God and Empire

December 11, 2006
In this fine study of civilization, culture and transformation, Father
\t\t Crossan asks important questions: have those who resort to violence as a means
\t\t of change succeeded in their quest for empire? Or has nonviolence been more
\t\t effective in bringing about lasting change? Crossan, professor emeritus at De
\t\t Paul University and author of several well-received works including
\t\t The Historical Jesus, believes that the
\t\t solution is not in violent intervention but in the coming of the Kingdom of God
\t\t on earth. But how, and when, will this Kingdom come? In comparing the missions
\t\t of Jesus and John the Baptist, Crossan states his idea clearly: "Jesus differed
\t\t precisely from John in emphasizing not the future-presence but the
\t\t already-presence of God's Kingdom as the Great Divine Cleanup of the world." In
\t\t other words, Christ saw the Kingdom as a present and active reality. Crossan
\t\t uses the teachings of Jesus to promote his thesis, and then turns to an
\t\t unlikely ally—the Apostle Paul—by suggesting that Paul's emphasis on
\t\t equality and freedom helped carry forward Jesus' program of nonviolent change.
\t\t Crossan's latest work presents a complex subject in a clear and powerful way,
\t\t and it merits a wide readership.