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  • From: "Ayla Lepine" <arlepine AT uvic.ca>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Romans 13:1-7
  • Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 23:37:01 -0700

Title: [corpus-paul] Re: Romans 13:1-7
My understanding is that while generally the practice of deifying emperors was posthumous (as in the case of Augustus), Nero demanded to be addressed and treated as a god while still in power. The sticky part is that while Nero was emperor between 54 and 68, he was known as a fairly mild and benevolent ruler prior to the murder of his mother in 59. Most scholars would agree that Romans was written at least 3-5 years before this decided shift in the emperor's character and reputation. Nero of course is best remembered for his later "achievements" of persecuting a ridiculous amount of Christians, initially using them as the scapegoat for the great fire of 64. 
 
Rom 13:1-7 calls for respect for those in political power, arguing that the far greater power of God institutes and oversees state governance. Paul's somewhat adamant stance that the state protects the good and punishes only those who clearly do wrong in both deed and conscience may have been driven in fact by Nero's actions around the year 53: a reduction in taxes and an (albeit short-lived) end to capital punishment/bloodshed in the circuses.
 
I'm hardly arguing that Nero was a fabulous emperor. Far from it. His early years as emperor however were, despite his paranoia and moderate incompetence, likely seen as an improvement for the early Christians.
 
 
 

------
Ayla Lepine
(arlepine AT uvic.ca)
Contract Editor, B.C. Heritage Branch
Researcher, DoCoMoMo B.C.
Hon. Undergraduate, UVic History in Art

-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Zuesse [mailto:cettel AT shoreham.net]
Sent: May 16, 2002 12:34 PM
To: Corpus-paul
Subject: [corpus-paul] Re: Romans 13:1-7

Isn't Steve Black's historical assumption wrong here? It was my understanding that Roman emperors were deified after their deaths, not during their lifetimes. Is this incorrect?
 
Eric Zuesse
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 3:28 PM
Subject: [corpus-paul] Re: Romans 13:1-7

Even within Ro 13 as it stands there is a form of political subversion. It could be read as a command to obey Caesar, but it can be read to say that even in this obedience, the one really being obeyed is God. This may have been enough for some Emperors, but with the likes of Nero, this would NOT have  been enough. Nero would of demanded that he be obeyed AS God, not BECAUSE OF God. The REAL power and authority is removed from the empire to the divine. The obedience rendered to "the state" has been "relavitized".

This may not be very satisfactory for us, but I wonder if it wasn't revolutionary for the original audience?
-- 
Steve Black
Vancouver School of Theology
Vancouver, BC
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