J. Albert Harrill, “Paul and Empire: Studying Roman Identity after the Cultural Turn,” Early Christianity 2, no. 3 (2011): 281–311 (286).

J. Albert Harrill, “Paul and Empire: Studying Roman Identity after the Cultural Turn,” Early Christianity 2, no. 3 (2011): 281–311 (286).)| false
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Lopez, “Visualizing Significant Otherness,” 93.

Lopez, “Visualizing Significant Otherness,” 93.)| false
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E.g., David J. Mattingly, Imperialism, Power, and Identity: Experiencing the Roman Empire (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010). The more general notion is that the Roman Empire was largely beneficial to the emerging Christianity by (for example) providing suitable infrastructure and safe passage for spreading the message, Joerg Rieger, “Christian Theologies and Empires,” in Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians, eds. D.H. Compier, Kwok Pui-lan and J. Rieger (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007), 1–13 (2).

E.g., David J. Mattingly, Imperialism, Power, and Identity: Experiencing the Roman Empire (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010). The more general notion is that the Roman Empire was largely beneficial to the emerging Christianity by (for example) providing suitable infrastructure and safe passage for spreading the message, Joerg Rieger, “Christian Theologies and Empires,” in Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians, eds. D.H. Compier, Kwok Pui-lan and J. Rieger (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007), 1–13 (2).)| false
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Louise Revell, Roman Imperialism and Local Identities (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 10.

Louise Revell, Roman Imperialism and Local Identities (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 10.)| false
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Revell, Roman Imperialism and Local Identities, 89; Clifford Ando, Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire, Classics and Contemporary Thought 6 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), x.

Revell, Roman Imperialism and Local Identities, 89; Clifford Ando, Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire, Classics and Contemporary Thought 6 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), x.)| false
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E.g., Perkins, Roman Imperial Identities, 10. In the Hellenistic era, Jews used their Hebrew texts to inculturate students into opposition to Hellenistic influence, which likewise was spread by the use of texts in a similar educational setting. Ironically, this counter-Hellenistic culture used many of the Hellenistic techniques of education, thus creating a “resistance hybridity,” which can be found in other cultures that resisted Hellenism, David M. Carr, Writing on the Tablet of the Heart. Origins of Scripture and Literature (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press), 2005.

E.g., Perkins, Roman Imperial Identities, 10. In the Hellenistic era, Jews used their Hebrew texts to inculturate students into opposition to Hellenistic influence, which likewise was spread by the use of texts in a similar educational setting. Ironically, this counter-Hellenistic culture used many of the Hellenistic techniques of education, thus creating a “resistance hybridity,” which can be found in other cultures that resisted Hellenism, David M. Carr, Writing on the Tablet of the Heart. Origins of Scripture and Literature (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press), 2005.)| false
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See Lopez, “Visualizing Significant Otherness,” 83; David Quint, “Epic and Empire,” Comparative Literature 41, no. 1 (1989): 1–32 (27). “[T]extuality is endemic to the colonial encounter,” Leela Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory. A Critical Introduction (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998), 142. The initial phase of Empire building may see a stronger dominance by “guns, guile and disease, but [imperial relations] were maintained in their interpellative phase largely by textuality,” Lawson and Tiffin, in Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory, 142. The use of the Bible in the colonial enterprise in Southern Africa, as elsewhere, formed part of colonial textual politics, although the Bible has in the process become a “vanishing mediator,” see Roland Boer, “Introduction: Vanishing mediators?,” Semeia 88 (2001): 1–12.

See Lopez, “Visualizing Significant Otherness,” 83; David Quint, “Epic and Empire,” Comparative Literature 41, no. 1 (1989): 1–32 (27). “[T]extuality is endemic to the colonial encounter,” Leela Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory. A Critical Introduction (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998), 142. The initial phase of Empire building may see a stronger dominance by “guns, guile and disease, but [imperial relations] were maintained in their interpellative phase largely by textuality,” Lawson and Tiffin, in Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory, 142. The use of the Bible in the colonial enterprise in Southern Africa, as elsewhere, formed part of colonial textual politics, although the Bible has in the process become a “vanishing mediator,” see Roland Boer, “Introduction: Vanishing mediators?,” Semeia 88 (2001): 1–12.)| false
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Mattingly, Imperialism, Power, and Identity, 75–93. Empire was heavily invested in making memory given the link between re-membering and re-writing history. See, e.g., Alain M. Gowing, Empire and Memory. The Representation of the Roman Republic in Imperial Culture, Roman Literature and Its Contexts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) on the republic in imperial (= principate) memory.

