N.T. Wright on Empire in PFG

Last updated on: October 16, 2013 at 12:09 am by Michael F. Bird

N.T. Wright on Empire in PFG 2013-10-11T21:20:46-04:00 Michael F. Bird

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Another highlight of PFG is the way that Wright tackles the subject of Paul and Rome or the Lion and the Eagle! Wright gets into the scholarly arena with Barclay on the matter and it makes for a good read (though I’d like to read Barclay’s come back). Sadly the volume edited by Scot McKnight and Joe Modica, Jesus is Lord, Caesar is Not, was not out in time for Wright to interact with.

Here is what Wright concludes in his usual elegant manner:

When Paul places Rome and Caesar on this cosmic map he is indeed cutting them down to size. He is mocking their own global and cosmic boasts. But this does not mean they are insignificant, either to him or to his hearers. Just as he has given, in his major theological expositions, the foundation for what later became known as Christian theology, so he has given, by clear implication, the foundation for what might be called a Christian political vision: neither Marxist nor neo-conservative, neither Constantinian nor Anabaptist, neither ‘left’ nor ‘right’ in our shallow modern categorizations, but nuanced and differentiated in quite other (and actually still very Jewish) modes. In a world where many were eagerly worshipping Caesar and Rome, Paul not only reaffirmed the Jewish monotheism which undermined all such self-serving and tyranny-supporting blasphemies, but also offered repeated hints that the specific claims of this emperor and this empire fell significantly within those larger categories. In a world where many, not least many zealous Jews, were eager for military revolution and rebellion against Rome, Paul insisted that the crucial victory had already been won, and that the victory in question was a victory won not by violence but over violence itself. Perhaps the only way one can keep that balance is by strong hints, by poetry, by language all the more powerful because it leaves the relevant characters just a little off stage. ‘Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers . . . nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in King Jesus our Lord.’ The power and pretensions of Rome are downgraded, outflanked, subverted and rendered impotent by the power of love: the love of the one god revealed in the crucified and risen Jesus, Israel’s Messiah and Caesar’s lord.

I should also note, that I’ve just started reading Joseph Fantin’s book Lord of the Entire World: Lord Jesus a Challenge to Lord Caesar? which looks like a promising read on the same topic.

FYI, is it me, or am I noticing that some evangelicals tend to be opposed to the anti-imperial Paul when a Republican is in the White House and some are in favor of the anti-imperial Paul when an Democrat is in the White House? Would be an interesting study!

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