Customer Reviews

In the Shadow of Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance

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This was a very interesting collection of articles that encourage readers to read the Bible as a history of resistance to anti-faith empires, and I am sympathetic to the overall thesis, even if I demur at some of the particulars (questionable interpretations of Jesus' statement "Give to Caesar What is Caesar's and to God what is God's).

I think the writers wisely note Israel's resistance to anti-God regimes in Egypt, Babylon, the Medo-Persian Empire, and the Roman Empire of Jesus' day. The interpretation of Revelation was also well done.

The article about Paul's writings was the worst one of the bunch. All of a sudden on page 114, Neil Elliott launches an inexplicable, inaccurate, withering assault on the credibility and integrity of the apostle Paul and what he wrote in Holy Scripture. It is so arrogant, and so sacrilegious that I question the wisdom of the editor in allowing Elliot to leave it in the book.

But generally speaking, in spite of the terribly liberal biases of Elliot and one or two of the other writers, I think the book does a good job of highlighting the Bible as a history and narrative of faithful resistance and questioning of real politik.