Early Christianity

Chapter 6

Confronting Babylon:

early Christianity and the

Roman empire

Consider the following episodes from the New Testament

accounts of Jesus’ life, all of them familiar to anyone who reads

the gospels:

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that

the whole inhabited world should be registered. This, the

first registration [i.e. census], happened when Quirinius was

governor of Syria.

(Luke2.1–2)

[The Pharisees said to Jesus:] ‘Tell us, then, what you

think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus,

aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put me to the test, you

hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax.’ And they

brought him a denarius[coin]. And Jesus said to them,

‘Whose image and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’

Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to Caesar what is

Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’

(Matthew22.17–21; cf. Mark12.14–17;Luke20.22–5)

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