Bible and Theology on Emperors

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A Reminder of the Paradox of Christian Power and Authority

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Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 5:1-14, Matthew 25:31, Revelation 21:3-4

When you go into one of the great homes of the late Roman empire and you see a mosaic of Christ enthroned at the far end, you’re looking at the place where the emperor would sit. And the emperor would...

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The Showdown Between Ambrose & Theodosius

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 3:8, 1 Samuel 16:7, Isaiah 1:17, Micah 6:8, James 2:1

In the Christian faith, we frequently take for granted how radically Jesus evens the playing field. No matter your wealth, your position, let alone your race or gender, all of us are equal in God’s ey...

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Haters of Humanity?

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 8:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 4:12-16, Matthew 5:10-12, Luke 6:41-42, Genesis 3:8-19, Genesis 39:6-20, Job 2:11-13, Job 42:7-9

Most of us are aware of various persecutions that took place during the first few centuries of the church’s existence. One particularly brutal local persecution took place during the reign of Nero, wh...

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It Goes Without Saying

Author

E. Randolph Richards and Richard James

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:27, Matthew 2:2, Revelation 19:16, John 18:36-37, Revelation 17:14, Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 9:6, Psalm 24:7-10, Colossians 1:15-20, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, John 12:12-16

In a culture, the most important things usually go without being said. We Westerners don’t talk all the time about being individualists or about the importance of efficiency or why we prefer youth ove...

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Palm Sunday | Mark 11:1-11 | A Different Kind of Triumph

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-35, Luke 22:25-27, Matthew 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45

Reflection Most of us are familiar with the words attributed to the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, “ Veni, Vidi, Vici .” I came. I saw. I conquered. That is the way of imperial rulers in their conquest...

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Adoption in the Ancient World

Author

Kelley Nikondeha

Keywords

Adoption

Adoption was clearly not a foreign concept in the Greco-Roman world. But it’s important to note how differently Paul and his communities would have heard that word! Our contemporary concept of adoptin...

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A Roman’s View of the Jewish Faith and Its Interaction with Egypt

Author

Tacitus

Keywords

In this excerpt by the Roman historian Tacitus, we get insight into the Jewish faith from an ancient, extra-Biblical account. We also see how the Israelites took the first commandment seriously: The...

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Alexamenos’s God

Author

Judith Couchman

Keywords

One of the earliest forms of Christian art isn’t a painting, sculpture or even a catacomb fresco. It’s a patch of graffiti on plaster, discovered in the Paedagogium on the Palatine Hill in Rome and da...

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Earrings with a Mushroom Cloud

Author

D. A. Carson

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:8, Hebrews 12:2

What would you think if a woman came to work wearing earrings stamped with an image of the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima? What would you think of a church building adorned w...

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The Emperor and the Whipping Boy

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 19:16, Matthew 2:2, John 18:36-37, Revelation 17:14, Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 9:6, Psalm 24:7-10, Colossians 1:15-20, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, Mark 11:1-11, John 12:12-16

In 1987 director Bernardo Bertolucci released the film The Last Emperor to raving reviews. It was based on the autobiography of the last living emperor of the Manchu dynasty in China, Henry Aisin-Gior...

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Author

Walter Brueggemann

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:1-10, Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-47

The purpose of that empire, like every empire, whether Babylon among the Jews, Rome in the time of Jesus, or the US empire . . . is to coercively extract wealth for the sake of the center. Zacchaeus s...

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"Remember: You are Human."

Author

Christian Meier

Keywords

Scripture

James 4:1-10, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Mark 7:20-23, Proverbs 15:25-33, Proverbs 16:18, 1 Samuel 18:null, Luke 18:9-11

When Julius Caesar returned to Rome after many years of fighting its battles abroad, he planned great festivities and triumphal processions to celebrate his victories over Gaul, Egypt, Pontos, and Afr...