Mattingly, Imperialism, Power, and Identity, 75–93. Empire was heavily invested in making memory given the link between re-membering and re-writing history. See, e.g., Alain M. Gowing, Empire and Memory. The Representation of the Roman Republic in Imperial Culture, Roman Literature and Its Contexts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) on the republic in imperial (= principate) memory.)| false
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Punt, “Empire and New Testament texts,” 1–11.

Punt, “Empire and New Testament texts,” 1–11.)| false
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See Punt, “Empire and New Testament texts,” 1–11.

See Punt, “Empire and New Testament texts,” 1–11.)| false
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See Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire (Cambridge; London: Harvard University Press, 2000), xv.

See Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire (Cambridge; London: Harvard University Press, 2000), xv.)| false
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Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 291. See also Peter Oakes, “Re-Mapping the Universe: Paul and the Emperor in 1 Thessalonians and Philippians,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27 (2005): 301–322 (302–303): “By ‘Rome’ I mean, primarily, Roman ideology, that is, Roman discourse which sustains certain power relations. The power relations in question are those of Roman society. They have both external and internal dimensions. Externally, they constitute Rome’s dominant position over against any competing powers. Internally, they constitute a hierarchy that runs from the emperor down to the most marginal inhabitants of the Empire. Alongside ideology, I am including practices that maintain the power relations in question.”

Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 291. See also Peter Oakes, “Re-Mapping the Universe: Paul and the Emperor in 1 Thessalonians and Philippians,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27 (2005): 301–322 (302–303): “By ‘Rome’ I mean, primarily, Roman ideology, that is, Roman discourse which sustains certain power relations. The power relations in question are those of Roman society. They have both external and internal dimensions. Externally, they constitute Rome’s dominant position over against any competing powers. Internally, they constitute a hierarchy that runs from the emperor down to the most marginal inhabitants of the Empire. Alongside ideology, I am including practices that maintain the power relations in question.”)| false
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See Punt, “Empire and New Testament texts,” 1–11.

See Punt, “Empire and New Testament texts,” 1–11.)| false
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Tatha Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” in Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians, eds. D.H. Compier, Pui-lan Kwok and J. Rieger (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007), 47–61 (57).

Tatha Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” in Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians, eds. D.H. Compier, Pui-lan Kwok and J. Rieger (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007), 47–61 (57).)| false
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See Sze-Kar Wan, “Collection for the Saints as Anticolonial Act: Implications of Paul’s Ethnic Reconstruction,” in Paul and Politics. Ekklesia, Israel, Imperium, Interpretation. Essays in honour of Krister Stendahl, ed. R.A. Horsley (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2000), 191–215.

See Sze-Kar Wan, “Collection for the Saints as Anticolonial Act: Implications of Paul’s Ethnic Reconstruction,” in Paul and Politics. Ekklesia, Israel, Imperium, Interpretation. Essays in honour of Krister Stendahl, ed. R.A. Horsley (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2000), 191–215.)| false
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See Elliott, Liberating Paul, 217–226; Sylvia C. Keesmaat, “If Your Enemy Is Hungry. Love and Subversive Politics in Romans 12–13,” in Character Ethics and the New Testament. Moral Dimensions of Scripture, ed. R.L. Brawley (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007), 141–158; N. Tom Wright, Paul: In Fresh Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005), 78–79.

See Elliott, Liberating Paul, 217–226; Sylvia C. Keesmaat, “If Your Enemy Is Hungry. Love and Subversive Politics in Romans 12–13,” in Character Ethics and the New Testament. Moral Dimensions of Scripture, ed. R.L. Brawley (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007), 141–158; N. Tom Wright, Paul: In Fresh Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005), 78–79.)| false
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Jeremy Punt, “Paul and Postcolonial Hermeneutics: Marginality and/in Early Biblical Interpretation,” in As It Is Written: Studying Paul’s Use of Scripture, Symposium Series 50, eds. S. Porter and C.D. Stanley (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2008), 261–290. The reversal of power as divine action is an important part of early Jesus follower-discourse, with the gospel tradition noting the reversal of status or prominence (see Mark 10:31; Matt 20:16; Luke 1:52–53) and the liberation of the oppressed (see Luke 4:18) in explicit terms. Cf. Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 301–302 on reversal as a stock figure among writers of the time, although such reversal appear to have been restricted to reversal of personal status.

