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Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 2: The Early Church  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 2
In the 9 BC inscription about Caesar Augustus, imperial titles like “savior,” “god manifest,” and “beginning of the good news (evangeline)” are used; how does that background sharpen what early Christians meant when they confessed “Jesus is Lord,” and what modern “Caesar-like” loyalties might compete with that confession today?
Another way to ask: Since Caesar was called “savior,” “god,” and “good news,” how does that help us understand what Christians meant by saying “Jesus is Lord”? What “Caesar-like” loyalties today could compete with Jesus?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests that confessing “Jesus is Lord” was a direct challenge to the empire’s religious-political claims about Caesar, so it was “politically radical” in a Kingdom-vs.-kingdoms sense. Dean doesn’t list modern competitors explicitly, but he implies that any loyalty that ties us to “the kingdoms of this world” can rival Christ’s lordship.

Support from Transcript:

  • Dean explains “Augustus” means “the venerated one or the worshipable one,” and Caesar was treated as “known as God.”
  • He reads the 9 BC text calling Caesar “savior,” “God manifest,” and the start of “good news, the evangeline.”
  • He says that with that language circulating, saying “Jesus is Lord… Jesus is our Caesar… his way and it’s his kingdom” becomes “a very radical statement.”
  • He clarifies “political” as “a Kingdom of God indifferent to the Kingdom of this world,” not partisan politics.
  • He notes this helps explain “why they got themselves into so much trouble.”
  • Raso’s definition: God’s Kingdom is “in no way connected to the kingdoms of this world,” shaping what loyalties are allowed.
Discussion Follow-ups What allegiances today function like “good news” narratives that demand our trust and identity? How do we test whether a loyalty is connecting us to a worldly kingdom rather than Christ’s?

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