Anti-Imperial Rhetoric in the New Testament

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Diehl
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
New Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Interpretive Methods ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Common ◽  
Book Of Acts ◽  
Common Era

The first of a series of three articles, this essay introduces current scholarship concerned with the use of anti-imperial rhetoric in the New Testament Gospels and the book of Acts. In the first century of the Common Era, if the powerful Roman Emperor was considered a god, what did that mean for the earliest Christians who committed loyalty to ‘another’ God? Was it necessary for the NT authors to employ subversive language, words and symbols, to conceal their true meanings from the imperial authorities in their communications to the first Christian communities? The answers to such key questions can give us a clearer picture of the culture, society and setting in which the NT was written. The purpose of this complex study is to observe how current biblical scholarship views anti-imperial rhetoric and anti-emperor implications found in the NT, assuming such rhetoric exists at all. This initial article reviews recent scholarship with respect to the background of the Roman Empire, current interpretive methods and research concerning anti-imperial rhetoric found in the NT Gospels and Acts.

Roman Empire in the Synoptic Gospels

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith A. Diehl
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Postcolonial Literature ◽  
First Century ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Postcolonial Criticism ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Literature Reading ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
And Control

This article introduces past and current scholarship that uses postcolonial criticism as an approach to the interpretation of the New Testament (NT) Synoptic Gospels. Historically, the NT was written primarily during the colonization and control of the Roman Empire; therefore, it is not strictly “postcolonial” literature. Reading the NT through the lens of postcolonial interpretation, readers can see that experiences connected to modern colonialism are apparent in the ancient texts. Did the Gospel writers find it necessary to employ subversive language and symbols to conceal their true meanings from the imperial authorities? This chapter offers a brief review of the biblical scholarship that recognizes anti-imperial rhetoric within three biblical accounts of Jesus and his countercultural message to the first-century Jewish and Gentile world.

The Paradox of the Easy Yoke: A Survey of χρηστός in Greek Literature and the Interpretational Implications for Matthew 11:30

2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19
Author(s):  
Clark Bates
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Word Study ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Literature ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Common ◽  
Apostolic Fathers

Matthew 11:30 could easily be considered one of the most recognizable passages of the New Testament. Many find comfort and fortitude in the words of Jesus, and warm to the idea that his ‘yoke’; is ‘easy’ and ‘burden’, ‘light’. However recognized and familiar this passage may be, it has not gone unnoticed throughout scholarship as a persistent word study in need of incessant explanation. While copious amounts of ink have been spilt discussing the nature of the ‘yoke’ in Matthew 11:30, it is the position of this article that the author of Matthew, had no intention of creating such a mystery. Rather, that the emphasis is to be found in the nature of the yoke itself and the attributive use of χρηστός in Greco-Roman literature, including that of the Greek Old Testament, and the writings of the first-century Christians. This article seeks to demonstrate that the use of χρηστός in the Matthean Gospel does not mean ‘easy’ by English standards, nor was this what the audience of this Gospel would have taken it to mean, given the common use of the term. This is accomplished through an engagement of the text and message of Matthew, followed by an examination of the word’s use in Classical Greek compositions and the Apostolic Fathers, as well as its use in the LXX and the New Testament.

scholarly journals The New Testament teaching on family matters

2006 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Osiek
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Women Slaves ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Patriarchal Family ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
Christian Family

The article shows that first-century urban Christian communities, such as those founded by Paul, brought in both whole families and individual women, slaves, and others. An example of an early Christian family can be seen in the autobiographical details of the Shepherd of Hermas, whether factual or not. The article aims to demonstrate that the New Testament teaching on family gives two very different pictures: the structured harmony of the patriarchal family as presented in the household codes of Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5, over against the warnings and challenges of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels to leave family in favor of discipleship. The developing devotion to martyrdom strengthened the appeal to denial. Another version of the essay was published in Horsley, Richard A (ed), A people’s history of Christianity, Volume 1: Christian origins, 201-220. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.1.

scholarly journals Geweld in die Nuwe Testament en die Romeinse Ryk: Ambivalensie, andersheid, agentskap

2008 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Punt
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
First Century ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Mixed Messages ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

Violence in the New Testament and the Roman Empire: Ambivalence, othering, agency The various ways in and degrees to which the New Testament is associated with peace, or the end or absence of violence, have often been argued or at least assumed. In contrast more recently, some studies have also argued that the New Testament documents endured and tolerated, but at times also incited and sanctioned violence – positions accompanied by various theories that have been offered to explain the prevalence of Biblical violence. The ambivalence of the New Testament texts regarding violence, particularly their virtually concurrent rejection and condoning of violence, mirrors the ambivalence of the New Testament’s imperial setting. And, the agency regarding violence is situated variously by and through the documents addressing various socio-historical contexts in the agonistic first century CE, with the one common factor being the ubiquitous presence of the Roman Empire. It is argued that greater consideration for the impact of the imperial setting on the New Testament positions regarding violence provides an important starting point for and valuable insight in understanding the mixed messages (and accompanying tensions) of the New Testament concerning violence.

