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Imperial Cult and Early Christianity (Biblical Studies)

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. The imperial cult or emperor worship honored the emperor during his reign (common in the eastern provinces), or in Rome after his death. Emperors in Rome could be declared divus after their death, thereby elevating them to the level of the gods or demigods. Worship could also be directed to their genius (a personification of innate qualities or guardian spirit) or numen (a personification of active power). Across the 1st century CE, emperors who were declared divus in Rome and the West included Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian, Titus, Nerva, and Trajan. Some other members of imperial families were also elevated, including the wife of Augustus, Livia; the sister of Caligula, Drusilla; the daughter of Nero, Claudia Augusta; and the daughter of Domitian; Julia Augusta. The worship of emperors practiced in the towns and cities of the Roman Empire resembled ruler-worship elsewhere in the ancient world. The repertoire of activities was typical of religious practices in the classical world and included variously temples, shrines, altars, images, sacrifices, priests, processions, feasts, oaths of loyalty and obedience, hymns, poems, prayers, incense, and contests in athletics, music, and imperial encomiums. Expressions of worship could take place in households, trade associations, and in municipal, provincial, and state festivals. Observance was neither uniform nor universal throughout the empire. Nor was observance mandatory. The cult was not promoted solely from above or from the center, but often by elites in cities and provinces as a way of conceptualizing and negotiating the political power exerted by Rome and its emperor as a display of divine power through this human figure.
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  5. Introductory Works
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  7. There are a number of helpful, shorter introductions to emperor worship that highlight important dimensions. An older introduction, Nock 1952, emphasizes the role of gratitude and power and includes discussion of Jewish interaction with emperor worship. Fears 1988 sets the imperial cult in relation to others forms of ruler worship in the ancient world. Gordon 1990 focuses on the roles of provincial elites in promoting imperial cult celebrations. Price 1996 concentrates on Augustus and Rome. Beard, et al. 1998 includes visual representations of cultic activity. Liebeschuetz 2000 offers a useful general introduction, as does Scheid 2003, which emphasizes the manifestation of divine power through human rulers. Herz 2007 focuses on roles and representations of emperors, while Rives 2007 sketches the diversity and ambiguity of practices that constituted imperial cult activity.
  8.  
  9. Beard, Mary, John North, and Simon Price. Religions of Rome. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
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  11. In addition to useful discussion (1.348–363), includes visual representations of cultic activity that are often cross-referenced to volume 2.
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  13. Fears, J. Rufus. “Ruler Worship.” In Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome. 3 vols. Edited by Michael Grant and Rachel Kitzinger, 1009–1025. New York: Scribner’s, 1988.
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  15. Sets the imperial cult or emperor worship practiced in the Roman Empire, in relation to ruler-worship practiced elsewhere in the ancient world. Fears defines it as comprising “the practice of offering sacrifices and other forms of cultic homage to a mortal ruler living or deceased” (p. 1009).
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  17. Gordon, Richard. “The Veil of Power, Emperors, Sacrificers and Benefactors.” In Pagan Priests: Religion and Power in the Ancient World. Edited by Mary Beard and John North, 201–231. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990.
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  19. Includes discussion of elite provincial imperial priesthoods and euergetistic activity. Argues somewhat reductionistically that the cult was a type of veil whereby emperors and elites controlled the populace.
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  21. Herz, Peter. “Emperors: Caring for the Empire and their Successors.” In A Companion to Roman Religion. Edited by Jörg Rüpke, 304–316. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007.
  22. DOI: 10.1002/9780470690970Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  23. Analyzes roles and representations of the emperor in relation to the imperial cult.
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  25. Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G. “Religion.” In The Cambridge Ancient History. 2d ed. Vol. 11. Edited by Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, and Dominic Rathbone, 984–1008. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University, 2000.
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  27. Discusses the imperial cult in both the West and the East.
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  29. Nock, A. D. “Religious Developments from the Close of the Republic to the Death of Nero.” In The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. 10. Edited by S. A. Cook, F. E. Adcock, and M. P. Charlesworth, 465–511. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1952.
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  31. Sees the ruler cult as expression of gratitude and/or the acknowledgement of power. Discusses Jewish interaction with it.
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  33. Price, Simon R. F. “The Place of Religion: Rome in the Early Empire.” In The Cambridge Ancient History, 2d ed. Vol. 10. Edited by Alan K. Bowman, Edward Champlin, and Andrew Lintott, 812–847. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University, 1996.
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  35. Emphasizes the Augustan restructuring and the distinctive place of Rome
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  37. Rives, James. Religion in the Roman Empire. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007.
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  39. Warns that the term “imperial cult” does not denote a single system of worship and discusses various and ambiguous ways in which the emperor was honored as well as the imprecise divide between human and divine. See pp. 148–156.
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  41. Scheid, John. An Introduction to Roman Religion. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
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  43. Within the context of diverse Roman religious practices, briefly traces the development of emperor worship in Rome and the provinces, emphasizing different conceptions and practices, but emphasizing its function in defining the exceptional power of Augustus and his successors as a manifestation of divine power through a mortal being. See pp. 159–165.
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  45. General Overviews
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  47. Older discussions, such as Scott 1936, a useful but dated study of the imperial cult under the Flavians, and the den Boer 1973 collection of essays, often framed the imperial cult in terms of political expediency and religious insincerity. Price 1984a and Price 1984b, more than any others, have shaped recent discussion with an emphasis on the imperial cult as ritual and its function in religious and political systems. Aspects of this discussion were anticipated, for example, by Pleket 1965, which attended to the role of mystery rites in devotion to the emperor, and by Hopkins 1978, which emphasized the unifying role of its symbolic system and anticipated some dimensions of this more recent discussion. Alföldy 1996 in the wide-ranging collection of studies edited by Small pursues its function as worship. Cancik and Hitzl 2003 develops the interconnection of politics and religion. Klauck 2003 provides a good overview of the discussion.
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  49. Alföldy, Géza. “Subject and Ruler, Subjects and Methods: An Attempt at a Conclusion.” In Subject and Ruler: The Cult of the Ruling Power in Classical Antiquity; Papers Presented at a Conference Held in the University of Alberta on April 13–15, 1994, to Celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Duncan Fishwick. Edited by Alastair Small, 254–261. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 17. Ann Arbor, MI: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 1996.
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  51. Argues that the ruler cult was the most important type of worship in the Roman Empire.
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  53. den Boer, Willem, ed. Le culte des souverains dans l’Empire Romain: Sept exposés suivis de discussions. Geneva, Switzerland: Fondation Hardt, 1973.
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  55. Its seven articles exhibit the emphases of an older approach that framed the inquiry predominantly in political and ideological/Christian perspectives (to whom did the imperial cult matter? the nature of worship; the divine and/or human natures of the emperor; the role of “belief”; persecution and Christian interaction) with little attention to ritual and practice. They argue that the cult was neither universal nor uniform.
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  57. Cancik, Hubert, and Konrad Hitzl, eds. Die Praxis der Herrscherverehrung in Rom und seinen Provinzen. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2003.
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  59. Wide-ranging, interdisciplinary essays focus on the practice and ritual of the imperial cult, exploring the interconnection of politics and religion in various expressions of the imperial cult and its contribution to integrating a culturally and ethnically diverse empire.
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  61. Hopkins, Keith. “Divine Emperors or the Symbolic Unity of the Roman Empire.” In Conquerors and Slaves. By Keith Hopkins, 197–242. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
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  63. Argues that emperor worship provided a fund of empire-wide shared symbols that allied emperor and gods, and sacred rites, laudatory rhetoric, and attributes of king and gods that showed the emperor, god-like, to represent the moral order. Traces the diffusion of emperor worship, recognizing the roles of elites, ex-slaves (Augustales), religion and politics, emperor statues, and legitimating and mystifying omens and portents.
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  65. Klauck, Hans-Josef. The Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide to Graeco-Roman Religions. Translated by Brian McNeil. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.
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  67. Section 4, “Divinised Human Beings: The Cult of Rulers and Emperors,” pp. 250–330 (including bibliography). Hellenistic ruler cults, especially those of Alexander the Great, account for the emergence of the Roman imperial cult with Caesar and Augustus. The cult was not mandatory and did not compete with other cults but frequently allied with them (e.g., Artemis in Ephesus). Points out that there was a sliding scale with respect to notions of divinity.
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  69. Pleket, H. W. “An Aspect of the Emperor Cult: Imperial Mysteries.” Harvard Theological Review 58 (1965): 331–347.
  70. DOI: 10.1017/S0017816000002571Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  71. Asks whether emperor worship was primarily political in expressing loyalty (and devoid of religious significance as many have argued) or genuinely religious. Pleket allies with the latter perspective, discussing several inscriptions concerning mystery rites (performance of a sacred drama) associated with various deities that also included devotion to an emperor.
