Render unto Caesar
The Struggle over Christ and Culture in the New Testament
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Narrated by:
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Derek Perkins
About this listen
The revered Bible scholar and author of The Historical Jesus explores the Christian culture wars—the debates over church and state—from a biblical perspective, exploring the earliest tensions evident in the New Testament, and offering a way forward for Christians today.
Leading Bible scholar John Dominic Crossan, the author of the pioneering work The Historical Jesus, provides new insight into the Christian culture wars which began in the New Testament and persist strongly today.
For decades, Americans have been divided on how Christians should relate to government and lawmakers, a dispute that has impacted every area of society and grown more rancorous over the past forty years. But as Crossan makes clear, this debate isn’t new; it can be found in the New Testament itself, most notably in the tensions between Luke-Acts and Revelations.
In the texts of Luke-Acts, Rome is considered favorably. In the book of Revelations, Rome is seen as the embodiment of evil in the world. Yet there is an alternative to these two extremes, Crossan explains. The historical Jesus and Paul, the earliest Christian teachers, were both strongly opposed to Rome, yet neither demonized the Empire.
Crossan sees in Jesus and Paul’s approach a model for Christians today that can be used to cut through the acrimony and polarization roiling our society and dividing us.
©2022 John Dominic Crossan (P)2022 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Must read for all practicing Christians
- By Venusian Incognito on 09-06-19
By: Elaine Pagels
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The Jesus Dynasty
- A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity
- By: James D. Tabor
- Narrated by: James D. Tabor
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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Based on a careful analysis of the earliest Christian documents and recent archaeological discoveries, The Jesus Dynasty offers a bold new interpretation of the life of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. The story is surprising, controversial, and exciting as only a long-lost history can be when it is at last recovered.
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Provocative book
- By Dan on 08-27-06
By: James D. Tabor
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Revelations
- Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation
- By: Elaine Pagels
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Elaine Pagels explores the surprising history of the most controversial book of the Bible. In the waning days of the Roman Empire, militant Jews in Jerusalem had waged anall-out war against Rome’s occupation of Judea, and their defeat resulted in the desecration of the Great Temple in Jerusalem. In the aftermath of that war, John of Patmos, a Jewish prophet and follower of Jesus, wrote the Book of Revelation, prophesying God’s judgment on the pagan empire that devastated and dominated his people.
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Revealing "Revelations"
- By Diane on 05-13-12
By: Elaine Pagels
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Understanding the Bible
- By: John R. W. Stott
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Understanding the Bible will provide you with a foundational comprehension of the entirety of Scripture with a focus on broadening your vision of Jesus Christ.
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Excellent exposition of the Christian faith
- By GW on 02-25-12
By: John R. W. Stott
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The First Paul
- Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon
- By: Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression - condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: The later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's message.
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A Liberal Paul
- By Kayla on 05-12-20
By: Marcus J. Borg, and others
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The End
- By: Mark Hitchcock
- Narrated by: Tim Lundeen
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The end times have seen a great amount of interest within the last two decades. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Arab Spring, ISIS, and the Iranian stand-off have focused us on the future of the Middle East - the center of the Bible's prophecies about the last days. Yet there hasn't been a comprehensive overview of biblical prophecy and eschatology for more than five decades. Mark Hitchcock's book is that comprehensive resource for the 21st-century listener. The End will provide a solid biblical foundation for Christians to explore the essential truths.
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Don't get the audible version
- By read2me2 on 08-19-19
By: Mark Hitchcock
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Paul and Jesus
- How the Apostle Transformed Christianity
- By: James D. Tabor
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Historians know virtually nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time the man we know as the apostle Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have - the letters of Paul - as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity.
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Paul or Jesus?
- By James on 01-29-13
By: James D. Tabor
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Christ
- A Crisis in the Life of God
- By: Jack Miles
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Jack Miles's book is a provocative and revisionary look at the life of Jesus, in which many of the most well-worn truths about Christ are recontextualized and revisited. It does not look for the historical Jesus, but takes the Gospels as the sole source about his life.
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Missed a lot of stuff
- By Wintertao on 01-08-21
By: Jack Miles
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God and Empire
- Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now
- By: John Dominic Crossan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In contrast to the oppressive Roman military occupation of the first century, Crossan examines the meaning of the non-violent Kingdom of God prophesized by Jesus and the equality advocated by Paul to the early Christian churches. Crossan contrasts these messages of peace with the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation, which has been misrepresented by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify US military actions in the Middle East.
