Jesus and the Powers: Conflict, Covenant, and the Hope of the Poor (2011 Horsley), book

Jesus and the Powers: Conflict, Covenant, and the Hope of the Poor (2011) is a book by Richard A. Horsley.

Abstract

"Refuting a false dichotomy between "politics" and "religion" in Jesus' world (and our own), Jesus and the Powers rediscovers Jesus' response to the imperial power of his day. Richard A. Horsley describes the relevance of political realities under great empires for understanding the rise of covenantal theology and apocalyptic vision in Israel's history. Then he explores aspects of Jesus' activity in the context of the Roman Empire. Horsley examines Jesus as an exorcist and prophetic figure and the character of his death by crucifixion. He also shows how the community life in the early Pauline assemblies gave form to a new response to imperial powers - and stimulus to contemporary readers to re-imagine their own response to political realities in our own day."--Publisher description.

"[Jesus'] challenge was hardly innocent or innocuous. It was not a revolt, much less an armed insurrection. But Jesus' prophetic pronouncements and demonstration of God's judgment against the Temple and high priests generated a countervailing power threatening to the high priests' control of the people and the Roman imperial order in Judea... [Jesus] was giving voice to the collective resentment of the people who were forced to suffer various indignities in the expropriation of their goods" (p.209).

"Contrary to the previous view that Jesus' death meant defeat for the disciples, the Roman crucifixion of Jesus only served to intensify the collective energy of his followers generated by his confrontation of the rulers in Jerusalem" (p.210).

Editions

Published in Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2011.

External links

• [ Google Books]