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  73. Price, Simon R. F. Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1984a.
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  75. This groundbreaking study took the religious ritual and political functions of the imperial cult in the provinces seriously. Hellenistic cities represented and contained imperial power within their local traditions concerning divine powers. The imperial cult created and explained the power relationship between ruler and ruled. It also enhanced the dominance of local elites over local populations, of cities over other cities, and of Greeks over local cultures.
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  77. Price, Simon R. F. “Gods and Emperors: The Greek Language of the Roman Imperial Cult.” Journal of Hellenic Studies 104 (1984b): 79–95.
  78. DOI: 10.2307/630281Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  79. Examines the term theos (qeo,j, god) for the reigning emperor. This term, as well as huios theou (ui[oj qeou/, son of a god), does not reflect the Latin term divus (a post-mortem designation by the senate) nor divi filius (son of a god). Nor can it be attributed to Greek anthropomorphic presentation of the gods. Rather it reflects a traditional Greek understanding of the gods as powers.
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  81. Scott, Kenneth. The Imperial Cult under the Flavians. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1936.
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  83. Discusses literary, archaeological, epigraphical, and numismatic sources concerning the imperial cult and the three Flavian emperors, highlighting especially their imitation of Augustus. Much of the book’s attention concerns Domitian. Introduces the imperial cult as comprising much “shameless flattery . . . and political motives,” yet as being important for the Flavian period.
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  85. Bibliographies
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  87. Cerfaux and Tondriau 1957 identifies earlier work; Herz 1978 helpfully covers the next twenty years (1955–1975). Graf 2008 includes a short bibliography. Naylor 2010 provides an excellent bibliography of classical works along with studies of Revelation.
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  89. Cerfaux, Lucien, and J. Tondriau. Un Concurrent du christianisme: Le culte des souverains dans la civilization gréco-romain. Bibliothéque de thèologie 3.5. Paris: Desclée et Cie, 1957.
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  91. Valuable and extensive bibliography on ruler-cult (pp. 10–73). Traces the development of ruler-cults beginning with the ancient Near East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia), Greece, and Rome (from Julius Caesar to Decius). The discussion of emperors post-Augustus is somewhat superficial and maintains an unsupportable emphasis on persecution. The authors also posit Christian borrowing from, but transformation of, imperial cult titles and practices.
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  93. Graf, Fritz. “Ruler Cult.” In Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Ancient World. Vol. 12, Antiquity. Edited by Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, Christine F Salazar, and David E Orton, 760–763. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2008.
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  95. Short bibliography concludes Graf’s contribution to the New Pauly, which provides a brief overview of the development of ruler cults from the Greeks to the Romans, notably Augustus.
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  97. Herz, Peter. “Bibliographie zum römischen Kaiserkult (1955–1975).” In Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II.16.2. Edited by Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase, 833–910. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1978.
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  99. Comprehensive bibliography up until 1975, updating Cerfaux and Tondriau.
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  101. Naylor, Michael. “The Roman Imperial Cult and Revelation.” Currents in Biblical Research 8.2 (2010): 207–239.
  102. DOI: 10.1177/1476993X09349160Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  103. Excellent resource on both the imperial cult and Revelation.
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  105. Origins
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  107. There is extensive discussion of the origins of the imperial cult, or at least of some of the significant factors that gave it life in various regions. In addition to the key role of Augustus and of its active promotion by provincial elites, Badian 1996 explores the role of Persian practices. Taylor 1979 and Herz 1996 recognize the importance of Hellenistic ruler worship. Weinstock 1971 attends to the actions of Julius Caesar. Price 1984b (cited under General Overviews) takes seriously Greek religious understandings in making sense of Roman power, countering in part the emphasis of Fishwick 1978 on political expediency. Momigliano 1986 argues that people called exceptionally powerful men gods in part because they were losing faith in the effectiveness of traditional gods. Recently Heyman 2007 has argued for the importance of understandings of sacrifice.
  108.  
  109. Badian, E. “Alexander the Great between Two Thrones and Heaven: Variations on an Old Theme.” In Subject and Ruler: The Cult of the Ruling Power in Classical Antiquity; Papers Presented at a Conference Held in the University of Alberta on April 13–15, 1994, to Celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Duncan Fishwick. Edited by Alastair Small, 11–26. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 17. Ann Arbor, MI: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 1996.
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  111. Assesses among other matters, the likely influence of Persian concepts and practices on Philip’s self-presentation as one equal to the gods (ivso,qeoj, isotheos).
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  113. Fishwick, Duncan. “The Development of Provincial Ruler Worship in the Western Roman Empire.” In Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II.16.2. Edited by Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase, 1202–1253. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1978.
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  115. Surveys the development of provincial ruler worship from Augustus to Septimius, concluding that homage to the emperor (not worship) was really “a purely mechanical exercise, a conventional gesture . . . a duty to be hurriedly performed (p. 1253).” This activity belongs not to religion but to “practical government” and political ambition.
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  117. Herz, Peter. “Hellenistische Könige: Zwischen grieschischen Vorstellungen vom Königtum und Vorstellungen ihre einheimischen Untertanen.” In Subject and Ruler: The Cult of the Ruling Power in Classical Antiquity; Papers Presented at a Conference Held in the University of Alberta on April 13–15, 1994, to Celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Duncan Fishwick. Edited by Alastair Small, 27–40. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 17; Ann Arbor, MI: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 1996.
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  119. Discusses diverse Hellenistic conceptions that drew on both Greek perceptions of the ruling power and earlier Oriental traditions. Among other things, highlights the notion of the ruler as a substitute for the god in cultures of Egypt, Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Iran.
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  121. Heyman, George. The Power of Sacrifice: Roman and Christian Discourses in Conflict. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2007.
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  123. Helpfully approaches the imperial cult through concepts of sacrifice as mediating power relationships. For both ancient Romans and early Christians, sacrifice is both ritual practice and a discourse of power. Heyman views the imperial cult (chapter 2) as a discourse of religio-political power and social (Roman) identity with which Christians refused to identify. Focus on martyrdom foregrounds an antithetical relationship between Christians and the imperial cult.
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  125. Momigliano, Arnaldo. “How Roman Emperors Became Gods.” American Scholar 55 (1986): 181–193.
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  127. Poses the question as to why Greeks and Romans embraced rulers who were considered gods. Momigliano argues that a loss of belief in the effectiveness of the gods assisted the identification of powerful rulers as gods and provided reassurance for those who believed in those gods.
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  129. Taylor, Lily Ross. The Divinity of the Roman Emperor. New York: Garland, 1979.
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  131. Originally published in 1931. This classic study sets the emergence of the imperial cult in Rome under Julius Caesar and Augustus in the context of Hellenistic ruler worship especially that of Alexander and his successors.
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  133. Weinstock, Stefan. Divus Julius. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.
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  135. Emphasizes the actions and cult of Julius Caesar more so than those of Augustus.
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  137. Location and Regions
  138.  
  139. The cult did not take the same form or exercise the same role uniformly across the empire. Small 1996 contains discussions of Aphrodisias, Rome, Pompeii, and Athens. Fishwick 2005 provides comprehensive discussion of the West. Gradel 2002 examines Rome and Italy, arguing that emperor worship was consistent with Roman religious traditions. McLaren 2005 examines Jewish interaction with the cult in Judea and the diaspora. Taylor 2006 examines Judea and the governor Pilate’s activity in promoting the cult, while Bernett 2007 considers the similar roles of client kings in the Galilee. Bilde 1978 and Carter 2008 discuss Caligula’s attempt to establish the cult in the Jerusalem temple. The development and expression of imperial cults in Asia will be considered in the sections on Paul and Revelation.
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  141. Bernett, Monika. “Roman Imperial Cult in the Galilee: Structures, Functions, and Dynamics.” In Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition. Edited by Jürgen Zangenberg, Harold W. Attridge, and Dale B. Martin, 337–356. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2007.
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  143. Jews, not legally exempt from the cult, adopted varied approaches to it. Herod, Antipas, and Agrippa I and II promoted it in Galilee, politicizing inhabitants, and shaping Jewish culture as a strategic expression of distinctiveness opposed to Rome. For elaboration, see Monika Bernett, Der Kaiserkult in Judäa unter der Herodiern und Römern: Untersuchungen zur politischen und religiösen Geschichte Judäas von 30 v. bis 66 n. Chr. (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2007).
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  145. Bilde, Per. “The Roman Emperor Gaius (Caligula)’s Attempt to Erect His Statue in the Temple of Jerusalem.” Studia Theologica 32 (1978): 67–93.
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  147. Discusses Gaius Caligula’s attempt to establish the imperial cult in Jerusalem (a reversal of Rome’s toleration policy). With attention to six events, seeks to reconstruct the incident from the available sources (Philo; two accounts in Josephus).
