Counter-imperial gospel (?) - Some interesting thing from Michael Bird

In a recent post in his blog, Michael Bird said that he's increasingly convinced that the gospel would have been perceived as counter-imperial. Here is an excerpt from his post.

"Paul’s colleagues in Thessalonica were mobbed because: 'They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus' (Acts 17:7).  This story reminds of an an episode from Caligula’s life described by Suetonius (Caligula 22):

'Upon hearing some kings, who came to the city to pay him court, conversing together at supper, about their illustrious descent, he exclaimed,

Eis koiranos eto, eis basileus.
Let there be but one prince, one king...'"

Click here to see the rest of Michael Bird's blog post (6th September 2011).