The Roman Empire in the days of the New Testament is the focus of Warren Carter’s The Roman Empire and the New Testament: an Essential Guide. Carter attempts to show the reader that the Roman Empire was at the forefront of the first century, Christian writers’ minds, and the empire is engaged in every chapter of the New Testament text (2006, p. 1). The contemporary reader struggles to see clearly each reference to Rome, but first century readers would have recognized the subversive nature of the text in every manner explicit, as well as, implicit. Warren Carter’s argument is quite convincing. He does well to develop the mindset of the first century writers, and he accomplishes his goal that the writers had Rome on their minds.

Caesar Augustus

Ultimately, the New Testament writers were directly confronted with the imperial cult of Rome. The Romans had created a story of origin stating that the empire was divinely sanctioned (p. 7), and its citizens were continually creating new ways to express honor and praise to the emperor. The New Testament authors would have been directly in the midst of this pressure to follow suit. Carter also shows that Rome was a benefit to the elite (i.e., top 2-3% of the population) and a detriment to the non-elite (p. 10). The term “domination” properly grasps the essence of the first century CE. Rome believed that it was given its state by the gods and should pursue justice in the world, but this justice often was at the expense of the disenfranchised (p. 11).

The apostles were well aware of Rome’s inadequacies and do directly engage with Roman domination. Most, if not all, of its members were part of the non-elite, pressured into giving honor to the emperor and acknowledging the positive spin on his justice. The Christian writers clearly did not find Rome’s rule to be thoroughly positive and expressed this from the Gospels through John’s Revelation.  Carter’s treatment of the Gospels in this respect is revealing in many ways. The trial of Jesus in John 18 is the most intriguing in light of Carter’s explanation of the state of Rome. It appears that Pilate taunts Jesus’ accusers when he states that he cannot find fault in Jesus. According to Carter, anyone who was accused of claiming kingship would have been guilty prior to the trial. Pilate “goads [Jesus' accusers] into an important statement of dependence.” In all this, Pilate is simply “playing games” (p. 30). The Johannine Gospel attempts to show Rome’s domineering mentality.

The early Christians were in no way innocent bystanders during Roman domination. For example, Jesus’ response to the question of taxes, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mt. 22:21 NRSV) is engaging in double-talk about Rome (p. 12). Also, Jesus’ statement, “And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven” (Mt. 23:9), is a rejection of “pater patriae, ‘Father of the Fatherland,’” Caesar (p. 32). Although in some cases Carter forces the subject of Rome on to the Gospels, his intriguing discussion on John 18, as well as these examples, clearly and properly show that the Gospel writers were participants in subversion of Roman occupation.

The apostle Paul is by far the most subversive of the early Christian writers. Paul’s continual use of the term “Lord” for Jesus is controversial in light of his present day circumstances. A few examples of how Paul subverts the empire through his writings are as follows: first, Caesar was “Lord” and by applying this term to Jesus “indicates a direct challenge to the gospel of Caesar” (p. 87). Second, it was suggested that Nero saved the world from sin, but Paul applies this to Jesus (p. 88). Third, the gospel or the good news was the emperor’s birth or other accomplishments, but Paul applies the good news to the message of Jesus (p. 90). Fourth, even the term for the Christian communities (Greek, ekklesia) echoes “the citizen assembly of Greek-speaking cities in the eastern Roman Empire. The term presents Paul’s churches as rival assemblies” (p. 91). The reader finds that as Carter reveals these things Pauline theology becomes more and more subversive to Rome. Carter is in line with his goals as he reveals this subversive nature to the reader.

Overall, it is difficult to find complete contention with Warren Carter’s emphasis that the Roman Empire was on the forefront of the New Testament’s mind. Christianity is a religion that engages the culture and perceives its “offers” through the lens of the Christian worldview. Followers of Jesus do not run to the mountains and away from the world, but they engage it. Rome was the empire at the time of Jesus and his apostles. If another empire had existed instead, the New Testament would have been critical of it and used similar methods in handling it. Empires are places of domination, belittling of the non-elite, relief for the wealthy, and a place of prosperity to its leaders. Carter’s overall presentation is vital for today’s Christians, especially, those living within a contemporary empire. Carter’s discussion about the Roman Empire and the New Testament should lead contemporary Christians to process the implications of the book for involvement or non-involvement in the present context of empire.

Score: 7 out of 10

+++++++

Advent 2009

The above is a reflection on Warren Carter’s book, which I submitted for Dr. Richard Smith’s “Spirit and the Church” class at Biblical Seminary. You can purchase Carter’s book here.

Carter, W. (2006). The Roman Empire and the New Testament: an essential guide. Abingdon Press: Nashville.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.