Jesus and Empire An Analysis of Roman Imperialism

In his book, Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder author Richard Horsley presents a persuasive case for interpreting Jesus and the proto-Christian emergence as a communal movement of families and traditional villages which opposed the Roman Empire and its regional puppet rulers. Horsley contends that Jesus should be defined in these terms and insists that Jesus can be best understood in a corporate rather than an individual context.  (Horsely)

His assessments are interesting, for when the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and displayed the cross at the head of his armies, Roman expansion carried on much as it had in previous centuries, primarily because it was driven by political and economic motivations.  In Constantine’s case, the early Church had to deal with the moral dilemma of a political leader using Christianity as a military tool to expand an empire founded upon conquest and maintained by the coercion of subject peoples, but church leaders rationalized that Roman expansion at least provided the opportunity to convert heathens to Christianity. 

But conversion was not one of Rome’s top priorities, regardless of what early Christians thought, for Rome had always been intent upon imposing a Pax Romana, much like the United States seems to be intent upon imposing a Pax Americana two-thousand years later.  Just as imperialism was carried out by Roman emperors in order to spread and maintain Roman culture, law, and influence; American presidents, especially the latest one, have carried out neo-imperialist policies in order to spread and maintain American culture, legal interpretations, and influence. 

In terms of concrete policies, Rome advanced its imperialist ambitions by portraying itself as the defender of the peace.  Roman emperors proclaimed these noble intentions as they sent their legions into foreign countries, conquered all resistance, and set up puppet rulers who would obey Rome. (Horsely)  If this sounds familiar, it’s because America’s current president also proclaims noble intentions, portrays America as a defender of the peace, and sends his modern legions into foreign countries, conquers all resistance, and sets up puppet rulers who will obey Washington.

Some people would dispute these comparisons, but there are definite parallels between the Pax Romana and the Pax Americana that exists in the world in the twenty-first century.  Rome was the unchallenged superpower of its day, and the United States is the unchallenged superpower of this era.  And just as Christianity was used by Constantine and his successors as justification for their imperial ambitions, Christianity is being used by America’s emperor to justify nearly everything he does. 

In conclusion, in his book, Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder author Richard Horsley makes intriguing comparisons between Roman imperialism, the modern world order, and the Pax Romana and Pax Americana.  His observations reveal that religion is often used as a justification for imperialism, and his evaluation of Jesus and the early Christians as insurgents opposed to the aggressive ambitions of Rome provides much food for thought. 

Source

Horsely, Richard.  Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder.New York: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2002.       

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