Songs of Resistance: Challenging Caesar and Empire

by R. Alan Streett

Overview

Songs of Resistance: Challenging Caesar and Empire examines New Testament hymns in light of their historical and cultural contexts. Such a reading yields new insights. Rather than finding theological truths alone, one also discovers lyrics that contest and defy Rome's "great tradition." The early Christ followers sang songs that opposed the empire's worldview and offered an alternative vision for society. These songs were a first-century equivalent of modern-day protest songs. But instead of marching and singing in the streets, believers gathered in private spaces where they lifted their voices to Jesus and retold the story of his execution as an enemy of the state and how God raised him from the dead to rule over the universe. As they sang, believers were emboldened to remain faithful to Christ and withstand the temptation to comply with the sociopolitical agenda of the empire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725270015
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	11/11/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	196
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

R. Alan Streett is senior research professor of biblical theology at Criswell College, Dallas, Texas. He is author of Subversive Meals and Caesar and the Sacrament.

R. Alan Streett is senior research professor of biblical theology at Criswell College, Dallas, Texas. He is author of Subversive Meals and Caesar and the Sacrament.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Alan Streett’s Songs of Resistance offers fresh and important readings of selected New Testament songs. This important study places passages that have often been read as theological statements in relation to the ideological claims and socio-political contexts of Roman imperial power. This insightful, intertextual discussion constructs the NT texts as songs of protest and hope that rejected Rome’s ‘illusionary version of reality’ and ‘extolled Jesus above Caesar and God’s kingdom above Rome’s.’”

—Warren Carter, Phillips Theological Seminary



“For thousands of years, faith expressed in song has inspired resistance rather than compliance to the powers that be. This often-forgotten insight may come as a surprise, but it is at the heart of the good news of the gospel, and it holds momentous insights for contemporary life. Those who seek to take the biblical texts seriously will find in this book a wealth of inspiration.”

—Joerg Rieger, Vanderbilt University



“I love Alan Streett’s new book, Songs of Resistance. He rightly interprets the songs and hymns in the New Testament against the backdrop of the Roman imperial cult, in which Caesar was viewed as a son of the gods and savior of the realm, celebrated in song and poetry. The early following of Jesus resisted the cult of Caesarea, singing, instead, of a Savior who conquered death.”

—Craig A. Evans, Houston Baptist University



“In Songs of Resistance, R. Alan Streett takes seriously the need to consider not only the words that the earliest Christians likely sang, but the social function of songs. Exploring their sociopolitical as well as religious implications, Streett makes connections and comparisons with relevant material as diverse as the hymns from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Odes of Solomon, the Psalms, and hip hop.”

—James F. McGrath, Butler University



“Streett offers a provocative study of the principal hymnic passages in the New Testament, suggesting the ways in which those who sang these hymns in the first century engaged in subversive proclamations of a higher justice, a greater lord, and a far more lasting kingdom than what they experienced under the Roman ‘peace.’ Streett connects his discussion with more recent songs of resistance, reminding us that Christian witness must hold political powers to account.”

—David A. deSilva, Ashland Theological Seminary

Editorial Reviews

Alan Streett’s Songs of Resistance offers fresh and important readings of selected New Testament songs. This important study places passages that have often been read as theological statements in relation to the ideological claims and socio-political contexts of Roman imperial power. This insightful, intertextual discussion constructs the NT texts as songs of protest and hope that rejected Rome’s ‘illusionary version of reality’ and ‘extolled Jesus above Caesar and God’s kingdom above Rome’s.’”

—Warren Carter, Phillips Theological Seminary



“For thousands of years, faith expressed in song has inspired resistance rather than compliance to the powers that be. This often-forgotten insight may come as a surprise, but it is at the heart of the good news of the gospel, and it holds momentous insights for contemporary life. Those who seek to take the biblical texts seriously will find in this book a wealth of inspiration.”

—Joerg Rieger, Vanderbilt University



“I love Alan Streett’s new book, Songs of Resistance. He rightly interprets the songs and hymns in the New Testament against the backdrop of the Roman imperial cult, in which Caesar was viewed as a son of the gods and savior of the realm, celebrated in song and poetry. The early following of Jesus resisted the cult of Caesarea, singing, instead, of a Savior who conquered death.”

—Craig A. Evans, Houston Baptist University



“In Songs of Resistance, R. Alan Streett takes seriously the need to consider not only the words that the earliest Christians likely sang, but the social function of songs. Exploring their sociopolitical as well as religious implications, Streett makes connections and comparisons with relevant material as diverse as the hymns from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Odes of Solomon, the Psalms, and hip hop.”

—James F. McGrath, Butler University



“Streett offers a provocative study of the principal hymnic passages in the New Testament, suggesting the ways in which those who sang these hymns in the first century engaged in subversive proclamations of a higher justice, a greater lord, and a far more lasting kingdom than what they experienced under the Roman ‘peace.’ Streett connects his discussion with more recent songs of resistance, reminding us that Christian witness must hold political powers to account.”

—David A. deSilva, Ashland Theological Seminary

From the Publisher