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  • From: "Jeffrey B. Gibson" <jgibson000 AT mailhost.chi.ameritech.net>
  • To: Corpus Paulinum <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Paul's Naivete]
  • Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 09:18:04 -0500




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.

To which I responded:

> 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.

He Now Writes:

How different is it? The issue civl obedience, is it not? Governments
have laws and insist that they be obeyed or the disobedience will be
punished. I submit that we do not face here an exegetical crux.

I also wrote:
> 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.

His response is:

Sohisticated or sophistry? I would like to hear that.

Thank you.

Dr. Barre



  • Re: Paul's Naivete], Jeffrey B. Gibson, 05/08/1999

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