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  149. Carter, Warren. John and Empire: Initial Explorations. New York and London: T&T Clark, 2008.
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  151. An appendix entitled “Is Gaius Caligula the Father of Johannine Christology?” (pp. 343–384) identifies six intertextualities between the accounts in Josephus and Philo concerning Caligula’s attempts to establish cultic observance in the Jerusalem temple and Johannine thought.
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  153. Fishwick, Duncan. The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire. Vol. 3, Part 4, Provincial Cult: Bibliography, Indices, Addenda. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 148. Leiden, The Netherlands, and New York: Brill, 2005.
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  155. This monumental, multivolume work provides an immense range of data and bibliography concerning the cult in the Latin West.
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  157. Gradel, Ittai. Emperor Worship and Roman Religion. Oxford: Clarendon, 2002.
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  159. Focuses attention on Rome and Italy; frames the discussion in terms of worship of the emperor being consistent with Roman religious traditions. Honors were paid to the emperor as important for the state rather than in terms of the emperor’s absolute divinity or divine nature. Ritual actions, not beliefs, ensure divine status. Includes discussion of emperor worship in houses.
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  161. McLaren, James S. “Jews and the Imperial Cult: From Augustus to Domitian.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27 (March 2005): 257–278.
  162. DOI: 10.1177/0142064X05052506Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  163. Reviews Jewish interaction with the imperial cult from Augustus to Domitian. Discusses six significant incidents: Herod’s temples, an Alexandrian incident, a Jamnian incident, Gaius’s order, an incident in Dora, and sacrifices at Jerusalem for the emperor and Rome. McLaren argues that Herod ensured coexistence until 70 CE by establishing separate but parallel sacred space for both the imperial cult and the Jewish faith tradition that excluded images.
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  165. Small, Alastair, ed. Subject and Ruler: The Cult of the Ruling Power in Classical Antiquity; Papers Presented at a Conference Held in the University of Alberta on April 13–15, 1994, to Celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Duncan Fishwick. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 17. Ann Arbor, MI: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 1996.
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  167. Good collection of essays including discussions of the imperial cult in Aphrodisias (Reynolds), Rome (Simpson), Pompeii (Dobbins; Small), Spain (Curchin, Étienne, Fishwick), Athens (Hoff), Corinth (Hoskins-Walbank), and Alexandria (Jentel).
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  169. Taylor, Joan E. “Pontius Pilate and the Imperial Cult in Roman Judaea.” New Testament Studies 52.4 (October 2006): 555–582.
  170. DOI: 10.1017/S0028688506000300Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  171. Examines numismatic and epigraphic material to argue that the governor Pilate promoted Roman religion manifested in the imperial cult. Literary evidence (Philo’s account of Pilate, Legatio ad Gaium, 299–305) confirms his encouragement of appropriate imperial honoring. These attempts need not be seen as an attack on Jewish sensibilities, but they reflect the duty of a Roman governor to advance the Roman imperial cult in Judaea.
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  173. First-Century Christian Engagement
  174.  
  175. Within the context of scholarship concerned with the emergence of the Christian movement within the Roman Empire, questions have emerged about the role of the imperial cult, whether, and if so, how, the imperial cult might have influenced early Christian practice and thinking, and how Christians negotiated its observance. Some early-20th-century work such as Deissmann 1909 and Kennedy 1909 identified parallels between some Christian writings (especially but not only Paul) and the imperial cult. In recent decades there has been renewed interest in the issue. Some approaches, for example Jones 1980 and Winter 1994, have been marked by overstatement about enforced participation and claims about Domitian’s supposed demand for worship, persecution, and the use of the nonexistent category of religio licita. Hurtado 1988 recognizes no influence of the cult on Christology while Collins 1999 argues for influence on Paul and on Mark. Brent 1999 sees the cult shaping church ritual and order. Carter 2006 and Segovia and Sugirtharajah 2007 explore multiple, complex forms of interaction.
  176.  
  177. Brent, Allen. The Imperial Cult and the Development of Church Order: Concepts and Images of Authority in Paganism and Early Christianity before the Age of Cyprian. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.
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  179. Argues that church ritual and monarchical order developed as a “contra-culture” in response to imperial theology expressed in the ruler-cult; traces this argument through Luke-Acts, Clement of Rome, Revelation, Ignatius, and up to Cyprian.
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  181. Carter, Warren. The Roman Empire and the New Testament: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon, 2006.
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  183. Overview of Roman imperial structures, practices, and theology and various ways and spheres in which New Testament texts negotiate them, including a section on temples and the imperial cult.
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  185. Collins, Adela Yarbro. “The Worship of Jesus and the Imperial Cult.” In The Jewish Roots of Christological Monotheism: Papers from the St. Andrews Conference on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus. Edited by Cary C. Newman, James R. Davila, and Gladys S. Lewis, 234–257. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.
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  187. Argues, against Hurtado, that non-Jewish Hellenistic and Roman traditions, including the imperial cult and the political claims associated with it, provided an important context for shaping and giving expression to early Christian experience. Discusses Philippians and Mark in particular.
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  189. Deissmann, Adolf. “Christ and the Caesars: Parallelism in the Technical Language of the Cults.” In Light from the Ancient East. Edited by Adolf Deissmann, 342–384. New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1909.
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  191. Emphasizes protest against worship of the emperor, with Paul being the dominant focus.
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  193. Hurtado, Larry. One God, One Lord; Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish Monotheism. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988.
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  195. Focuses only on Jewish traditions of religious devotion, disqualifying any other influence on Christological thinking and practice.
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  197. Jones, D. L. “Christianity and the Roman Imperial Cult.” In Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II.23.2. Edited by H. Temporini and W. Haase, 1023–1054. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1980.
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  199. Identifies the imperial cult as “the worst abuse in the Roman Empire” for early Christianity because it gave honors to people that should be reserved for God. Jones traces the observance of the cult through the Julio-Claudians from Tiberius through the Flavians to Constantine, indicating he does not see it as especially active before the persecutor Domitian (81–96 CE).
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  201. Kennedy, H. A. A. “Apostolic Preaching and Emperor Worship.” The Expositor (April 1909): 289–307.
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  203. Examines the positive and negative impact of the imperial cult on the development of Christian faith. Kennedy discusses Revelation 13: key titles such as Lord, Savior, Son of God; the terminology of king and kingdom; the shared claims of a new world marked by peace and grace; and the advantageous unity of the empire.
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  205. Segovia, Fernando F., and R. S. Sugirtharajah. A Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testament Writings. New York: T&T Clark, 2007.
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  207. Its twenty-one or so contributors engage interactions between New Testament writings and Roman imperial power. Interestingly, there are very few explicit references to the imperial cult (for example and without claiming comprehensiveness, pp. 312–313, 1 Thessalonians; p. 388, 1 Peter; p. 424, Jude; pp. 439–441, 449–450, Revelation).
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  209. Winter, Bruce W. “The Imperial Cult.” In The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting. Vol 2, Graeco-Roman Setting. Edited by David W. J. Gill and Conrad Gempf, 93–103. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.
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  211. Follows Jones, focusing on the East, and argues that participation for Christians in the cult was proscribed. Argues unconvincingly that Acts presents Jews as attempting to force a confrontation between Christians and Roman authorities so that Christianity would be declared a religio illicita and forced out from the protection of Jewish exemption as a religio licita.
  212. Find this resource:
  213. Matthew and Mark
  214.  
  215. Much New Testament discussion of the imperial cult has centered on Paul, Luke-Acts, John, and Revelation. Partly because of uncertainty about the location in which the synoptic gospel were written, the extent of their address (whether specific local communities or more general Christian audiences), and the lack of explicit references to the imperial cult in the texts, there has been much less discussion of the imperial cult in scholarship on Matthew and Mark. Carter 2001 has postulated that there was likely some observance in a city such as Antioch (a likely but by no means certain place of origin for Matthew) as one of various assertions of imperial presence and power that Matthew’s Gospel negotiates. Kim 1998, Collins 1999, and Mowery 2002 debate the interface of the Christological title Son of God in Matthew and Mark with the imperial cult. Guttenberger 2002 discusses Messiah/Christ in relation to Caesarea Philippi.
  216.  
  217. Carter, Warren. Matthew and Empire: Initial Explorations. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2001.
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  219. Places Matthew’s Gospel into dialogue with Roman imperial structures of power including imperial theology and cult, likely observed in Antioch in Syria. Chapters discuss Matthean Christology, soteriology (1:21), use of scripture (1:23; 4:15–16), the yoke image (11:28–30), tax (17:24–27), and the scene with Pilate (27).
  220. Find this resource:
  221. Collins, Adela Yarbro. “The Worship of Jesus and the Imperial Cult.” In The Jewish Roots of Christological Monotheism: Papers from the St. Andrews Conference on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus. Edited by Cary C. Newman, James R. Davila, and Gladys C. Lewis, 234–257. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.
