Abstract:
Using postcolonial analysis to account for the Roman Empire’s pervasive presence in and influence
on early Jesus-follower communities (early Christians), as depicted in New Testament texts, is
both evident (given its usefulness for analysing situations of unequal power relationships) and
complicated. The complications are due partly to the material and conceptual potential and
constraints inherent in postcolonial biblical studies, as well as to the complexities involved in
dealing with empire and imperialism. The study of the Roman Empire, as far as its impact on
early Christianity and (in this article) on the letters of Paul is concerned, requires attention to
Empire’s material manifestation, ideological support for Empire, and religious aspects – issues that
are identified and briefly discussed. Empire can be understood in many different ways, but it was
also constantly constructed and negotiated by both the powerful and the subjugated and therefore
attention is required for its possible reach, uses and the purposeful application of discursive power
in New Testament texts that were contemporary with Empi