Jeremy Punt, “Paul and Postcolonial Hermeneutics: Marginality and/in Early Biblical Interpretation,” in As It Is Written: Studying Paul’s Use of Scripture, Symposium Series 50, eds. S. Porter and C.D. Stanley (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2008), 261–290. The reversal of power as divine action is an important part of early Jesus follower-discourse, with the gospel tradition noting the reversal of status or prominence (see Mark 10:31; Matt 20:16; Luke 1:52–53) and the liberation of the oppressed (see Luke 4:18) in explicit terms. Cf. Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 301–302 on reversal as a stock figure among writers of the time, although such reversal appear to have been restricted to reversal of personal status.)| false
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Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 58–59. At the heart of imperial peace is violence, ably supported by the military and various other structures, systems and manifestations of violence, cf. Jeremy Punt, “Violence in the New Testament, and the Roman Empire. Ambivalence, Othering, Agency,” in Coping with Violence in the New Testament, STAR 16, eds. P.G.R. de Villiers and J.W. van Henten (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 23–39, and the position of Roman emperors and elite depended on their perceived ability to inflict violence, Mattern, Rome and the Enemy. Also J. Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed, In Search of Paul. How Jesus’s Apostle opposed Rome’s Empire with God’s Kingdom. A New Vision of Paul’s Words and World (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004).

Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 58–59. At the heart of imperial peace is violence, ably supported by the military and various other structures, systems and manifestations of violence, cf. Jeremy Punt, “Violence in the New Testament, and the Roman Empire. Ambivalence, Othering, Agency,” in Coping with Violence in the New Testament, STAR 16, eds. P.G.R. de Villiers and J.W. van Henten (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 23–39, and the position of Roman emperors and elite depended on their perceived ability to inflict violence, Mattern, Rome and the Enemy. Also J. Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed, In Search of Paul. How Jesus’s Apostle opposed Rome’s Empire with God’s Kingdom. A New Vision of Paul’s Words and World (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004).)| false
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James D.G. Dunn, “The Justice of God. A Renewed Perspective on Justification by Faith,” Journal of Theological Studies 43, no. 1 (1992): 1–22; James D.G. Dunn and Alan M. Suggate, The Justice of God. A Fresh Look at the Old Doctrine of Justification by Faith (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993).

James D.G. Dunn, “The Justice of God. A Renewed Perspective on Justification by Faith,” Journal of Theological Studies 43, no. 1 (1992): 1–22; James D.G. Dunn and Alan M. Suggate, The Justice of God. A Fresh Look at the Old Doctrine of Justification by Faith (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993).)| false
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See Price, “Rituals and Power,” 183; Punt, “Paul and Postcolonial Hermeneutics,” 261–290. Although it cannot be dealt with here, Empire and the messiness of scholarly constructions thereof has in the past been the object of criticism; cf., e.g., Stanley Stowers’s critique against what he perceives to be Horsley’s totalising schemes, Stanley K. Stowers, “Paul and Slavery: A Response,” Semeia 83–84 (1998):295–311 (297–302).

See Price, “Rituals and Power,” 183; Punt, “Paul and Postcolonial Hermeneutics,” 261–290. Although it cannot be dealt with here, Empire and the messiness of scholarly constructions thereof has in the past been the object of criticism; cf., e.g., Stanley Stowers’s critique against what he perceives to be Horsley’s totalising schemes, Stanley K. Stowers, “Paul and Slavery: A Response,” Semeia 83–84 (1998):295–311 (297–302).)| false
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Seyoon Kim, Christ and Caesar. The Gospel and the Roman Empire in the Writings of Paul and Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 28–33 lists four related aspects with regard to flawed methodology: parallelomania; deductions from assumptions; prooftexting; appeal to coding.

Seyoon Kim, Christ and Caesar. The Gospel and the Roman Empire in the Writings of Paul and Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 28–33 lists four related aspects with regard to flawed methodology: parallelomania; deductions from assumptions; prooftexting; appeal to coding.)| false
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Oakes, “Re-Mapping the Universe,” 301–322.

Oakes, “Re-Mapping the Universe,” 301–322.)| false
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Bryan, Render to Caesar, 105.

Bryan, Render to Caesar, 105.)| false
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Cf. Jeremy Punt, “Countervailing ‘Missionary’ Forces: Empire and Church in Acts,” Scriptura 103 (2010): 45–59. This secondary interpretive grid is the conclusion to which Bryan comes after evaluating two other options for understanding the relationship Acts and Empire, namely that Luke-Acts had no interest in Empire at all but within a purely theological focus was intent on showing how God’s actions in Jesus Christ were integral to God’s faithfulness to his promises to Israel; or, that Luke’s intention was to prepare his audience for their impending suffering for their faith, Bryan, Render to Caesar, 95.