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Author

Napoleon Bonaparte

Keywords

Scripture

John 18:36, Matthew 5:43-44, Philippians 2:6-8, Isaiah 9:6-7, John 13:3-5, Luke 23:34

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded ...

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The Threat of the Christians

Author

Michael Frost

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:27, Hebrews 13:2-3, 1 Peter 2:12, Galatians 6:10, Romans 12:13, Acts 2:44-45

The fourth-century emperor Julian (AD 331-336) feared [Christians] might take over the empire. Referring to Christians as “Galileans” and Christianity as “atheism” (because of their denial of the exis...

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Author

John Milton

Keywords

Self-Control

He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king.

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Author

Lesslie Newbigin

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The Church has outlasted many occupants of Caesar’s throne and will outlast more, for the truth entrusted to her is the truth of God.

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

The real enemy, after all, was not Rome but the powers of evil that stood behind human arrogance and violence…. [On the cross] the kingdom of God triumphed over the kingdoms of this world by refusing ...

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Commanding the Waves

Author

Source Unknown

Keywords

In the years 1014-1035 there ruled over England a Danish king named Canute. King Canute tired of hearing his retainers flatter him with extravagant praises of his greatness, power and invincibility. H...

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Not Until After My Death

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 45:1-15, Matthew 18:21-35, Ephesians 4:32, Romans 5:10, Mark 11:25, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 5:44

Frederick William I was a king of Prussia in the early 18th century. Personality-wise, he was described as exacting, frugal and austere. He was known to beat his children when they disappointed him. H...

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A King Over Myself

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It is recorded that Frederick the Great, of Prussia, was once walking down a road outside Berlin when he came face to face with an unusual looking old man. “Who are you?” Frederick asked. “I am a ki...

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An Eye for an Eye

Author

James S. Hewett

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:13, Matthew 5:7, Zechariah 7:9-10, Proverbs 21:3, Micah 6:8

Zaleusus flourished as king of the ancient Greek Locrians in about 500 B.C. His government over the Locrians was severe but just. In one of his decrees he forbade the use of wine unless it were prescr...

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Two Gods on My Side

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

The Athenian general and politician Themistocles eventually alienated a large number of Greek City-States that came under their rule in the late 6th and early 5th centuries B.C. With his fleet of ship...

liturgy

1 Timothy 6:15b-16 "He who is the blessed and only

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 6:15

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and ...

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Lord of Lords

Author

Asheritah Ciuciu

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 17:14, Matthew 8:25-27, Mark 10:21-22, John 11:25-26, Luke 6:46-48, Isaiah 32:1-2

Though lords still exist today in some parts of the world, the term is used mostly as an honorary badge, so it’s easy to forget what the term even means. Throughout history, lords were rulers who had ...

liturgy

1 Timothy 1:17, "To the King eternal"

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 1:17

To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

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Author

Deanna A. Thompson

Keywords

To call the community in Corinth “the body of Christ” that proclaims Jesus as Lord, then, counters a culture that proclaims that Caesar is lord, where Caesar is seen as ruler and head of the body. Onc...

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Author

Hannah More

Keywords

Self-Control

[I]f to govern realms belong to few, Yet all who live have passions to subdue. Self-conquest is the lesson books should preach, Self-conquest is the theme the stages should teach.

liturgy

Mighty God, sovereign over the

Keywords

Mighty God, sovereign over the nations, direct those who make, administer, and judge our laws; the President of the United States and others in authority among us (especially N., N.); that, guide...

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Game Recognizes Game

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 2:, Matthew 11:25, Psalm 72:10-11

Elite athletes will sometimes say that “game recognizes game” (or occasionally more grammatically suspect variants of that). By this is meant that someone who is particularly skilled at something is u...

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A Son That Ruled All of Greece

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

At one point in his career, Themistocles was overheard saying that his young son ruled all of Greece. When his talking companion asked him to explain, he said, “Athens holds sway over all Greece; I do...

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