It’s striking to compare the radical departure in Jesus Christ’s message from the kingdom of domination, intimidation and brutality Caesar Augustus had been championing.

Julius Caesar squared off against his rival Pompey. And, of course, Augustus himself seized power through violence, and snuffed out his rivals along the way. But it's inaccurate to think of the ...

His father died when Augustus was four. His prospects were bleak: Rome was dangerous, engulfed by civil war between power-hungry factions. One of these was led by his great-uncle, Julius Caesar.