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God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now Hardcover – Bargain Price, March 13, 2007

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John Dominic Crossan (Author)
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4.3 out of 5 stars 50 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (March 13, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060843233
  • ASIN: B0013L2EJ0
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,863,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsCome Again? No, Thanks
By Mr. Orlando R. Barone on May 1, 2007
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
John Dominic Crossan believes that the Kingdom of God is here, present, that what he terms the "Divine Clean-up," (what others call "The Second Coming") is now and does not await some future cataclysm at the sword of an avenging, returning Jesus. He furthermore compares "God's radicality" to "civilization's normalcy." The latter is comprised of empire after empire promising Peace through Victory, with violence being the normalcy to which civilization accustoms us. God's radicality, on the other hand is the clear and present Kingdom brought by the Jesus who lived 2000 years ago. The Kingdom is a three-pronged program based on mutuality among all people. It is manifested in healing the sick, dining with those you heal, and announcing that the Kingdom is present in that mutuality. There are no divisions, classes, genders, no basis whatsoever to assign superiority and inferiority.

Crossan delivers his own credo on p. 198 when he reveals the content of his Bin of Disbelief, the main reasons he decries Christian fundamentalism and "Left Behind-ish" Apocalyptic theology. "What I reject," says the scholar, is "discrimination and oppression, homophobia and patriarchy, injustice and violence, force and empire."

That's a lot of rejecting. And Crossan is making the case that Jesus' message is right there with him, if only we can parse it out of the Bible. Trouble is, the Bible, including the New Testament, doesn't always seem to contain the same items in its Bin of Disbelief. This is where Crossan will lose a lot of readers. What he posits is that you must choose which parts of the New Testament to take seriously as bonafide Jesus talk (God's radicality) and which parts are later slippages back to civilization's normalcy.

He actually groups the Letters of St.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsGOD AND EMPIRE was years in the making.
By George Pieczonka on March 26, 2007
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Crossan's new book GOD AND EMPIRE cannot be properly reviewed as a standalone beacon. There is a historical momentum in Crossan's vision of God and "this world."

Rodney Stark, a professor of sociology and comparative religion, in 1996 published a history THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY:How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the World in a Few Centuries. How? By nonviolence! "But perhaps all else, Christianity brought a new concept of humanity to a world saturated with capricious crulty and viscarious love of death."

I believe Rodney Stark's book set fire under biblical scholars to investigate the historical living conditions that Jesus emerged from as well as the Jesus Movement.

In October 1999, Crossan took part in a Jesus Seminar lecture series (I was there in the audience) about "A Future for Christian Faith?" His full text was published in the book THE ONCE AND FUTURE JESUS. He explained: "What I am trying to imagine is what Christianity must do clearly and honestly to distinquish itself from fantasy." "In 1999 I never imagined...the speed with which faith-based thinking would morph into fantasy-based dreaming...."

In 2001 Crossan and Reed issued their first collaborative book EXCAVATING JESUS: The key Discoveries for understanding Jesus in His World. This book combined analysis of text conjoined with archaeological discoveries. "Jesus and his Kingdom were a threat to Roman law and order, and his Jewish God was a threat to the Roman God." This summation vibrates through the whole book.

In 2004 Crossan and Reed issued their second collaborative book IN SEARCH OF PAUL: How Jesus's Apostle opposed Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom. Again this book combine text conjoined with archaeological discoveries.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsGod and Empire
By tom pause on May 7, 2007
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
A continuation of Dom Crossan's investigation of the meaning of the Kingdom of God. Following on "The Last Week" this book combines archeology, ancient texts and biblical language to distinguish between the world as a result of secular empire and that kingdom introduced by Jesus. Crossan's themes of inclusiveness, distributive justice and early Chrisitan commumity belief are reiterated and combines into a thoughtful book that improves one's understanding of the message of Jesus. He deals with the current American fascination with the "end time" in context of the Book of Revealation for a very different interpretation of what that book meant in the first century. I only wish that some of these ideas were heard from the Christian pulpits. A very good read which directs thought and action
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4.0 out of 5 starsThe Other-Worldly Jesus
By Smallchief on December 8, 2007
Format: Hardcover
Crossan was once a monk and it shows in his views of Christ and Christianity. He sees Jesus as other-worldly, propounding an alternative vision of the-way-life-oughta-be to that of civilization, which is invariably violent, corrupt, and repressive. The apocalyptic Jesus is not here, and Crossan has nothing but contempt for those who would use Christianity as an reason for violence and war. The parallel he sees between the present day United States with the Roman empire is explicit.

Unlike other Crossan books, which are full of words you've never heard of, wander far from their subject, and are irritating, "God and Empire" is relatively easy to comprehend and is more of a personal statement than a scholarly inquiry. The first chapter is the best as it gives a bleak picture of what comprises civilization and empire. Chapter two about the development of the idea of God can be skipped. The next three chapters deal with the teachings of Jesus and Paul and the apocalyptic book of Revelations. As opposed to many critics of Paul, Crossan sees him as a liberal and humane theologian reflecting the alternative to "civilization" that Jesus preached.

Crossan reserves most of his bile for the interpretation of the book of Revelations by fundamentalist Christians. He looks with horror at the notion of an avenging Jesus leading an army of Saints against the anti-Christ and rails at the teachings of current day theologians such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.

In his epilogue he attempts to answer the question: How is it possible to be a faithful Christian in an American Empire facilitated by a violent Christian Bible? Crossan's vision of a kindler, gentler Christianity in a kinder, gentler United States makes for thoughtful reading.

Smallchief
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsThe writing is just terrible, no rational organization

He takes on some interesting topics, but the writing is just terrible, no rational organization, you spend a lot of effort trying to figure out what he is trying to tell you. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Darrell Criswell
5.0 out of 5 starsGod and Empire-1st century Roman and current American Culture vs...

If you want the straight story on Jews, Jesus and 1st century Roman corruption and domination, read this book. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Don L.
1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star

boring.

Published 6 months ago by Terry J. Hubbard
5.0 out of 5 starsI am studying the sources of violence and alternatives to ...

I am studying the sources of violence and alternatives to violence. The book contrasts empire mentality with Kingdom of God non-imperial mentality. Read more

Published 9 months ago by John Hudson
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

An outstanding book making God and Empire understandable for all.

Published 14 months ago by Seamus P Doyle
4.0 out of 5 starsI purchased this book in multiple copies for my adult ...

I purchased this book in multiple copies for my adult Sunday School class. We are enjoying discussions of its content. Read more

Published 16 months ago by R. R. King
1.0 out of 5 starsOne must remember that the leader of society at the ...

One must remember that the leader of society at the times were treated as gods. This is the backdrop that Crossan is pasting his ideas of history upon. Read more

Published 17 months ago by John in PA
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

It's such a fantastic book.

Published 17 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsDangerous idea: the powerful lose.

I find Crossan's scholarship and tone and vision a ray of hope in many ways. His vision of the power of Christ, a powerless nobody in the values of the Roman Empire is a paradigm... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Allison Milligan
5.0 out of 5 starsIt is a thoughtful exploration of the way we have ...

It is a thoughtful exploration of the way we have accepted violence, lack of freedom, and injustice in order to sustain our so called civilization.

Published 18 months ago by Patricia A. Silva

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