Render Unto Caesar: The Struggle Over Christ and Culture in the New Testament

Synopsis

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 Revelations. In the texts of Luke-Acts, Rome is considered favorably. In the book of Revelations, 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.

Copyright:

1989

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

304 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780062964960

Related ISBNs:

9780062964939

Publisher:

HarperCollins

Date of Addition:

03/29/22

Copyrighted By:

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Religion and Spirituality, Education, Politics and Government

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.