Cf. Jeremy Punt, “Countervailing ‘Missionary’ Forces: Empire and Church in Acts,” Scriptura 103 (2010): 45–59. This secondary interpretive grid is the conclusion to which Bryan comes after evaluating two other options for understanding the relationship Acts and Empire, namely that Luke-Acts had no interest in Empire at all but within a purely theological focus was intent on showing how God’s actions in Jesus Christ were integral to God’s faithfulness to his promises to Israel; or, that Luke’s intention was to prepare his audience for their impending suffering for their faith, Bryan, Render to Caesar, 95.)| false
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Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 299. Harrill’s discussion of the Roman political and social contexts and his understanding of Paul lead him to conclude that Paul worked not as an adversary of the Roman regime, but as a special messenger within that world – “Paul’s Roman identification, which, in turn brings with it a continuity between the Jewish ‘Saul’ and the Christian ‘Paul’,” J. Albert Harrill, Paul the Apostle: His Life and Legacy in Their Roman Context (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 3.

Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 299. Harrill’s discussion of the Roman political and social contexts and his understanding of Paul lead him to conclude that Paul worked not as an adversary of the Roman regime, but as a special messenger within that world – “Paul’s Roman identification, which, in turn brings with it a continuity between the Jewish ‘Saul’ and the Christian ‘Paul’,” J. Albert Harrill, Paul the Apostle: His Life and Legacy in Their Roman Context (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 3.)| false
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Richard A. Horsley, “Submerged Biblical Histories and Imperial Biblical Studies,” in The Postcolonial Bible, Bible and Postcolonialism 1, ed. R.S. Sugirtharajah (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 152–173 (167–168).

Richard A. Horsley, “Submerged Biblical Histories and Imperial Biblical Studies,” in The Postcolonial Bible, Bible and Postcolonialism 1, ed. R.S. Sugirtharajah (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 152–173 (167–168).)| false
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Punt, “Postcolonial Approaches,” 191–208.

Punt, “Postcolonial Approaches,” 191–208.)| false
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Elliott, Liberating Paul, 140–180.

Elliott, Liberating Paul, 140–180.)| false
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See Punt, “Postcolonial Approaches,” 191–208.

See Punt, “Postcolonial Approaches,” 191–208.)| false
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Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 60–61.

Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 60–61.)| false
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Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 310. Harrill may be too quick to dispatch the negative sentiment of Paul towards the Empire. He cites Adela Y. Collins, “Psalms, Philippians 2:6–11, and the Origins of Christology,” Biblical Interpretation 11, no. 3–4 (1993): 361–372, who argues that Paul’s role in drafting the Christ hymn in Philippians amounted to the cultic task of σεβαστολόγος in emperor cults. Collins further points out that Paul not only acted as a “theologos” celebrating Christ, but insisted that Christ instead of the emperor be honoured.

Harrill, “Paul and Empire,” 310. Harrill may be too quick to dispatch the negative sentiment of Paul towards the Empire. He cites Adela Y. Collins, “Psalms, Philippians 2:6–11, and the Origins of Christology,” Biblical Interpretation 11, no. 3–4 (1993): 361–372, who argues that Paul’s role in drafting the Christ hymn in Philippians amounted to the cultic task of σεβαστολόγος in emperor cults. Collins further points out that Paul not only acted as a “theologos” celebrating Christ, but insisted that Christ instead of the emperor be honoured.)| false
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J. Christiaan Beker, Heirs of Paul. Paul’s Legacy in the New Testament and in the Church Today (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991).

J. Christiaan Beker, Heirs of Paul. Paul’s Legacy in the New Testament and in the Church Today (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991).)| false
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Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 55.

Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 55.)| false
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James D. Tabor, Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012).

James D. Tabor, Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012).)| false
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Moises Silva, “Systematic Theology and the Apostle to the Gentiles,” Trinity Journal 15, no. 1 (1994): 3–26 (12).

Moises Silva, “Systematic Theology and the Apostle to the Gentiles,” Trinity Journal 15, no. 1 (1994): 3–26 (12).)| false
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H. Eberhard von Waldow, “The Christian-Jewish Dialogue: In the Footsteps of Markus Barth,” Horizons in Biblical Theology 17, no. 2 (1995): 141–164 (149).

H. Eberhard von Waldow, “The Christian-Jewish Dialogue: In the Footsteps of Markus Barth,” Horizons in Biblical Theology 17, no. 2 (1995): 141–164 (149).)| false
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E.g., Ed P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977); idem, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983).

E.g., Ed P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977); idem, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983).)| false
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Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 55.

Wiley, “Paul and Early Christianity,” 55.)| false
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Deissmann, quoted in Dodd, The Problem with Paul, 11.

Deissmann, quoted in Dodd, The Problem with Paul, 11.)| false
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