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  223. Argues, against Hurtado, that non-Jewish Hellenistic and Roman traditions, including the imperial cult and the political claims associated with it, provided an important context for shaping and giving expression to early Christian experience. Argues that some members of Mark’s audience would have heard Mark’s use of “Son of God” as offering the worship of Christ as an alternative to the worship of Caesar.
  224. Find this resource:
  225. Guttenberger, Gudrun. “Why Caesarea Philippi of All Sites? Some Reflections on the Political Background and Implications of Mark 8:27–30 for the Christology of Mark.” In Zwischen den Reichen: Neues Testament und Römische Herrschaft; Vorträge auf der ersten Konferenz der European Association for Biblical Studies. Edited by Michael Labahn and Jürgen Zangenberg, 119–131. Tübingen, Germany: A. Franke, 2002.
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  227. Argues that by locating Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah/Christ at Caesarea Philippi, a well-established site of the imperial cult with a temple dedicated to divi filius Augustus, Mark introduces Jesus as the lawful king of Israel in competition with the Herodian kings and as the true emperor of the whole oikoumene in competition with the Roman ruler.
  228. Find this resource:
  229. Kim, Tae Hun. “The Anarthrous ui(o\j qeou= in Mark 15,39 and the Roman Imperial Cult.” Biblica 79 (1998): 221–241.
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  231. Argues that this confession in 1:1 and 15:39 echoes the imperial cult and Augustus in particular. It is used to affirm that Jesus and not Augustus is Son of God.
  232. Find this resource:
  233. Mowery, Robert L. “Son of God in Roman Imperial Titles and Matthew.” Biblica 83 (2002): 100–110.
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  235. Argues (contesting some of Kim’s claims) that the Christological formula ui’o.j qeou (huios theou, three times in Matthew, 14:33; 27:43, 54) parallels imperial use in the titulature of Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Titus, and Domitian. Matthew’s usage evokes this imperial use for at least some members of Matthew’s community, for whom Jesus not the emperor is son of God.
  236. Find this resource:
  237. Luke-Acts
  238.  
  239. The interface between Luke-Acts and the empire has long been discussed. Older discussions debated whether it was for or against the Roman Empire but with no consideration of the imperial cult. See Walton 2002 for an excellent review, and Gilbert 2006 for a nuanced discussion. Rowe 2005 identifies several factors that have limited discussion of Luke-Acts and the imperial cult including uncertainty about the date and provenance of the writings, and the lack of explicit references. Nevertheless, there has been some discussion. Allen 1997 focuses on social pressure to participate. Gilbert 2003 identifies points of imperial imitation. Kauppi 2006 sees an antithetical relationship, as does Howell 2008.
  240.  
  241. Allen, Brent. “Luke-Acts and the Imperial Cult in Asia Minor.” Journal of Theological Studies 48 (October 1997): 411–438.
  242. DOI: 10.1093/jts/48.2.411Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  243. Recognizes that Luke’s addressees in Asia Minor were not in open conflict with the imperial cult but social pressure to participate identified nonparticipants. Allen argues that Luke’s audience could overcome its alienation from its cultural heritage and reintegrate itself into society by means of the new religion that would achieve these societal goals.
  244. Find this resource:
  245. Gilbert, Gary. “Roman Propaganda and Christian Identity in the Worldview of Luke-Acts.” In Contexualizing Acts: Lukan Narrative and Greco-Roman Discourse. Edited by Todd Penner and Christine Vander Stichele, 233–256. Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series 20. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
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  247. Reads Luke-Acts in relation to Roman imperial rhetoric and ideology, focusing on Jesus as savior and bringer of peace (claims celebrated by the imperial cult), the ascension of Jesus (echoing apotheosis traditions and the transition to status of divus), and the list of nations in Acts 2 that function to bolster Christian claims to universal dominion and to develop a sense of place in the empire.
  248. Find this resource:
  249. Gilbert, Gary. “Luke-Acts and Negotiations of Authority and Identity in the Roman World.” In The Multivalence of Biblical Texts and Theological Meanings. Edited by Christine Helmer, 83–104. Symposium Series 37. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006.
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  251. Sets Luke in relation to the second Sophistic and its multidimensional negotiation of Roman power and assertions of Greek identity. Sees Luke-Acts involved in political contestation and identity formation frequently by appropriating language of imperial hegemony and claiming it for Jesus.
  252. Find this resource:
  253. Howell, Justin R. “The Imperial Authority and Benefaction of Centurions and Acts 10:34–43: A Response to C. Kavin Rowe.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 31 (September 2008): 25–51.
  254. DOI: 10.1177/0142064X08095177Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  255. Extends the argument of Rowe 2005 by arguing that the use of rhetorical irony presents Cornelius in a way contrary to reality in which centurions as benefactors, judges, and promoters of the imperial cult were notorious for abusing their power. The Acts 10–11 narrative not only offers implicit critique of the emperor and the imperial cult, but also extends that criticism to the emperor’s subordinates.
  256. Find this resource:
  257. Kauppi, Lynn Allan. Foreign but Familiar Gods: Greco-Romans Read Religion in Acts. New York: T&T Clark, 2006.
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  259. Includes a discussion of Herod’s death in Acts 12:20–23 as evoking various aspects of the ruler/imperial cult, setting them in antithetical relationship to God’s use of power.
  260. Find this resource:
  261. Rowe, C. Kavin. “Luke-Acts and the Imperial Cult: A Way through the Conundrum?” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27 (March 2005): 279–300.
  262. DOI: 10.1177/0142064X05052507Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  263. Identifies difficulties in trying to relate Luke-Acts to the imperial cult. Nevertheless, the author suggests an intersection between Luke-Acts and the imperial cult in Acts 10:36, which refers to Jesus as “Lord of All.” The title “Lord” is nomenclature for the emperor; its use in 10:36 precludes ultimate allegiance to the emperor.
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Walton, Steve. “The State They Were In: Luke’s View of the Roman Empire.” In Rome in the Bible and the Early Church. Edited by Peter Oakes, 1–41. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2002.
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  267. Discusses five ways scholars have construed Luke-Acts’ view of the Roman Empire: (1) as an apology for the church addressed to Roman officials; (2) as an apology for the empire addressed to the church; (3) as legitimating the church’s identity; (4) as equipping the church to live in the empire; and (5) as showing no political interest at all. Walton proposes that Luke shows Christ to be supreme over Caesar.
  268. Find this resource:
  269. John
  270.  
  271. Earlier studies of the interaction of John’s Gospel and Roman imperial power such as Mastin 1973 and Cassidy 1992 sought to locate John’s Gospel in relation to Domitian’s aggressive promotion of the cult, but the thesis lacks historical support. Thatcher 2009 sees John contesting imperial claims in its Christological presentation. Van den Heever 1999 and Salier 2006 argue other scenes interact with the imperial cult. Van Tilborg 1996 and Carter 2008 focus on Ephesus and see extensive Gospel interaction with the imperial structures including the imperial cult.
  272.  
  273. Carter, Warren. John and Empire: Initial Explorations. New York and London: T&T Clark, 2008.
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  275. Argues that John’s Gospel employs a “rhetoric of distance” to negotiate Roman power, attempting to separate Jesus-believers from accommodated societal participation in Ephesus including the imperial cult. Chapters discuss literary (genre, plot), christological, eschatological, soteriological, theological, and ecclesiological dimensions of the gospel in the context of various expression of imperial power and presence.
  276. Find this resource:
  277. Cassidy, Richard J. John’s Gospel in New Perspective: Christology and the Realities of Roman Power. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1992.
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  279. A pioneering discussion of John’s Gospel as counteracting Roman power and the imperial cult. Uses the Pliny-Trajan correspondence to set John’s Gospel in a context of persecution initiated by Domitian for refusal to participate in cultic activities. The thesis is unconvincing, lacking evidence for Domitianic persecution. Pliny as governor of Bithynia did not have jurisdiction beyond his province, nor does his correspondence attest extensive persecution.
  280. Find this resource:
  281. van den Heever, Gerhard A. 1999. “Finding Data in Unexpected Places (or: From Text Linguistics to Socio-rhetoric): Towards a Socio-Rhetorical Reading of John’s Gospel.” Neotestamentica 32 (1999): 343–364.
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  283. Explores the language of the imperial cult in relation to several Gospel scenes such as the triumphal entry and names of Jesus.
  284. Find this resource:
  285. Mastin, B. A. “The Imperial Cult and the Ascription of the Title qeo,j to Jesus (John XX.28).” Studia Evangelica 6 (1973): 352–365.
