The Gospel and the Roman Empire in the Writings of Paul and Luke In Christ and Caesar Seyoon Kim first examines five epistles of Paul.
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- Christ vs Caesar: Did the Apostles Deliberately Subvert the Roman Empire?
- Christ and Caesar
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He argues that Paul's letters, the Gospel of Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles do not, in fact, attempt to subvert the Roman imperial order. This book is highly recommended for all scholars and pastors with special interest in the NT's relationship to the Roman Empire. It is concise and clear, making it accessible to a wide readership.
Christ vs Caesar: Did the Apostles Deliberately Subvert the Roman Empire?
Required Field Not a valid email. Don't Miss a Thing! Eerdmans is proud to publish many books that have remained in print for decades - true classics that have stood the test of time. Visit our Enduring Standards page to see some of our perennially best-selling backlist books. Eerdmans Publishing Company, All rights reserved. Literature Theology Apocrypha and Pseu But did Paul truly formulate his gospel in antithesis to the Roman imperial cult and ideology and seek to subvert the Empire?
In Christ and Caesar Seyoon Kim first examines five epistles of Paul exegetically and shows how the dominant anti-imperial interpretation is actually difficult to sustain. Next he examines the Lukan writings Luke-Acts to see how Luke talks about the encounters of Paul and other gospel preachers with Roman imperialism.
Christ and Caesar
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Good News Preached to the Poor. An Apology for the Church to the Empire? This is a good theme with which to discuss the existence of a counterimperial message because it was clearly a concern for many in the empire.
For example the first- and second-century Jews attempted to gain deliverance by revolt. Throughout this discussion Kim acknowledges that the empire had influenced Luke, evidenced by the way he arranged his material. Despite the imperial context Luke is not concerned primarily with deliverance from the empire. Rather, it is the unseen and more sinister empire of Satan from which deliverance is necessary. It is primarily this empire over which Christ is victorious. The final chapter, a summary and conclusion, includes a brief discussion of the books of Revelation and Hebrews.
Although Revelation clearly has Roman imperial imagery, the explicit message is not one of overthrowing the empire. Hebrews has a high-priestly Christology; however, there is no contrast or polemic against Caesar. Kim concludes with a brief epilogue that discusses present implications of the study, an eleven-page bibliography, an index of modern authors, and an index of Scripture and other ancient texts.
The issue Kim deals with in this volume is essentially this: How should readers use the material from the Roman world in their study of the New Testament? Those who see a counterimperial message in Paul understand the apostle in his Roman context in a more active way than those who do not. They are open to drawing conclusions based on evidence from the culture that may provide implied information on the meaning of the text. There certainly is a danger in this approach.
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However, there is also a danger in not using the sources. A careful use of the material is the best approach. Kim provides a timely volume. Although his section on Paul is insufficient, it nevertheless introduces the reader to the issues involved in Pauline scholarship.
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