Render to Caesar: Jesus, the Early Church, and the Roman Superpower

by Christopher Bryan

At the end of the 20th century, "postcolonialism" described the effort to understand the experience of those who had lived under colonial rule. This kind of thinking has inevitably brought about a reexamination of the rise of Christianity, which took place under Roman colonial rule. How did Rome look from the viewpoint of an ordinary Galilean in the first century of the Christian era? What should this mean for our own understanding of and relationship to Jesus of Nazareth? In the past, Jesus was often "depoliticized," treated as a religious teacher imparting timeless truths for all people. Now, however, many scholars see Jesus as a political leader whose goal was independence from Roman rule so that the people could renew their traditional way of life under the rule of God. In Render to Caesar , Christopher Bryan reexamines the attitude of the early Church toward imperial Rome. Choosing a middle road, he asserts that Jesus and the early Christians did indeed have a critique of
the Roman superpower -- a critique that was broadly in line with the entire biblical and prophetic tradition. One cannot worship the biblical God, the God of Israel, he argues, and not be concerned about justice in the here and now. On the other hand, the biblical tradition does not challenge human power structures by attempting to dismantle them or replace them with other power structures. Instead, Jesus' message consistently confronts such structures with the truth about their origin and purpose. Their origin is that God permits them. Their purpose is to promote God's peace and justice. Power is understood as a gift from God, a gift that it is to be used to serve God's will and a gift that can be taken away by God when misused. Render to Caesar transforms our understanding of early Christians and their relationship to Rome and demonstrates how Jesus' teaching continues to challenge those who live under structures of government quite different from those that would have been
envisaged by the authors of the New Testament.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, History, Politics

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Michael Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryan's thesis is that "the biblical tradition challenges human power structures not by attempting to dismantle them or replace them with other human power structures but by consistently confronting them with the truth about their origin and purpose. Their origin is that God permits them. Their purpose is to serve God's glory by promoting God's peace and God's justice." He takes an historical approach to the topic, and examines Israel's relation to empire, Jesus' relation to empire, then Jesus' early followers' relation to empire. At times I think he slides unwittingly and unwarrantedly between making historical claims and normative theological claims, but overall he's put together a strong case for his thesis.

[Damon Glassmoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this survey of the biblical witness regarding our relationship to governmental powers/empire, and deeply appreciated the author's handling of the texts. Quite applicable to our current American context in particular.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduced some very unique questions and linked things I hadn't thought about. However I felt the author held back and the analysis was not as complete as it could have been. Also alot of opinions and bashing of other scholars that wasn't necessary, especially without proof.

[Anthony Nuccio · Rating 5 out of 5]

A relatively unbiased and objective approach to how the figure of Jesus might have approached and engaged with the Roman Empire during his time. It is well-researched and Bryan argues his claims extremely well. For those who are interested in Christianity, Roman history, Jewish history, and academic scholarship in religious studies, this is a good book to read.

[Todd Kruse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best lesson in this book - author's comment on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. working within the institutions (the Constitution) for his goal not tearing it apart. Parallel to Jesus Christ and Roman Empire was very interesting. The rest of the book is dry and overdone with Greek translations. Time would be better spent reading Edward Gibbon.

[Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that explores the nuances of our understanding of the relationship between Roman society and Jesus.