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  287. Argues that Thomas’s confession in 20:28 responds to Domitian’s supposed insistence (according to Suetonius) on being addressed as “Our Lord and God” and his aggressive promotion of the imperial cult. The thesis lacks evidence for Domitian’s aggression. The dedication of the temple in 88/89 CE to the Sebastoi not Domitian, and different Greek terms used for the emperor undermine it.
  288. Find this resource:
  289. Salier, B. “Jesus, the Emperor, and the Gospel According to John.” In Challenging Perspectives on the Gospel of John. Edited by John Lierman, 284–301. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.219. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Sieback, 2006.
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  291. Argues for resonances with and implicit polemic against the imperial cult in Ephesus as a “minor theme” in the Gospel’s Christology. Discusses 1:1, 2:1–11; 4:42; 5; 9; 6:1–14; 6:16–21; 12:12–15; 14:27; 18–19. The references function to strengthen believers against participating in any form of the cult.
  292. Find this resource:
  293. Thatcher, Tom. Greater than Caesar: Christology and Empire in the Fourth Gospel. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009.
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  295. Christological in its emphasis with significant attention to the passion narrative and cross but with little discussion of the imperial cult.
  296. Find this resource:
  297. Van Tilborg, Sjef. Reading John in Ephesus. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 83. New York: E. J. Brill, 1996.
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  299. Looks for interferences between John’s Gospel and Ephesus, especially as attested in inscriptions. Demonstrates the pervasive presence of the emperor and prominent roles of temples and the imperial cult. The proclamation of Jesus as king and revealer of God creates a rival to the emperor, disqualifies any form of divinization, and recognizes that followers live in a dangerous world in their daily city life.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Paul
  302.  
  303. As the collections of essays in the Horsley 1997 and Horsley 2004 edited volumes show (reviewed by Carter 2010), recent work on Paul has increasingly recognized an important role for the structures and claims of the Roman Empire as the context for Paul’s mission, and the life and witness of his churches. White 1999 argues that the imperial cult shaped Paul’s counter-imperial Gospel. Cineira 1999 locates the Pauline communities in the context of Claudius’s religious policy. Crossan and Reed 2004 views Paul in opposition to imperial structures and cult. Elliott 2008 explores the interface between Romans and Roman imperial ideology. Lopez 2008 argues Galatians presents Paul’s alternative to Roman imperialism’s gender constructs and notions of mission. Miller 2010 tries unsuccessfully and with flawed method to argue that the cult had a minimal presence.
  304.  
  305. Carter, Warren. “Paul and the Roman Empire: Recent Perspectives.” In Paul Unbound: Other Perspectives on the Apostle. Edited by Mark Given, 7–26. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2010.
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  307. Useful survey and discussion of much of the recent literature on Paul and the Roman Empire.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Cineira, David Alvarez. Die Religionspolitik des Kaisers Claudius und die Paulinische Mission. Herders Biblische Studien 19. Freiburg, Germany: Herder, 1999.
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  311. Part 1 discusses the religious policy of Claudius (41–54 CE) as the framework for the establishment of the Pauline communities, including the imperial cult. Part 2 traces points of contact between this policy and Paul’s mission and communities in Thessalonica, Galatia Philippi, and Rome.
  312. Find this resource:
  313. Crossan, John Dominic, 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 Word and World. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004.
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  315. Draws on archaeological and classical studies to delineate imperial structures and realities. They present Paul in essentially antithetical or oppositional relationship to the empire and emperor worship. Discussing each of Paul’s letters, they argue that imperial power, with its fundamental distinction between the haves and have-nots, collides with Paul’s vision of global unity under God’s distributive (not retributive) justice (Romans).
  316. Find this resource:
  317. Elliott, Neil. The Arrogance of Nations: Reading Romans in the Shadow of Empire. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.
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  319. Focuses on the oppositional interface between Romans and Roman Imperial ideology, such as imperium or rule by force, iustitia or justice and the justice of God, clementia or mercy for the subjugated, pietas (that of Aeneas and Abraham), and virtus or virtue, including some minimal attention to the role of the imperial cult (chapter 4).
  320. Find this resource:
  321. Horsley, Richard, ed. Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman Imperial Society. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997.
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  323. Groundbreaking collection of essays on the relationship among Paul’s letters, communities, and structures of the Roman Empire, including the imperial cult.
  324. Find this resource:
  325. Horsley, Richard, ed. Paul and the Roman Imperial Order. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2004.
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  327. Further exploration of the among between Paul’s letters, communities, and structures of the Roman Empire, including the imperial cult.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Lopez, Davina. Apostle to the Conquered: Reimagining Paul’s Mission. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.
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  331. Highlights gender dimensions in Roman imperial representations and in Paul’s negotiation of the empire as “apostle to the nations/Gentiles” subjugated by Rome. Paul abandons violent, masculine “power over” persecution (mimicking imperial ideology) to identify with the subjugated as their mother (Galatians 4:19) in resisting Rome’s divided world of conqueror and conquered.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Miller, Colin. “The Imperial Cult in the Pauline Cities of Asia Minor and Greece.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 72 (2010): 314–332.
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  335. This flawed discussion argues that the imperial cult had a minor presence in the East where Paul worked. Its focus on imperial temples ignores the imperial cult’s observance in other locations and excludes evidence of priesthoods, statues, inscriptions, and festivals. Rehearses the unpersuasive argument that people did not take the cult seriously and argues, strangely, that if the imperial cult was not central, it was not important.
  336. Find this resource:
  337. White, John L. The Apostle of God: Paul and the Promise of Abraham. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999.
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  339. Counters claims that the imperial cult exerted no influence on the idea of Christ as Lord (Reginald Fuller, The Foundations of New Testament Christology, New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1965, p. 231). White argues that the cult influenced Paul’s counter-imperial notions of God’s cosmic empire, of Christ as Lord and agent of God’s universal rule, and the church as God’s family.
  340. Find this resource:
  341. First Corinthians
  342.  
  343. Several studies have discussed cults in Corinth including the imperial cult. Walbank 1996 and Walbank 2010 discuss the epigraphical and numismatic evidence for the imperial cult’s presence. DeMaris 2002 argues that the imperial cult was the religious focal point of 1st-century Corinth. Bookidis 2005 offers a comprehensive discussion of the cults of Corinth including the imperial cult. Laird 2010 examines the role of the Augustales in honoring the emperor. While there has been much discussion of 1 Corinthians in relation to various structures of Roman power in the city, there has not been a lot of exploration in relation to the imperial cult. De Vos 1999 argues that the letter gives no significant attention to the imperial cult. Chow 1992, however, argues that 8:5 evokes the cult. The use of ku,rioi (kyrioi) in 8:5 and the topic of eating food offered to idols suggest the imperial cult. Winter 1994 explores connections with the Isthmian feasts and games associated with it, given the athletic context imagery of 9:24–27.
  344.  
  345. Bookidis, Nancy. “Religion in Corinth: 146 BCE to 100 CE.” In Urban Religion in Roman Corinth: Interdisciplinary Approaches. Edited by Daniel N. Schowalter and Steven J. Friesen, 141–164. Harvard Theological Studies 53. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005.
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  347. Discusses the cults of both the Hellenistic city and of the Roman city of the first centuries BCE and CE. The latter include those inspired by the house of Augustus including a temple dedicated to the imperial cult (sixty-two inscriptions mention the imperial cult), as well as cults revived from the Hellenistic city, and fringe Greek cults.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. Chow, John K. Patronage and Power: A Study of Social Networks in Corinth. Sheffield, UK: JSOT Press, 1992.
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  351. Draws connections between 1 Corinthians 8 and the imperial cult; see pp. 146–148.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. DeMaris, Richard E. “Cults and the Imperial Cult in early Roman Corinth: Literary versus Material Record.” In Zwischen den Reichen: Neues Testament und Römische Herrschaft. Edited by Michael Labahn and Jürgen Zangenberg, 73–91. Tübingen, Germany: A. Franke, 2002.
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  355. Initially discusses the challenges of using literary and archaeological data to construct first- century Corinth. Argues that the civic center of the Roman city honored Olympian deities in the service of the imperial cult, which was the religious focal point of Roman Corinth in Paul’s time. Pauline Christianity may have taken root among a religiosity displaced from this center.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. De Vos, Craig Steven. Church and Community Conflicts: The Relationships of the Thessalonian, Corinthian, and Philippian Churches with Their Wider Civic Communities. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 168. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999.
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  359. Recognizes that while the imperial cult was celebrated in the city (reflected in 8:5) and that some Christians participated in cults while others did not, there is no significant attention paid to the imperial cult in the letter.
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  361. Laird, Margaret L. “The Emperor in a Roman Town: The Base of the Augustales in the Forum at Corinth.” In Corinth in Context: Comparative Studies on Religion and Society. Edited by Steven J. Friesen, Daniel N. Schowalter, and James C. Walters, 67–116. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2010.
