Preface ix1 Paul and the Bible in tomorrow's world 12 The Bible and the postmodern world 13 The Bible within the postmodern world 21 The postmodern world 243 Pilate, Caesar and Bible truth 39 Jesus and Pilate in John 18---19: introduction 39 Contemporary world: introduction 44 Jesus, Pilate and the kingdom of God 514 God, the earthly powers and terror 58 Speaking of God, speaking of the world 65 God, the powers and the war 705 Power, faith and the law 76 Signs of the times 76 Analysis: history and postmodernity 80 Secularism and fundamentalism 84 deconstructing modernity 86 Proposal: God, kingdom and hope 86 Conclusion: public God, public agenda 936 God, power and human flourishing 97 God and the gods 97 God and power in tomorrow's world 99 Christ and power 102 God and mammon 107 God and human flourishing 1097 God's powerful foolishness in a world of foolish power 112 Folly and wisdom, weakness and power: the gospel in Corinth 113 Power and folly in today's world 119 Jesus and power: the different way 125 Conclusion 1318 Christian virtue in peace and war 133 Virtue and its embodiment 133 Courage among the virtues 140 Courage in peace and war 144 Conclusion 1489 Christian faith in public life 150 The secularist thesis 151 The older story revived? 153 The kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world 15510 Jesus and the kingdom of God, then and now 168Acknowledgments 181Index of Scripture and ancient sources 183Index of names and subjects 185.