Come Out, My People!: God's Call Out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond

A landmark work in biblical interpretation explores the relation between two competing "religions"the religion of "creation" and the religion of "empire"and the implications for today.

In this sweeping and transformative approach to biblical interpretation, Wes Howard-Brook presents the Bible as a struggle between two competing "religions": not "Judaism" and "Christianity," but the "religion of creation" versus the "religion of empire." Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, these two religions battled for the hearts and minds of the people in claiming radically divergent views of who YHWH is and what it looks like to be YHWH's people. As Wes Howard-Brook shows, Jesus proclaimed and embodied one of these views--the "religion of creation"--and denounced the "religion of empire." Though he was killed by the upholders of empire, his resurrection was the definitive vindication of the religion of creation. As a consequence, those who follow his path can accept no violence or domination toward people or creation in his name.

While many recent scholars have studied the imperial context of the New Testament, this is the first book to trace this theme throughout the entire Bible. As such, it sets a challenge for the future of biblical studies, while also defining a new framework for radical discipleship in our time.