  362. DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004182110.i-518Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  363. Examines the significance in Corinth’s dedicatory environment of a large base of an honorific statue likely of the deified Augustus, commissioned by the Augustales as expressive of their devotion to the emperor (expressed in the imperial cult), of their own honorable place in Corinth, and of the importance of Corinth’s Greek (monumental) past along with its Romanized present.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Walbank, Mary E. Hoskins. “Evidence for the Imperial Cult in Julio-Claudian Corinth.” In Subject and Ruler: The Cult of the Ruling Power in Classical Antiquity; Papers Presented at a Conference Held in the University of Alberta on April 13–15, 1994, to Celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Duncan Fishwick. Edited by Alastair Small, 201–213. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 17. Ann Arbor: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 1996.
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  367. Discusses the evidence (largely epigraphical and numismatic) for imperial cult observance in Corinth beginning with the colony’s founder, Julius Caesar, through Augustus to Nero.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Walbank, Mary E. Hoskins. “Image and Cult: The Coinage of Roman Corinth.” In Corinth in Context: Comparative Studies on Religion and Society. Edited by Steven J. Friesen, Daniel N. Schowalter, and James C. Walters, 151–197. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2010.
  370. DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004182110.i-518Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. Illustrates the polytheistic diversity of Corinth, including pervasive imperial presence, through its coins.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Winter, Bruce W. Seek the Welfare of the City: Christians as Benefactors and Citizens. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.
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  375. Argues that the issue of eating food offered to idols in 1 Corinthians 8–10 arises in relation to the Isthmian Games that were connected to the imperial cult through the Caesarean Games and Imperial Contests. See especially pp. 125–126, 173–174.
  376. Find this resource:
  377. Galatians
  378.  
  379. Mitchell 1993 and Hardin 2008 discuss imperial cult observance in Galatia. Kahl 2010 focuses on the great altar of Pergamon. Hardin and Kahl argue that Galatians, or at least part of it (Hardin), negotiate Roman claims and cult.
  380.  
  381. Hardin, Justin K. Galatians and the Imperial Cult: A Critical Analysis of the First-Century Social Context of Paul’s Letter. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/37. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.
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  383. Discusses imperial cult observance in Galatia. Argues from Galatians 6:12–13 and 4:10 that the agitators were local Jewish Jesus-believers who participated in the imperial cult but sought to avoid civic and synagogal persecution by urging separated Gentile Christians who did not observe the cult to be circumcised. The range and method of the discussion are limited.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Kahl, Brigitte. Galatians Re-Imagined: Reading with the Eyes of the Vanquished. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010.
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  387. This study argues that when read before the Great Altar of Pergamon, Galatians sets a Jewish-messianic monotheism that seeks to create an international community marked by peace and justice against the dominant “law of the strongest” and the idolatrous lure of imperial religion, social ordering, and military victory.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Mitchell, Stephen. Anatolia: Land, Men, and Gods in Asia Minor. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1993.
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  391. Mitchell’s discussion of “The Imperial Cult” (1.100–117) is insightful, noting imperial temples in three excavated cities in central Anatolia: Ancyra, Pessinus, and Pisidian Antioch. He argues that in addition to advancing imperial claims and symbolizing the relationship of ruler and ruled, the cult made a significant contribution to the material conditions and behaviors of provincial life.
  392. Find this resource:
  393. Philippians
  394.  
  395. Borman 1995 and Koukouli-Chrysantaki 1998 argue for a significant role for the imperial cult in Philippi, though Pilhofer 1995 claims a minimal role for it in the 1st century. De Vos 1999 and Telbe 2001 see withdrawal from the imperial cult (among others) as causing suffering for the Philippian believers. Heen 2004 and Hellerman 2005 argue for particular interaction between the hymn of 2:6–11 and the imperial cult. Oakes 2001 argues for conflict with Roman imperial ideology and authorities but not particularly with the cult.
  396.  
  397. Borman, Lukas. Philippi: Stadt und Christengemeinde zur Zeit des Paulus. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1995.
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  399. Argues that conflict between Christ-believers and imperial cult observance is central for the situation addressed by Philippians.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. De Vos, Craig Steven. Church and Community Conflicts: The Relationships of the Thessalonian, Corinthian, and Philippian Churches with Their Wider Civic Communities. Society of Biblical Literature Disssertation Series 168. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999.
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  403. Claims a strong presence for the imperial cult in Philippi, from which Christians had withdrawn, causing their suffering.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Heen, Erik. “Phil 2:6–11 and Resistance to Local Timocratric Rule: Isa theō and the Cult of the Emperor in the East.” In Paul and the Roman Imperial Order. Edited by Richard A Horsley, 125–153. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2004.
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  407. Reads isa theō in Philippians 2:6b in the context of Hellenistic ruler cults and the Roman imperial cult, and sees the enthronement of Jesus as the true cosmocrator as criticism of the emperor and provincial elites.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Hellerman, Joseph H. Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi: Carmen Christi as Cursus Pudorum. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 132. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
  410. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511487972Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  411. Argues that in the hymn of 2:5–11 Paul turns cursus honorum practice and ideology (the sequence of elite offices and roles that enhanced honor and status) into a cursus pudorum (a sequence of shame) in presenting Christ’s descent from God to slave status and death. The imperial cult (pp. 80–87, pp. 150–154) maintains social verticality and the pursuit of honor among elites.
  412. Find this resource:
  413. Koukouli-Chrysantaki, Chaido. “Colonia Iulia Augusta Philippensis.” In Philippi at the Time of Paul and after His Death. Edited by Charalambos Bakirtzis and Helmut Koester, 5–35. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998.
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  415. Discusses evidence for the presence of the imperial cult in Philippi by the mid-1st century.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Oakes, Peter. Philippians: From People to Letter. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 110. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
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  419. Argues that while the Philippians know economic suffering, the imperial cult is not central to Philippians. Finds in the hymn of Philippians 2 a relativizing primarily of the empire and the emperor that undermines the emperor-cult, but Paul’s focus is more broadly directed.
  420. Find this resource:
  421. Pilhofer, Peter. Philippi. Band 1: Die erste christliche Gemeinde Europas. Tübingen, Germany: J. C. B. Mohr, 1995.
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  423. Uncertainty about the dating of inscriptions and the absence of clearly attested imperial priests in the first half of the 1st century CE point to a minimal role for the imperial cult (contra, for example, Telbe), and elevate the significance of Thracian and Greek religion. Band 2: Katalog der Inschriften von Philippi (Tübingen, Germany: J. C. B. Mohr, 2000).
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Telbe, Mikael. Paul between Synagogue and State: Christians, Jews, and Civic Authorities in 1 Thessalonians, Romans, and Philippians. Coniectanea Biblica, New Testament Series 34. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell, 2001.
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  427. Examines the interaction between synagogues, Pauline communities, and civic/political authorities in these three locations. Recognizes pervasive conflict between Christians and imperial ideology. Telbe argues the sufferings of Christians in Philippians result from conflicts with imperial ideology and their withdrawal from various cults, especially the imperial cult.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. First Thessalonians
  430.  
  431. Interaction between believers in the city with Roman imperial power is widely recognized. Opinion differs over whether this power and the imperial cult are particularly attacked. Oakes 2005 argues against a specific attack on the cult. Judge 2008 sees oaths of loyalty as central. Koester 1997 sees a contesting of imperial language and Harrison 2002 a contesting of imperial eschatology and the imperial cult. Donfried 1985 and Telbe 2001 see the imperial cult as central, as does Smith 2004 along with an attack on the pro-Roman ruling elites.
  432.  
  433. Donfried, Karl. “The Cults of Thessalonica and the Thessalonian Correspondence.” New Testament Studies 31 (1985): 336–356.
  434. DOI: 10.1017/S0028688500013904Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. Argues that Paul and the Thessalonian believers were opposed because of the strong loyalty to the imperial cult in the city and because his message was (in part) politically inflammatory. Paul assures the congregation that those who may have lost their lives will participate in Christ’s Parousia. The claim of martyrdom has not received strong support.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Harrison, J. R. “Paul and the Imperial Gospel at Thessaloniki.” Journal of the Study of the New Testament 25 (2002): 71–96.
  438. DOI: 10.1177/0142064X0202500104Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. Argues that 1 Thessalonians’ eschatology is accounted for in the context of imperial eschatology, the imperial cult, and imperial apotheosis traditions in Thessaloniki. Paul employs several significant imperial terms in making theological claims about the coming Christ and his benefits. Paul thereby challenges the claims of the imperial cult with greater claims about Christ.
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Judge, E. A. “The Decrees of Caesar at Thessalonica.” In The First Christians in the Roman World, by E. A. Judge. Edited by James R. Harrison, 456–462. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.
