Christianity and Politics: Three Current Perspectives in Light of Jesus, the Early Church and Rome - Intro

This paper was originally going to be called "Religion and Politics," but to talk about religion and politics in America is to assume the religion in question is Christianity. I think that's kind of interesting and says something about the place of Christianity in America. I had to make the most of the limited scope I was given in writing about this. That said, I'm not sure Boyd's arguments are necessarily complete, or even that I 100% agree with him on everything, but compared to the religious Right and Left I think he sheds an enormous amount of light. So here's my intro, I'll try to post more soon.
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Since its inception, Christianity and political systems have been closely intertwined or at odds with one another. Christians were fed to hungry animals by the Romans; Christianity was made the official religion of Rome under Theodosius; Christians fought both to abolish and sustain the institution of slavery; many Christians insist that America is a Christian nation; and some Christians insist America is an enemy of Christ. For the past 25 years, Christian groups, in America, both on the political Left and Right have fought to inject their religious convictions into the political system; and, arguably, those on the Right have been the most successful. But I want to ask the questions: What is the role, if any, of Christians in politics, and whose perspective, in America today, looks most like Jesus and the early church? To answer these questions I will first look at Jesus’ actions and message in the context of various first-century Jewish factions and the Roman Empire; and, from there, look at Paul and the early church, also in the context of the Roman Empire. I will then examine three leading views amongst Evangelical Christians today: The religious Right, the religious Left, and view of Dr. Greg Boyd. I believe, in light of what we know about Jesus and the Jewish and first-century Christian struggle with Rome, that Dr. Boyd’s ideas best reflect the church’s role in present-day American politics.