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Smart Book
- By Wesley Bishop on 07-01-22
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Understanding the Koran
- A Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book
- By: Mateen Elass
- Narrated by: Don Reed
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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A quick non-technical introduction to the Koran designed to help Christians understand a hidden book revered by 1.3 billion Muslims, covering the background on its writing, a summary of its contents, a perspective on how it’s used and viewed by Muslims, a comparison of differences and similarities to the Bible, and some suggestions on how it should and should not be used in conversations with Muslims.
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Favors Christianity
- By Dianne on 12-18-15
By: Mateen Elass
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David Lynch
- The Man from Another Place (Icons)
- By: Dennis Lim
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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At once a pop culture icon, cult figure, and film industry outsider, master filmmaker David Lynch and his work defy easy definition. Dredged from his subconscious mind, Lynch's work is primed to act on our own subconscious, combining heightened, contradictory emotions into something familiar but inscrutable. No less than his art, Lynch's life also evades simple categorization, encompassing pursuits as a musician, painter, photographer, carpenter, entrepreneur, and vocal proponent of Transcendental Meditation.
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Essential listening for Lunch fans
- By Michael P. Mesaros on 08-14-18
By: Dennis Lim
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Simply Jesus
- A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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“Jesus - the Jesus we might discover if we really looked,” explains Wright, “is larger, more disturbing, more urgent than we had ever imagined. We have successfully managed to hide behind other questions and to avoid the huge, world-shaking challenge of Jesus’s central claim and achievement. It is we, the churches, who have been the real reductionists. We have reduced the kingdom of God to private piety; the victory of the cross to comfort for the conscience; Easter itself to a happy, escapist ending after a sad, dark tale. Piety, conscience, and ultimate happiness are important...."
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A must read for today's church
- By Joey A. on 03-17-12
By: N. T. Wright
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Desire of the Everlasting Hills
- The World Before and After Jesus
- By: Thomas Cahill
- Narrated by: Brian F. O'Byrne
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus, Thomas Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled.
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Desire Delivers
- By David on 04-18-03
By: Thomas Cahill
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In contrast to the oppressive Roman military occupation of the first century, Crossan examines the meaning of the non-violent Kingdom of God prophesized by Jesus and the equality advocated by Paul to the early Christian churches. Crossan contrasts these messages of peace with the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation, which has been misrepresented by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify US military actions in the Middle East.
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Smart Book
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After Jesus, Before Christianity
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Excellent and informative
- By Claire Z. on 04-17-22
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The Fourth Gospel
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John Shelby Spong, best-selling author and popular proponent of a modern, scholarly, and authentic Christianity, argues that this last gospel to be written was misinterpreted by the framers of the fourth-century creeds to be a literal account of the life of Jesus when in fact it is a literary, interpretive retelling of the events in Jesus' life through the medium of fictional characters, from Nicodemus and Lazarus to the "Beloved Disciple."
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Very thought-provoking
- By Mark J Mickey on 03-18-23
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How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian
- Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation
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Many portions of the New Testament introduce a compassionate Jesus who turns the other cheek, loves his enemies, and shows grace to all. But the Jesus we find in Revelation and some portions of the Gospels leads an army of angels bent on earthly destruction. Which is the true revelation of the Messiah - and how can both be in the same Bible? How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian explores this question and offers guidance for the faithful conflicted over which version of the Lord to worship.
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A Brilliant, and Brilliantly Flawed Thesis
- By Stephen on 12-06-22
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The Greatest Prayer
- Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message
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The Lord's Prayer is an indisputable principle of Christian faith. It is the way Jesus taught his followers to pray and distills the most essential beliefs required of every one of the world's 2.5 billion Christians. In The Greatest Prayer, our foremost Jesus scholar explores this foundational prayer line by line for the richest and fullest understanding of a prayer every Christian knows by heart. An expert on the historical Jesus, Crossan provides just the right amount of history, scholarship, and detail for us to rediscover why this seemingly simple prayer sparked a revolution.
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Felt like listening to a Maths book read aloud
- By Jacobus on 06-23-12
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Jesus' Alternative Plan
- The Sermon on the Mount
- By: Richard Rohr OFM
- Narrated by: Dean Gallagher
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Richard Rohr Rohr goes through the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, explaining the historical and cultural context of each verse and offering guidance for what it means for Christians today.
