Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 1
Foreward Dr. Gary V. Simpson 3
Chapter 1 The Contours of Empire 7
A Empire Defined, Endorsed, Critiqued
B Exceptionalism and the Iraq war
C Empire as Religion
Chapter 2 Empire and Transcendence 22
A The Subversion of Discourse
B Empire and the Trails of Transcendence
C Transcendence and Contention
Chapter 3 Scripture, The Church and Empire 39
A Text and Context
B Jesus and Empire
C Empire and the Early Church
Chapter 4 Rhetoric and Resistance 50
A The Poor as Linguistic Setting
B Sin and Resistance
C The Future as Preservation or Possibility
D The Rhetoric of Grace and Social Control
Chapter 5 Worship in the Context of Empire 62
A The Identity of the Church
B Rituals and Reality
C Baptism as Transferal
D Eucharist as Re-Centering
E The Cross: Representation and Expectation
Chapter 6 The Economy and Empire 76
A Ideology, Economics, and the Church
B Empire and the Market
C Empire and Globalization
Chapter 7 Commodification and Community 92
A Religion and De-Commodihcation
B Welcome and Embrace in Community
C The Exodus Church
Chapter 8 James Cone: A Theology of Resistance 101
A God and Resistance
B Black Theology and Resistance
C Ritual and Resistance
Chapter 9 Epilogue 113
A The Church as Rome in Reverse
B Strategies for Subverting Empire
End Notes 129
Index 143
Works Cited & Consulted 149
