{"product_id":"defying-tyrants-matthew-d-taylor-9798341900370","title":"Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\\ \u003ci\u003eChristian antichrists\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\\\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e(noun): Those who use power to harm others in the name of Jesus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this powerhouse book, an expert on Christian extremism issues a profound and biblical rebuke to all who would claim the name of Jesus but disdain his way.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChristian fixation with political power is the theological emergency of our time, and in \u003ci\u003eDefying Tyrants\u003c\/i\u003e, Matthew D. Taylor, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Violent Take It by Force\u003c\/i\u003e, traces the origins of Christian supremacy. Jesus directed his followers away from the race for power, but somewhere along the way, many Christians turned Jesus into a mascot for imperial domination. Where did it all go so wrong?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA trenchant reckoning with the murder, mayhem, and monsters of Christianity--from the early church and the Crusades to colonialism, slavery, and the Holocaust--\u003ci\u003eDefying Tyrants\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates how imperialism has infected the body of Christ. With cogent argument and moral precision, Taylor excavates scriptural texts and unpacks the notion of Christian antichrists. When the term \u003ci\u003eantichrist\u003c\/i\u003e occurs in the Bible, it's frequently \u003ci\u003eplural\u003c\/i\u003e--not \"The Antichrist\" who populated the nightmares of fundamentalism's young people. Antichrists originate within the church and abuse people in the name of Christ. Christian antichrists justify harm and vengeance theologically, pointing people away from the God who entered humanity as a colonized peasant in the hinterlands of the Roman empire.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoth searing polemic and lyrical meditation, \u003ci\u003eDefying Tyrants \u003c\/i\u003echallenges us to put steel in the spine of Christian resistance to tyrants and reprimands the Christian leaders who bless them. It also spotlights a countertradition of Christians who have lived generous lives of sacrifice and stood up to authoritatians through the centuries. The gospel of Jesus pulls the rug out from under all human hierarchies, Taylor argues. In this brilliantly conceived and scrappy quarrel with Christian supremacy, he calls us to find in the teachings of Jesus and the witness of the early church a model of rebellion against tyrants of all kinds. Because if Jesus is Lord, Caesar isn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Matthew D. Taylor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798341900370\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Broadleaf Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/06\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 302\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Matthew D. Taylor","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48450633957631,"sku":"9798341900370","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d821a643-f882-4184-b039-3d065928c3e7.jpg?v=1777268416","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/defying-tyrants-matthew-d-taylor-9798341900370","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}