New JSNT (March 2011) - More Reviews of Kavin Rowe's "World Upside Down"

C. Kavin Rowe is one of the most exciting up and coming N. American NT scholars. His 2009 book, World Upside Down: Reading Acts in the Graeco-Roman Age has received much attention, including a special book review session at SBL in Atlanta. Here, in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, is another set of reviews by John Barclay and Matthew Sleeman with a brief overview of the book by Steve Walton. Rowe, in typical fashion, provides a tightly written rejoinder at the end.

Walton and Barclay are no strangers to the anti-imperial movement among NT scholars. Barclay strongly critiqued the movement at the 2007 SBL meeting, which Andy Rowell graciously recorded here. And Steve Walton's 2002 essay, "The State They Were In: Luke's View of the Roman Empire" was, in my mind, the first major re-assessment of Luke's relationship to the Roman Empire since the work of Paul Walaskay, Richard Cassidy and Phillip Esler in the 1980's (See Rome in the Bible and the Early Church [ed. Peter Oakes; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002], 1-41). Needless to say, these are exciting reviews!