Although the formation of Jesus' ministry and subsequent Christianity is usually approached from a very spiritual and Christianity-infused standpoint, Horsley's work challenges this approach as too weak and misleading. He instead makes Jesus into a political figure with religious undertones - not that society then had a separation of church and state, or differentiated the two as cleanly as we do. Jesus' message was thoroughly politically motivated, from the phrase *kingdom* of God to his death on a cross, an execution worthy only of political rabble rousers.

Therefore what Jesus challenged and promoted change within was not a conflict of Judaism and Christianity (of course) nor even different modes of piety within Judaism. Instead he challenges the power dynamics between groups of the rulers and the ruled. The subtitle's "New World Disorder" makes pretty clear what Horsley thinks Jesus thinks about the power politics of Rome, a corruption-ridden system antithetical to the kingdom of God. His own ministry promotes everything that goes against the power-hungry mentality of the empire: communal and mutually beneficial works instead of the proto-capitalist quest for wealth and glory.

Horsley even devotes a chapter to the ways in which America is the new Rome, which I felt was kind of extraneous, but does drive home the point that Jesus should not merely be approached as a sweet and apolitical nice guy, but rather a revolutionary political leader whose challenges to the system will still be relevant to the politics of the present day. ( )