God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now

God and Empire is an unusually well-written book in that it concisely delivers an historical interpretation of the life and mission of Jesus, and yet does so with a writing style that is at turns personal, artistic, and even ideosyncratic. Through this well-told tale, Crossan explains what it means to challenge the domination systems of one's day from the 1st century perspective of Jesus and Paul. As arguably the world's foremost historical Jesus scholar, the reader trusts that this brilliant story is told with great attention to detail. Through his historical reconstruction, Crossan focuses the reader's attention on one theme: contrasting the differences between hegemonic regimes' 'peace through victory' program and the biblical message of 'peace through justice'. Regardless of one's religious persuasion, this telling is likely to inspire readers to consider the spiritual underpinnings of social action that, in this case, did indeed change the world.

The author does well to tie in the political situation of Jesus' time to his teachings.