Jesus Christ and the New Testament

2021 ◽  
pp. 102-138
Author(s):  
Donald Senior
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Unique Identity

A unifying motif of the New Testament and one that renders it sacred in the eyes of Christian faith is its assertion of the unique identity of Jesus Christ. While much of modern biblical scholarship has attempted to reconstruct the actual historical circumstances of Jesus in his first-century Jewish context, the New Testament writings themselves find their sacred character in their affirmation of the unique character of the Jesus of faith as both human and divine. This is affirmed in a variety of ways in the Four Gospels as they consider in diverse ways the ultimate origin of Jesus, the “theophanies” that occur during Jesus’s ministry, various titles assigned to him, and the nature of his death and resurrection. While biblical scholarship legitimately explores the historical context of Jesus’s life and teaching, Christians strive to see the intrinsic connection between the historical circumstances of Jesus’s life and the faith affirmations of early Christianity about his unique identity.

Liberal Hermeneutics of the Spectacular in the Study of the New Testament and the Roman Empire

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-183
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Zeichmann
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
New Testament ◽  
State Violence ◽  
Late Capitalism ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Politics Of Resistance ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Military

AbstractSince 9/11, there has been a surge in interest in the topic of violence both among scholars of religion and in the humanities more broadly. This article suggests that such works operate with a “hermeneutics of the spectacular” that functions to legitimate the liberal status quo by concentrating its focus upon the most visibly heinous forms of state violence under the aegis of a politics of “resistance.” This article uses the New Testament and its depiction of the military as a site for thinking about how folk definitions come to classify certain activities as “violent” and not others, both today and in antiquity. If biblical scholarship—or the study of religion more broadly—is to be something other than an ideological repository for late capitalism, it is necessary to reconsider the issue. This article, by point of contrast, discusses three theoretical approaches to violence that may be useful: Objective-Structural Violence, Symbolic Violence, and Violent Subjectivities.

Coins and the New Testament: From Ancient Palestine to the Modern Pulpit

2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-489
Author(s):  
Lawrence E. McKinney
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Cultural Milieu ◽  
Relative Dating ◽  
Roman Provinces ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Era

Ancient coins are ubiquitous items used by archaeologists, along with several types of artifacts, for purposes of relative dating when excavating at ancient sites. Furthermore, coins play an important role in gaining a better understanding the cultural milieu of the first centuries of the Common Era, the period into which events and writing of the New Testament fit. Some archaeologists are also numismatists, that is, specialists in ancient coins. In writing this article the author has drawn upon his own years of work as a field archaeologist and numismatist in Israel. This survey introduces the reader to the subject of ancient Roman Imperial coins, Roman Provincial coins and coins minted in ancient Palestine specifically for use by the Jewish populace. Examples of the importance of the coins as both official, and unofficial, propaganda (as is the case with Jewish coins of the First Revolt of the Jews against Rome, 66–70 CE) are discussed. There is an analysis of the coins that circulated in Palestine and the eastern Roman provinces into which early Christianity spread. Special attention is given to those coins specifically mentioned in the New Testament. Ethical issues concerning the removal of coins from ancient sites and the collecting of them by individuals are also introduced. Finally, possibilities for presenting numismatic information via the pulpit and religious education are addressed. To this end the reader will find some resources for starting out in the field of ancient and Biblical numismatics, and creatively applying that information for the edification of others.

The New Testament and Intellectual Humility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Sacrificial Love ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

This book examines how the New Testament scriptures might form and foster intellectual humility within Christian communities. It is informed by recent interdisciplinary interest in intellectual humility, and concerned to appreciate the distinctive representations of the virtue offered by the New Testament writers on their own terms. It argues that the intellectual virtue is cast as a particular expression of the broader Christian virtue of humility, which proceeds from the believer’s union with Christ, through which personal identity is reconstituted by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we speak of ‘virtue’ in ways determined by the acting presence of Jesus Christ, overcoming sin and evil in human lives and in the world. The Christian account of the virtue is framed by this conflict, as believers within the Christian community struggle with natural arrogance and selfishness, and come to share in the mind of Christ. The new identity that emerges creates a fresh openness to truth, as the capacity of the sinful mind to distort truth is exposed and challenged. This affects knowledge and perception, but also volition: for these ancient writers, a humble mind makes good decisions that reflect judgments decisively shaped by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By presenting ‘humility of mind’ as a characteristic of the One who is worshipped—Jesus Christ—the New Testament writers insist that we acknowledge the virtue not just as an admission of human deficiency or limitation, but as a positive affirmation of our rightful place within the divine economy.

Roman Imperial Culture

2019 ◽  
pp. 256-276
Author(s):  
Davina C. Lopez
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Roman Emperor ◽  
Imperial Culture ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Imperial Ideology

This chapter discusses several aspects of Roman imperial culture that offer resonances with the study of the New Testament. Herein several gendered and sexualized tropes of Roman imperial ideology, which serve to discursively naturalize power relationships and differences in hierarchy, are considered. These include the impenetrable manliness of the Roman emperor, the link between military conquest and sexual violence and feminization of conquered barbarian “others,” and the characterization of the Roman Empire as an endlessly fertile family. Special attention is given to the rhetorical and representational dimensions of Roman imperial culture, and particular emphasis is afforded to visual representation. Finally, the article considers several areas wherein the intersection of gender, sexuality, Roman imperial culture, and the study of the New Testament might further be explored.

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