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  443. Argues that Paul’s proclamation of the return of Jesus to establish God’s rule contravenes “decrees of Caesar” (Acts 17:5–7) comprising oaths of loyalty to the emperor. First published in Reformed Theological Review 30.1 (1971): 71–78.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Koester, Helmut. “Imperial Ideology and Paul’s Eschatology in 1 Thessalonians.” In Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman Imperial Society. Edited by Richard A Horsley, 158–166. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997.
  446. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  447. Highlights the use of imperial language in Paul’s alternative eschatological claims.
  448. Find this resource:
  449. Oakes, Peter. “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.
  450. DOI: 10.1177/0142064X05052508Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. Argues that 1 Thessalonians 4.15–17 does not challenge Roman eschatology, but 5.3 denies a central assertion of Roman imperial theology. Paul is not, though, explicitly writing polemic against participation in the imperial cult. Instead, he de-centers Rome by placing Jesus at the center, and strengthens Christians by emphasizing that the world is not as it appears.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Smith, Abraham. “‘Unmasking the Powers’: Toward a Postcolonial Analysis of 1 Thessalonians.” In Paul and the Roman Imperial Order. Edited by Richard A Horsley, 47–66. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2004.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. Assuming analyses such as Koester and Donfried, sees Paul attacking the pro-Roman, Thessalonian ruling elite.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Telbe, Mikael. Paul between Synagogue and State: Christians, Jews, and Civic Authorities in 1 Thessalonians, Romans, and Philippians. Coniectanea Biblica, New Testament Series 34. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell, 2001.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. Examines the interaction between synagogues, Pauline communities, and civic/political authorities in these three locations. Recognizes pervasive conflict between Christians and imperial ideology. In Telbe argues the sufferings of Christians in 1 Thessalonians probably result from conflicts with imperial ideology and their withdrawal from various cults, especially the imperial cult.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Colossians-Ephesians
  462.  
  463. There has been a little exploration of the interface between these writings and the Roman Empire. Faust 1993 emphasizes an antithetical relationship as does Walsh and Keesmaat 2004. Maier 2005 sees Colossians both imitating and destabilizing the empire and imperial cult.
  464.  
  465. Faust, Eberhard. Pax Christi et Pax Caesaris: Religionsgeschichtliche, traditionsgeschichtliche und sozialgeschichtliche Studien zum Epheserbrief. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1993.
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467. Argues that Ephesians 2:11–12 (and 5:20–6:20) underscores the status of Jewish Christians within the universal peace Christ establishes, in contrast to the subjugating and humiliating treatment of Jews by the empire. Sees parallels between the emperor, who promotes peace among the nations under imperial rule, and Christ, who effects peace between Jews and Gentiles in the church, a social alternative to the empire.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Maier, Harry O. “Sly Civility: Colossians and Empire.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27 (2005): 323–349.
  470. DOI: 10.1177/0142064X05052509Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  471. Argues that Colossians evokes imperial claims and images of cosmopolitan order, dominion and concord displayed in public spaces and sacred precincts for worship of the emperor. Colossians forges a different imperial religious and social identity whereby the crucified and risen Christ accomplishes cosmic reconciliation and a universal reign. Colossians employs and mimics imperial language and visions while destabilizing and disavowing empire.
  472. Find this resource:
  473. Walsh, Bryan, and Sylvia Keesmaat. Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004.
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  475. Focuses more on imperial claims, structures, and practices in general than on the imperial cult in particular.
  476. Find this resource:
  477. First Peter
  478.  
  479. Carter 2004 challenges the conventional argument that the command in 2:17 to “honor the emperor” requires cooperative behavior but draws the line against involvement in the imperial cult. He argues that 1 Peter makes no such distinction or exemption, and so legitimates Christian participation in the imperial cult.
  480.  
  481. Carter, Warren. “Honoring the Emperor and Sacrificing Wives and Slaves: 1 Peter 2:13–3:6.” In A Feminist Companion to the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews. Edited by Amy-Jill Levine, 13–43. London: T&T Clark, 2004.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. Outlines the cultural repertoire for honoring the emperor and argues that 2:17 instructs believers to be participants in cultic celebrations. Believers are to honor the emperor cultically (though not immoderately, so 4:3–4), while honoring Christ as Lord in their hearts (3:15). The accommodationist strategy offers believers a means of survival by ensuring a good name, as well as a sustaining practice of protest.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Revelation
  486.  
  487. Many studies see Revelation protesting excessive participation in imperial structures including the imperial cult. Aune 1983 argues Revelation imitates and parodies court ceremonial and worship. Scherrer 1984 sees Revelation 13 attacking staged cultic signs and wonders. Borgen 1996 identifies a thoroughgoing rejection of imperial structures and emperor worship. Kraybill 1996 highlights connections between commerce and the imperial cult. Howard-Brooks and Gwyther 1999 locates Revelation and the cult in pervasive imperial ideology and structures. Friesen 2001 argues that for Revelation imperial cults are a blasphemous and deceptive imitation of the worship that is owed to God. Harland 2003 highlights pervasive civic participation in the imperial cult including in associations. Moore 2007 and Moore 2009 examine the goddess Roma and Revelation’s reinscribing of imperial practices. Carter 2009 argues that Revelation engages divisions in the churches over imperial cult and cultural participation.
  488.  
  489. Aune, David. “The Influence of Roman Imperial Court Ceremonial on the Apocalypse of John.” Biblical Research 28 (1983): 5–26.
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  491. Argues that Revelation employs practices and images from Hellenistic and Roman court ceremonial and the imperial cult to construct a polemical parallelism between worship of the lamb and of the beast whereby the latter is a parody of the former.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Borgen, Peder. “Emperor Worship and Persecution in Philo’s In Flaccum and De Legatione ad Gaium and the Revelation of John.” In Geschichte—Tradition—Reflexion. Vol. 3. Edited by H. Cancik, H. Lichtenberger, and P. Schäfer, 493–509. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Sieback, 1996.
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  495. Argues that both Philo and the writer of Revelation regarded claims of a divine emperor as an illegitimate ascent into the sphere of the gods and parodied it. They both regard images of the emperor, sacrifices, and proskynesis as central elements of emperor worship, and illegitimate activity subject to justice and revenge. John, much more than Philo, completely rejects the Roman Empire.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Carter, Warren. “Accommodating ‘Jezebel’ and Withdrawing John: Negotiating Empire in Revelation Then and Now.” Interpretation 63 (2009): 132–147.
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  499. Situates Revelation in a debate among Jesus-believers over how to negotiate the complex imperial realities of Roman power including the imperial cult. Revelation privileges John’s call to societal disengagement while denigrating those such as “Jezebel” who think participation does not compromise loyalty to God. The article outlines the possible arguments that form the contours of the debate.
  500. Find this resource:
  501. Friesen, Steven J. Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of John: Reading Revelation in the Ruins. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
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  503. Discusses provincial and municipal imperial cults in Asia from Augustus to Domitian as a pervasive presence in urban Asia Minor. For John imperial cults are a blasphemous and deceptive imitation of the worship that is owed to God. Identifies ways in which Revelation’s worldview differed from and opposed dominant imperial society.
  504. Find this resource:
  505. Harland, Philip. Associations, Synagogues, and Congregations. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.
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  507. Develops previous studies to argue that Christian and Jewish groups were not separatist groups but, akin to trade and artisan associations or guilds in the cities addressed by Revelation, had various complex involvements with everyday urban life in Roman Asia. The emperor was socially, politically, and religiously significant for local associations (social-religious groups) in networks of benefaction and cultic activity.
  508. Find this resource:
  509. Howard-Brooks, Wes, and A. Gwyther. Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999.
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511. Locates Revelation and the churches it addresses in the midst of Roman imperial power as it is expressed in Asia, especially in ideology (“myths”), commerce, and imperial cult.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. Kraybill, J. Nelson. Imperial Cult and Commerce in John’s Apocalypse. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement 132. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield University Press, 1996.
  514. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515. With an eye on Revelation 18, the study particularly highlights John’s attack on the empire’s economic activity, including connections between commerce and the imperial cult, demonstrating, for example, the involvement of guilds of merchants and traders in imperial cult observances.
  516. Find this resource:
  517. Moore, Stephen. “The Revelation to John.” In A Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testament Writings. Edited by Fernando F. Segovia and R. S. Sugirtharajah, 436–454. New York: T&T Clark, 2007.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. Explores how much Revelation resists and/or reinscribes Roman imperial ideology and practice, including the imperial cult.
  520. Find this resource:
  521. Moore, Stephen. “Metonymies of Empire: Sexual Humiliation and Gender Masquerade in the Book of Revelation.” In Postcolonial Interventions: Essays in Honor of R. S. Sugirtharajah. Edited by Tat-siong Benny Liew, 71–97. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Phoenix, 2009.
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  523. Examines the presentation of Rome in Revelation as a woman, and specifically in relation to the cult of Roma that at times preceded and at other times accompanied the imperial cult.
