Religion and Empire

Richard Horsley has been an immensely productive scholar in recent years, publishing or editing a plethora of books in the emerging field of the intersection of religion and empire. "Jesus and Empire," "Paul and Empire," "Paul and Politics" all provide detailed explanations of how the New Testament can only truly be heard for what it is in the context of the Roman imperial reality of the first century, and the ongoing imperial reality of our world today. This book, part of the "Facets" series, offers pithy chapters on major themes, both within and beyond Christianity. I have used several chapters in an undergraduate class on "God and Empire" to the positive response of students. In particular, most helpful have been: 1. the summaries of his earlier writing on popular resistance to empire in the time of Jesus 2. "Christmas" as a celebration not of the birth of the Messiah but of the "victory" of consumer capitalism 3. the chapter in how western media have twisted "Islam" in the context of Iran into something unrecognizable by practicing Muslims for reasons all too clear from the perspective of Western empire. In under 100 pages, Horsley offers solid material to start valuable conversations among students or others interested in politics and religion in the world today.