Corpus-Paul

[rcragun AT cp.duluth.mn.us (Rodger Cragun"Real Name" here.)]

 I have been reading the discussion with interest for a long time  and been
wanting to jumb in for a long time. It seems to me that the imperial
religion as framed by Ambrose and Augustine has long distorted Romans 13:1.
It seems clear to me, from reading their works, and from the text of the
Vulgate as we have had it from Jerome down, that the text that they had
before them was not too dissimilar to the text that we have before us. Thus
somehow in their thought, particularly Augustine's and ensuing generations
of the Imperial Religion,  Romans 13:1 becomes isolated from Romans 12:21
where Paul writes, <Do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with
good.> The Imperial Religion has used  its own distortion of upotassestho,
<be subject> to justify <overcoming evil with evil>. I would suggest that a
passage somefolks have real problems with, Ephesians 5:21-33, might have been 
used to understand <subjection to ruling authorities>.

I do not want to get into a discussion of whether or not Paul wrote 
Ephesians. (M. Barth, Ephesians, did agrue persausively that he did.) Here 
Paul uses  subjection to describe the relationship of everyone to each other 
in the the church and incidently wifes to their husbands and as 
chauvinistically as it may appear. The basic attitude in our relations with 
others one should stand in deference and respect. As Christ stood before 
Pilate, and Paul stood before his executing officials, that is subjection and 
not in <overcoming evil with evil> that is defiance of God.
R. Cragun

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Rodger Lawson Cragun
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