{"id":811,"date":"2009-06-05T08:27:59","date_gmt":"2009-06-05T08:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/2009\/06\/a-faithful-rendering--christopher-bryans-render-to-caesar.html"},"modified":"2009-06-05T08:27:59","modified_gmt":"2009-06-05T08:27:59","slug":"a-faithful-rendering-christopher-bryans-render-to-caesar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2009\/06\/a-faithful-rendering-christopher-bryans-render-to-caesar.html","title":{"rendered":"A Faithful Rendering– Christopher Bryan’s ‘Render to Caesar’"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"cb51JlWGjGJ9L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Christopher Bryan, Render to Caesar, <\/u>(Oxford: O.U. Press, 2005),
\npp. viii+ 185, $35.00.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

            <\/span>I must
\nconfess from the outset that I have a particular inclination to like
\nChristopher Bryan’s recent book, as he is a man after my own heart (and sharing
\na similar education and profession).  <\/span>He
\nanalyzes the NT with the wealth of knowledge he has gained from training not
\nonly in the NT but in Greco-Roman classics, rhetoric, and early Judaism.  <\/span>The result is a full orbed way of reading the
\nNT in light of all its major influences and confluences.  <\/span>Having read his previous major studies on
\nMark and Romans, one is thus quite naturally expecting a good and helpful read
\nwhen it comes to Render to Caesar, <\/u>and Bryan does not disappoint. He is eloquent, he
\nis on target, he is persuasive, and he exhibits, as my namesake Ben Jonson once
\nsaid that ‘chief virtues of a style—perspicuity’.  <\/span>This book may be slender but its force and
\nideas are not slight and they are expressed clearly and convincingly.   <\/span>I would rate this as one of the ten best
\nbooks written about the NT in the last ten years.   <\/span>Taking it in is rather like eating very rich
\nfood— you need to take small bites at a time, chew thoroughly and then
\nswallow. The fact that some will find some of it, or much of it hard to
\nswallow, does not in any way detract from the merit and the power of this
\nlittle book. <\/p>\n

            <\/span>Sometimes
\nit is good to know from the outset who the primary dialogue partners or
\nantagonists are when an author sets out to proof a thesis, and in this case the
\nauthors being most critiqued in this study would be Richard Horsley, Dom
\nCrossan, Warren Carter, (asnd more recently Neil Elliott) and in general those
\nwho subscribe to the ‘imperial domination system theory’ when it comes to the
\nRoman Empire and the imperial cult theory when it comes to Roman worship.  <\/span>In other words, it is critiquing the notion
\nthat the Roman Empire is simply painted in
\nblack colors in the NT as inherently an evil empire and that lurking beneath
\nthe surface of much of the NT is a critique of the imperial cult.   <\/span>Bryan
\ndoes think there is some critique of the imperial cult in the NT, though not
\nnearly so much as some of these scholars suggest,  <\/span>but he does not think that the NT is arguing
\na case to replace one form of government with another, one set of political
\nstructures with another. Bryan
\ndoes not think either Jesus or the NT writers attempt to make such a case, not
\neven the author of Revelation per se. 
\n<\/span>But let us hear Bryan’s
\nown statement of his thesis, in this case speaking about Jesus himself<\/p>\n

            <\/span>In sum, there is nothing in the narratives
\nof Jesus’ ministry that sets him apart from the general theology of empire that
\nwas adumbrated by the traditions of Nathan, Jeremiah, Daniel, Deutero-Isaiah,
\nand Ezra and that is characteristic of the biblical tradition. The tradition of
\nhis words and works in general do not indicate the slightest interest in
\nchanging the forms or structures of temporal power, in replacing one system of
\ngovernment with another, or in questions as to whether those who ruled were
\nbelieved to be believers or  <\/span>pagans.
\nThose same traditions do, however, indicate a concern that those who have power
\nunderstand it as God’s gift to them, given for the sake of God’s people and the
\nworld. This is the attitude that Jesus consistently maintains on every occasion
\nwhere he is seen dealing with those who have temporal authority. <\/i> <\/span>(p. 50). <\/p>\n