  524. Find this resource:
  525. Scherrer, Steven J. “Signs and Wonders in the Imperial Cult: A New Look at a Roman Religious Institution in the Light of Rev 13:13–15.” Journal of Biblical Literature 103.4 (December 1984): 599–610.
  526. DOI: 10.2307/3260470Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  527. Discusses Revelation 13 as polemic against the imperial cult, explaining the reference to “signs and wonders” in 13:13–15 as contrived or staged cultic wonders that formed a part of ancient liturgical technologies created by special effects equipment to bring about various religious responses.
  528. Find this resource:
  529. Bibliography
  530.  
  531. Naylor 2010 offers a wide-ranging bibliography and an excellent review of the extensive discussion.
  532.  
  533. Naylor, Michael. “The Roman Imperial Cult and Revelation.” Currents in Biblical Research 8.2 (February 2010): 207–239.
  534. DOI: 10.1177/1476993X09349160Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535. Very helpful survey of scholarship from the last century on the imperial cult, and on Revelation. Extensive bibliography.
  536. Find this resource:
  537. Asia
  538.  
  539. Price 1984 and Burrell 2004 discuss the imperial cult in Asia. There are also specific studies of the cult in some of the cities that Revelation addresses. Friesen 1993, Friesen 1995, and Harland 1996 focus on Ephesus. Collins 1998 and Bonz 1998 examine Pergamon. Ascough 2005 discusses Smyrna and Sardis.
  540.  
  541. Ascough, Richard S. “Greco-Roman Religions in Sardis and Smyrna.” In Religious Rivalries and the Struggle for Success in Sardis and Smyrna. Edited by Richard S. Ascough, 40–52. Studies in Christianity/Études sur le christianisme et le judaïsme. Waterloo, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2005.
  542. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  543. Helpful discussion of imperial cult observance in Sardis and Smyrna, and of relevant sections of Revelation.
  544. Find this resource:
  545. Bonz, Marianne Palmer, “Beneath the Gaze of the Gods: The Pergamon Evidence for a Developing Theology of Empire.” In Pergamon: Citadel of the Gods: Archaeological Record, Literary Description, and Religious Development. Edited by Helmut Koester, 251–275. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998.
  546. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  547. Good discussion of Roman presence in Pergamon.
  548. Find this resource:
  549. Burrell, Barbara. Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. Cincinnati Classical Studies, n.s. 9. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2004.
  550. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  551. Shows the intense competition among Greek cities in Asia to have temples (neokoros; “temple warden”) and become a center for worshiping the emperor. Shows the dynamic and fluid relationship between cities, provinces, senate, and emperors. Excellent resource on the imperial cult in Asia.
  552. Find this resource:
  553. Collins, Adela Yarbro. “Pergamon in Early Christian Literature.” In Pergamon: Citadel of the Gods: Archaeological Record, Literary Description, and Religious Development. Edited by Helmut Koester, 163–184. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998.
  554. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  555. Useful discussion of Pergamon with particular attention to Revelation.
  556. Find this resource:
  557. Friesen, Steven J. Twice Neokoros: Ephesus, Asia, and the Cult of the Flavian Imperial Family. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 116. Leiden, The Netherlands, and New York: Brill, 1993.
  558. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  559. Discusses the development and significance of the imperial cult in Ephesus. Following Price, and countering earlier discussion that emphasized political expediency and questioned religious dimensions, emphasizes the religious symbolism, traditions, and virtues of the cult. Includes in chapter 6 some important critiques and nuances (along with appreciation) of some of Price’s claims.
  560. Find this resource:
  561. Friesen, Steven J. “The Cult of the Roman Emperors in Ephesos: Temple Wardens, City Titles, and the Interpretation of the Revelation of John.” In Ephesos, Metropolis of Asia: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Its Archaeology, Religion and Culture. Papers presented at a symposium organized by Harvard Divinity School, March 1994. Edited by Helmut Koester, 229–250. Harvard Theological Studies 41. Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1995.
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  563. Examines the significance of the metaphor “neokorate” which, with the dedication of the temple of the Sebastoi in Ephesus in c. 89 CE, increasingly denoted inter-city rivalries, civic identity, and the preeminent status of cities where a provincial temple of the emperors was located and the imperial cult celebrated. The imperial cult had wide support; John speaks not for the masses but for a minority.
  564. Find this resource:
  565. Harland, Philip. “Honours and Worship: Emperors, Imperial Cults and Associations at Ephesus (First to Third Centuries CE).” Studies in Religion/Science Religieuses 25 (1996): 319–334.
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  567. Argues against tendencies in 20th-century scholarship to foreground the political expediency of the imperial cult at the expense of religious dimensions. Demonstrates that such a bifurcation is too simplistic and that the emperor was socially, politically, and religiously significant for local associations (social-religious groups) in Ephesus, in relation to both networks of benefaction and to cultic activity.
  568. Find this resource:
  569. Price, Simon R. F. Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
  570. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  571. Focusing on Asia, Price argues that the imperial cult was a means whereby provincial cities came to grips with Roman power that originated not from within the city-state but from afar yet was embedded in their civic life where it functioned as a source of both submission and benefaction. The imperial cult created and explained the power relationship between ruler and ruled.
  572. Find this resource:
  573. Context
  574.  
  575. The dating and setting of Revelation continue to be debated. Older studies such as Cuss 1974 posited Revelation’s address to a situation of persecution under Domitian for not participating in the cult, but Barnes 1968 and Thompson 1990 have shown that such a scenario cannot be sustained, with Thompson arguing for a context of significant accommodation. Wilson 1993 argued for a setting late in Nero’s reign or during Galba’s short reign. Van Kooten 2007 similarly locates Revelation in the troubled year of 68–69 CE. Lietaert Peerbolte 2002 sets Revelation in the later context of the early-2nd-century correspondence between Pliny and Trajan.
  576.  
  577. Barnes, T. D. “Legislation against the Christians.” Journal of Roman Studies 58 (1968): 32–50.
  578. DOI: 10.2307/299693Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  579. Shows that there was no legislation introduced in the 1st century by any emperors (especially not Nero or Domitian) authorizing persecution of Christians, thereby undermining a central claim of some interpretations of Revelation.
  580. Find this resource:
  581. Cuss, Dominique. Imperial Cult and Honorary Terms in the New Testament. Paradosis 23. Fribourg, Switzerland: University Press, 1974.
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583. The heart of this now dated discussion focuses on some aspects of interaction between Revelation and the imperial cult, including the Domitianic persecution theory, though there are also brief sections on Jesus, Paul, and John’s Gospel.
  584. Find this resource:
  585. Lietaert Peerbolte, Bert Jan. “To Worship the Beast: The Revelation of John and the Imperial Cult in Asia Minor.” In Zwischen den Reichen: Neues Testament und Römische Herrschaft; Vorträge auf der ersten Konferenz der European Association for Biblical Studies. Edited by Michael Labahn and Jürgen Zangenberg, 239–259. Tübingen, Germany: A. Franke, 2002.
  586. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  587. Uses the Pliny-Trajan correspondence as important context for reading Revelation. Emphasizes John’s fierce polemic not against commerce but primarily against the pervasive and civically beneficial imperial cult. This polemic was informed by Jewish traditions against idolatry and by Domitian’s tyrannical reign. Its consequence was to locate John and his supporters outside the prevailing social system.
  588. Find this resource:
  589. Thompson, Leonard L. The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and Empire. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
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  591. Argues against the common scenario of Domitian as an active advocate of the imperial cult and persecutor of Christians who refused to participate in the cult. Sets Revelation in the context of active cultural participation and accommodation. Christians, though, did not participate in the imperial cult, especially finding its sacrificial quality objectionable.
  592. Find this resource:
  593. van Kooten, George H. “The Year of the Four Emperors and the Revelation of John: The ‘pro-Neronian’ Emperors Otho and Vitellius, and the Images and Colossus of Nero in Rome.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 30.2 (December 2007): 205–248.
  594. DOI: 10.1177/0142064X07084776Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  595. Rejects a setting for Revelation in relation to Domitian’s (supposed) promotion of the imperial cult in Asia. The author argues for four contexts of tension (with synagogues; within Christian communities; societal threats from food offered to idols; and perhaps the imperial cult). He locates Revelation in relation to Nero and the events of 68/69.
  596. Find this resource:
  597. Wilson, J. Christian. “The Problem of the Domitianic Date of Revelation.” New Testament Studies 39 (1993): 587–605.
  598. DOI: 10.1017/S0028688500011978Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  599. Argues against the common dating of Revelation to the time of Domitian and his supposed persecution of Christians resulting from his aggressive promotion of the imperial cult (a creation of Eusebius, not Domitian). Argues for a date in either the latter part of Nero’s reign (after the persecution of 64–65) or during Galba’s brief reign (June 68–January 69).
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