Corpus-Paul

["Jeffrey B. Gibson" <jgibson000 AT mailhost.chi.ameritech.net>]

"L.M. Barre" wrote:

> Dear List,
>
> Thesis: Paul's injunction in Romans 13 that Christian's should obey the 
> governing authorities is naive and biased by the fact that he was a Roman 
> citizen.  His naivete was supremely demonstrated by the fact that Caesar, 
> to whom so he so confidently appealed, had him executed for no reason at 
> all.  One may detect his great disillusionment in the reading of 2 Timothy.
> One will also wish to consider the fact that the Romans also executed 
> Jesus.  Appeal to the NT regarding submission to government authority is 
> finally ideologically based.
>

A difficulty I have with this thesis is that it starts out by assuming what 
actually needs to be proven, namely, that in Rom 13 Paul actually urges 
*obedience*, let alone an unqualified obedience, to the governing (Roman) 
authorities. As I understand things, and as has been argued by C.E.B. 
Cranfield ("Some Observations on Romans XIII:1-7," NTS 6 [1959-60] 242], the
imperative hUPOTASSESQW calls for sub*ord*ination, which is something quite 
different from obedience, especially if obedience be understood in terms of 
completely bending one's will and one's actions to the desires of another.

Nor does the thesis seem to take into account that there is a rather 
sophisticated analysis of  how unabsolute any claim by the "authorities" to 
obedience actually is standing behind the remainder of the passage. But I 
think this is a question that Neil Elliott should address.

Yours,

Jeffrey Gibson
--
Jeffrey B. Gibson
7423 N. Sheridan Road #2A
Chicago, Illinois 60626
e-mail jgibson000 AT ameritech.net