            <\/span>Mutatis
\nmutandis, Bryan
\nwill argue that the NT writers themselves do not take a more radical view that
\ntheir Lord.  <\/span>The words of the Johannine
\nJesus to Pilate say it all–“you would have no power over me, if it had not been
\ngiven to you.”  <\/span>This is not different
\nfrom what Paul says in Rom. 13.   <\/span>The
\nbiblical tradition then, as viewed by Bryan,
\nis not in the main concerned with the forms nor the origins of human power
\nstructures per se. It is not even particularly concerned with whether a
\nbeliever is in office or not.  <\/span>“The
\nbiblical tradition is concerned, however with the purposes for which power structures
\nare ordained, and it is concerned that those in power should fulfill these
\npurposes. Thus the biblical tradition subverts human order not by attempting to
\ndismantle it or replace it with other structures but by consistently
\nconfronting its representatives with the truth about its origin and purpose.
\nIts origin is that God wills it, and its purpose is to serve the glory of God
\nby promoting God’s peace and God’s justice for all. Powers and superpowers are
\nallowed to exist, and may even be approved [think of Cyrus the Persian, called
\n‘my anointed one’ in Isaiah], but they are always on notice. Biblical tradition
\nis therefore utterly opposed to the absolutizing of governmental authority
\n(Dan. 3.4-6!) or to the exercise of that authority without concern for those
\nwho are subject.” (p. 125).  <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span>It can be
\nadded that Bryan stresses as well that the Bible is absolutely opposed to
\nidolatry as well in governmental form or as perpetrated and imposed by a
\ngovernment which is why there certainly is a critique of pagan power including
\nthe imperial cult in the NT.  <\/span>But the
\ncritique is not laid at the door of ’empire’ per se, it is laid at the door of
\nidolatry, including the misuse of governmental power for pagan religious
\npurposes.  <\/span>The problem with Babylon in Revelation is not that it is Babylon or even that it is Empire–the problem
\nis it promotes idolatry and immorality and as such abuses legitimate governing
\npower. <\/p>\n

            <\/span>Bryan’s critique of the
\n‘inherently evil empire’ theory cuts several ways of course.  <\/span>On the one hand, it gives no solace to
\nMarxist analysis of the NT and its attempt to paint Jesus and\/or some of his
\nfollowers as early examples of Che Guevara, in other words as revolutionaries
\nor rebels with a cause. On the other hand, his critique suggests that kings and
\nkingdoms are not inherently bad ideas or illegitimate forms of government, and
\nso the NT does not provide a basis for the supposition that democracy is what
\nJesus really meant when he said the Kingdom
\nof God is at hand.   <\/span>Freedom in Christ is not equated with
\ndemocracy in political structure or in the governmental constitution.   <\/span>This is of course why Paul, who is the big
\nadvocate for freedom in Christ in the NT, is also perfectly comfortable with
\nsuggesting, perhaps drawing on Jesus’ render unto Caesar teaching, that
\nChristians should be good citizens and show honor and respect to governing
\nofficials, and pay their taxes as well. 
\n<\/span>1 Peter says much the same, also probably drawing on the precedent in
\nearly Jewish and Jesus’ teaching.  <\/span>The
\nline of honor is drawn at the point where idolatry and immorality are expected
\nor required. <\/p>\n

            <\/span>Having set
\nout Bryan’s
\nmajor thesis, it will be useful to share some of his supporting conclusions
\nalong the way. One of the things that is so evident throughout this book is the
\neven-handedness of the treatment of the Biblical evidence.  <\/span>When there is a critique of a ruler or his
\npractices, then Bryan
\nsays so.  <\/span>When there is commendation,
\nthen he says so. He is not interesting in making out the Bible to support some
\nmodern theory of government of whatever sort. Jesus on the one hand did not
\nhave a problem with paying taxes, nor was he, like Judas the Galilean, an
\nadvocate for revolt against Rome.
\nThe kingdom of which he was the advocate involved direct divine intervention in
\nhuman lives, not a voting out or in, or a throwing out or in of this or that
\nregime. His kingdom was in this world but not of it, but being in this world,
\nit immediately became the most important kingdom of all, demanding ultimate
\nallegiance, and when there was conflict with lesser kingdoms, one had to serve
\nGod rather than human governments. <\/p>\n