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Updated Version
- By Anonymous User on 03-30-23
By: Richard Rohr OFM
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God and Empire
- Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now
- By: John Dominic Crossan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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In contrast to the oppressive Roman military occupation of the first century, Crossan examines the meaning of the non-violent Kingdom of God prophesized by Jesus and the equality advocated by Paul to the early Christian churches. Crossan contrasts these messages of peace with the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation, which has been misrepresented by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify US military actions in the Middle East.
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Smart Book
- By Wesley Bishop on 07-01-22
-
After Jesus, Before Christianity
- A Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of Jesus Movements
- By: Erin Vearncombe, Brandon Scott, Hal Taussig, and others
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the Jesus movement, transforming our understanding of the religion and its early dissemination.
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Excellent and informative
- By Claire Z. on 04-17-22
By: Erin Vearncombe, and others
-
The Fourth Gospel
- Tales of a Jewish Mystic
- By: John Shelby Spong
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Shelby Spong, best-selling author and popular proponent of a modern, scholarly, and authentic Christianity, argues that this last gospel to be written was misinterpreted by the framers of the fourth-century creeds to be a literal account of the life of Jesus when in fact it is a literary, interpretive retelling of the events in Jesus' life through the medium of fictional characters, from Nicodemus and Lazarus to the "Beloved Disciple."
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Very thought-provoking
- By Mark J Mickey on 03-18-23
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- Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation
- By: John Dominic Crossan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Many portions of the New Testament introduce a compassionate Jesus who turns the other cheek, loves his enemies, and shows grace to all. But the Jesus we find in Revelation and some portions of the Gospels leads an army of angels bent on earthly destruction. Which is the true revelation of the Messiah - and how can both be in the same Bible? How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian explores this question and offers guidance for the faithful conflicted over which version of the Lord to worship.
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A Brilliant, and Brilliantly Flawed Thesis
- By Stephen on 12-06-22
-
The Greatest Prayer
- Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message
- By: John Dominic Crossan
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Lord's Prayer is an indisputable principle of Christian faith. It is the way Jesus taught his followers to pray and distills the most essential beliefs required of every one of the world's 2.5 billion Christians. In The Greatest Prayer, our foremost Jesus scholar explores this foundational prayer line by line for the richest and fullest understanding of a prayer every Christian knows by heart. An expert on the historical Jesus, Crossan provides just the right amount of history, scholarship, and detail for us to rediscover why this seemingly simple prayer sparked a revolution.
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-
Felt like listening to a Maths book read aloud
- By Jacobus on 06-23-12
-
Jesus' Alternative Plan
- The Sermon on the Mount
- By: Richard Rohr OFM
- Narrated by: Dean Gallagher
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
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Story
Richard Rohr Rohr goes through the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, explaining the historical and cultural context of each verse and offering guidance for what it means for Christians today.
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Updated Version
- By Anonymous User on 03-30-23
By: Richard Rohr OFM
What listeners say about Render unto Caesar
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Philo
- 04-11-22
Honest, sharp scholarship bogs down
Trying to parse the Book of Revelation in its cultural context takes one into an impenetrable thicket of kaleidoscopic noise. That is not this very bright and earnest author's fault. Instead it seems like a white whale over the horizon he is drawn to chase. It is respectable that he feels the need to unpack all of it, on the way to something resembling the Publisher's Summary. But we spend so long in this thicket, chasing micro-narratives in all directions, we wind up with a book I had not signed on for, which is far too long to cleanly make its supposed point. At 10 hours plus, it frosts my brain with a blizzard of side-stories chasing off into, what for me now, is noise and trivia, attractive to the merely superstitious, pawing through the wreckage and endless scenes of ultra-violence, matching up shards of supposed meaning. Yes, it is about what it claims to be about, and carefully crafted, but the path there is a swamp. Revelation models Jesus as vengeful against Rome, and by extension, earthly government, depicted through a bloodbath as the path forward to better things. Can't we just say that, give a few samples, and move mercifully on?
Statements attributed to Jesus in the Gospels have surpassing beauty and resonant, enduring meaning, not for their technical pyrotechnics, but for their elegant simple phrasing. Some sense of this appears elsewhere in the arts, as in the Beatles, who were not flashy technicians. This very day, in my work, I am chopping big chunks out of my own beloved "brilliant" writing for the sake of readers. I need to stand back and extract what is crucial and graceful to say. That last editing pass makes all the difference. The technical pyrotechnics here are the problem. I have a vast appetite for nimble word-play and great patience for cultural variance and intellectual complexity. I am a legal writer, for gosh sake! I am defeated, here. It clarified some things for me, but only very obliquely, and I must abandon this one.
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