The Non-Violent Radical: Seeing and Living the Wisdom of Jesus

By Charles McCollough

This book interprets the wisdom of Jesus' sayings in the gospels in words and images. McCollough examines Jesus' wisdom in the context of the political and economic world of the Roman Empire and then applies it to our own time for both personal growth and social action. Original works of art by McCollough illustrate the texts of these sayings and can be used in private reflection, worship, and educational settings. In addition, readers may use the images for newsletters, church bulletins, and program announcements. A DVD with color images of many more illustrations of the book is available from the author.

The short wisdom sayings of Jesus are almost always interpreted as private or interpersonal instruction and ignore the political/economic context of his time. The result is often sentimental piety or otherworldly speculation. Yet it is hard to imagine that Jesus and his followers were blind to the tyranny of Rome and the economic exploitation of a tiny minority over the vast majority of people living desperate lives in the Roman colonies. This book uses the insights of formerly colonized Bible readers in the non-Western world to understand the postcolonial meanings of Jesus' time and our own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Jun 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781621893554

Charles McCollough

Charles McCollough, PhD, is a sculptor and the author of seven books, including The Art of Parables. He was the resident artist at five seminaries, and a former policy advocate on the national staff of the United Church of Christ in Washington, DC. He lives in Hopewell, New Jersey.

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The Colonial Context of Jesus’ Wisdom

Understanding Rome

Jesus’ world was one overwhelmingly dominated by the Roman Empire. Rome must be seen in the foreground when we read the New Testament and not the background, as Warren Carter points out.¹ Indeed, without understanding the Roman imperial world, we will find it hard to understand the New Testament texts.² For example, just by reading the Christmas story or seeing the traditional Christmas pageant in our churches, we learn that Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to be registered because Caesar Augustus had declared a census. Many of us modern readers are unaware of why this census occurred. The census was taken so that Caesar could tax and demand tribute from everyone in the lands Rome had conquered. This was the price colonies usually paid to their conquering overlords to be protected, much as criminal gangs protect those they dominate nowadays. Such payments were used for roads, aqueducts, theaters, temples, and baths built with involuntary labor, but especially for military forces to implement Rome’s plans for further conquests of more lands and peoples.

Land was the main commercial base for this agrarian society. Land determined wealth for the 5 percent who were rich as well as the survival of the 95 percent who were poor. Refusal to pay taxes and tribute was considered treasonous and was countered with extreme violence and intimidation. When Herod died in 4 CE, Jewish rebels tried to throw off the tyranny of Rome and the prospect of any other vicious puppet king like Herod that Rome would install. But the Roman military ruthlessly crushed this effort and crucified hundreds of the suspected rebels. Their bodies were left to rot on poles and crosses in order to terrorize and intimidate anyone who dared oppose the Roman system and its local supporters. Growing up, Jesus would have known of such violence and was careful to resist the local Roman collaborators using nonviolent means. He tried to heal and feed the traumatized victims of this state