that Jesus' mission was solely and entirely to throw off the yoke of Roman rule. Yes, his teaching addresses the excess of empire, but those addresses take the form of speaking against injustice - politically, economically and practically.

At best we might say his goal to overthrow the Roman rule was ancillary to his mission. Jesus' focus on the Kingdom of God seems rather to be a focus on living with righteousness and justice; that is, to love God and love one's neighbor. I suspect the mission of Jesus was to usher in a new way of living in which justice and righteousness are real, earthbound concepts to be practiced in the here and now.

The overthrow of Roman rule and the restoration of Israel may have been anticipated results of the Kingdom of God coming to life, but not necessarily the purpose of his work. I might be wrong about that.

See a Problem?

Horsley's "Jesus and Empire" is a fascinating look into the political, economic, social, political and cultural context in which Jesus lived and worked. It ably shows how Jesus, as a product of his time and place, offered a message shaped by the injustices of his world, and actively sought to resist the power structures of the Roman empire. This is an thought provoking, paradigm shifting and powerful book, and is a must read for anyone who cares about social justice as the message of Jesus. Jun 02, Michael rated it it was amazing.


  • Recruiting Your Own Dream Team: Relationships Built to Last Lead to Success Built to Last (FT Press ;
  • Shut Up and Kiss Me;
  • Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder - Richard A. Horsley - Google Книги.
  • Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder | Fortress Press.

    • An incredibly important book, it should be required reading for all Christians interested in understanding the historical Jesus in his social context. Click here to email.

    Jesus and Empire

    Horsley makes a very good case for his relational-contextual approach, which makes better sense of the New Testament and other evidence available. But what I found quite exhilarating was his showing the crucial relevance of proper New Testament scholarship and theology in the amazing parallels he has shown to exist between the policies of the ancient Roman Empire and those of contemporary America. In the present highly charged atmosphere of international politics, this is a very important—indeed salutary—book that should be read not just by New Testament scholars, but especially by politicians.

    Horsley situates this picture of Jesus against empire in the context of the ambiguity of American identity as a people who see themselves as both liberated and liberating, New Israel and the New Rome of global empire. Americans must ultimately choose between them.

    A Theological History At his dexterous hands we discover riches of insight and gems of interpretation that leave us all in his debt. The Roman Empire becomes the foil that exposes the American Empire. The Kingdom of God reveals the hideousness of the New World Disorder, and Jesus is discovered to be the purveyor of truths available nowhere else. Reconciliation in the Healing of the Nations Skip to main content.