As we conclude this section on the political passion of the New Testament and its indictment of empire, it is worth remembering that, as empires go, Rome was not particularly bad. A good case can be made that it was better than most. In terms of its system of law, protection against bandits and pirates, a stable order, public projects such as roads, and so forth, Rome was better than the empires it replaced and better than most of the kingdoms and empires that replaced it. But its policies negatively impacted the lives of millions. Its wars of conquest were brutal. In the world of empire, the
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