It is thus not responsible to simply demonize the Roman
\ngovernmental system per se, and the NT writers do not do so.  <\/span>And as for the death of Jesus Bryan opines—
\n“the historical probability is that Jesus’ death was brought about not by bad
\npeople or evil systems but by average people— indeed, in the case of the
\nSanhedrin, probably better than average–doing the best they could under systems
\nthat were no worse than others in the ancient world, and perhaps rather better
\nthan most….The death of Jesus is no more a symbol of his relationship to the
\nRoman imperial order than it is a symbol of his relationship to Jews. It is a
\nsymbol of his relationship to the world. And that means, to us.”  <\/span>(p. 64). 
\n<\/span>In short Bryan sees some Jewish leaders
\nand Pilate as involved in the death of Jesus without it being a comment writ
\nlarge against either early Jewish life or the Sanhedrin or a comment against
\nthe Roman Empire and its jurisprudence.  <\/span>Bryan
\nutterly rejects the strange notion of Crossan that the earliest Christians knew
\nlittle or nothing about the particulars of Jesus’ trial (s) and execution. On
\nthe contrary, the whole tradition found in both Gospels and Paul suggest there
\nwere multiple eyewitnesses amongst Jesus’ followers to the whole process that
\nled to his death, burial, and resurrection (see. e.g 1 Cor. 15 and Acts 1).<\/p>\n

            <\/span>When it
\ncomes to Paul’s presentation of the Gospel, Bryan reminds that Paul operated in
\na world where there were gods many and lords many  <\/span>and saviors aplenty (see 1 Cor. 8) and it
\nsimply was not inherently treasonous to suggest Jesus was one of them.  <\/span>The facile claim that saying Jesus is Lord necessarily
\nimplied (and you, the Emperor, are not) is too easy a claim.  <\/span>He puts the matter thusly: “Such a view of
\nemperor worship treats it, I suspect, far too much as if it were a phenomenon
\nlike Christianity. Greco-Roman religion (from which emperor worship should not
\nbe separated) did not, essentially, involve a body of doctrine and belief as does
\nChristianity, but rather was a practice of honoring the gods….The fact is, even
\nat the height of the persecutions, Rome’s problem with Christianity appear
\ngenerally to have nothing to do with what Christians believed or claimed about
\nJesus and everything to do with Christians’ refusal to honor the Roman gods.” (pp.
\n91-92).  <\/span>Whilst I think this conclusion
\nis basically right, I think it is somewhat overstated, not least because the
\nonly two historical first century persons about whom such divine claims were
\nbeing made throughout the empire and over a considerable period of time was the
\nEmperor and the Christ. While imperial theology may not have produced textbooks
\nor sacred scriptures its rhetoric and propaganda was plastered all over the
\nempire.  <\/span>So here, I think Bryan over-eggs the
\npudding as the Brits would say.  <\/span>It does
\nseem clear that Paul, and the author of Revelation and perhaps others were claimed
\nthat Jesus is truly the human divine one, and the Emperor, despite claims to
\nthe contrary is not.  <\/span>The critique of the
\nimperial cult, with or without developed imperial theology is present in the NT
\nprecisely because it is seen as an inherent manifestation of idolatry. While
\nGreco-Roman religion was mainly about praxis and ritual, it had its theological
\nelements, especially when it came to the Emperor cult.  <\/span>Julius Caesar would not have raised the same
\nconcerns as Domitian precisely because of the different nature of the claims
\nbeing made about each. <\/p>\n

            <\/span>There is so
\nmuch more to Bryan’s
\npanegyric but I will leave you to find out about it on your own.  <\/span>Suffice it to say that this book has all the
\nearmarks of a truly good theological book— it teases the mind into active
\nthought and forces you to rethink your previous paradigms and conclusions. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BW3  <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span>   <\/span>  <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

  <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christopher Bryan, Render to Caesar, (Oxford: O.U. Press, 2005), pp. viii+ 185, $35.00.               I must confess from the outset that I have a particular inclination to like Christopher Bryan’s recent book, as he is a man after my own heart (and sharing a similar education and profession).  He analyzes the NT with the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nA Faithful Rendering- Christopher Bryan's 'Render to Caesar' - The Bible and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2009\/06\/a-faithful-rendering-christopher-bryans-render-to-caesar.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Faithful Rendering- Christopher Bryan's 'Render to Caesar' - The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christopher Bryan, Render to Caesar, (Oxford: O.U. 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A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/author\/bwitherington"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}