This book examines the early period of Rome's empire after it became a dictatorship, first under Caesar Augustus, and then the many emperors that followed, and particularly in the light of Christian faith. How does early Christianity fit into the picture? is the first question this book asks, and it examines the context and historical background behind the rise of the Christian movement under Peter and Paul.

I found it to be interesting and particularly how it relates that distant time period to our own. It had similar themes as we see today, meaning the Christian faith can teach us new things for similar periods. It was a fascinating book, and one that looks at Rome in a slightly different angle, and for that, I rate it 4/5 stars and recommend it.

This is a smart book, and I'm interested in the topic, but it was too dry for me to get through entirely. Would have preferred it to be, like, a chapter in a book of essays about modern-day implications of new testament teachings.

This was a fascinating glimpse into how early Christians interacted with the Roman Empire and especially the government. I found it fascinating how Crossan explained this world the early Christians walked in and their relationship with the government of their time,

John Dominic Crossan's "Render Unto Caesar" is a seminal text on the church's relationship with politics and the state around it. This book is timely, especially given the complexities of our current experiences of Christianity and Nationalism. I highly recommend this book!

I enjoyed this book because of it's writing style, unique topic, and the fact that it really provided a thought-provoking experience. Recommended for readers who want to read slowly so as to take time to process.

"Render unto Caesar" is the beginning of a phrase attributed to Jesus in the synoptic gospels, which reads in full, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" [Matthew 22:21] - Wikioedia

This is an academic piece that looks to place this encounter with the greater cultural context of the first century Roman World. While I am not qualified to speak on the merits of the scholarship, I found the analysis presented in a clear and concise manner that allowed a layman to follow and understand it. As such, it greater expanded my own understanding of what Jesus was really speaking about … although it does strike counter to some fundamentalist interpretations. To make his point, the author draws upon other areas of the Christian Bible as well as contemporary external sources to contrast the violent rule of Caesar/Man and non-violent rule of God that opposed it as a critique of acculturation by early christians; using Luke-Acts, Paul and Revelation to illustrate the struggle between “sanction” theology and “Sabbath” theology. This also opened up a new interpretation for me of another famous Jesus saying … “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
The book was divided into three (3) parts:

Part 1: Culture Rejected and Demonized (Revelation & God’s future punishment)
Part 2: Culture Accepted and Canonized (Luke & Josephus acceptance of the status quo)
Part 3: Culture Confronted and Criticized (non-violent critical opposition as the fourth way)

This is a book that I will need to come back to after thinking more on it. As such, I think it should be a welcome addition to the bookshelf of any reader interested in biblical scholarship and exegesis.

I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#RenderUntoCaesar #NetGalley.

It was too dense for my taste. I stopped in the middle of chapter one due to a lack of interest. I will not give it a public review as it was well written and seemed to be well researched. The writing style was not engaging to me. I also cannot give it an entirely fair review since I did not read the entire book.