Religion and Theology
Comparing the portrayal of the Roman Empire and state authority in New Testament texts
Romans: 13 is a clear indication of how conservative early Christians were. Verse 9 is an emphasis of the commandments, previously written in Exodus, in the old testament. Paul tends to remind the Romans that they are to stick to commandments at all times. The political interpretation of this chapter, however, varies. Verses 1-7 talk about obeying and honoring authority, and according to Paul, power comes from God. Therefore, following the authority is conditional, where it does not come from God. The book of Revelation is an excellent example of conditional obedience to authorities where early Christians were forced to worship the Roman Emperor. Seeing that this kind of power did not come from God, they refused to worship the Emperor, which resulted in their being persecuted.
1 Peter 2: 13-17 talks about submission to authorities. The verses portray the early Christians as politically conservative, given that they are to submit to those in power even when it means suffering. Peter learned from Jesus firsthand to always obey the authorities. In MPeter2: 17, Peter was restrained by Jesus when he drew a sword to resist Jesus’ unjust arrest. Peter was also taught by Jesus to always obey the law by paying taxes (Matthew 22: 15-21).
The relationship between politics and Christianity is a complex subject which often results in disagreePeter. When Peter writes to the Romans in Romans 13, he reminds them of the laws written by Moses in the old testament. Verse 9 is a clear indication that authority comes from God since He is the one who instructed Moses to write the commandments. The government’s role is to uphold such laws and restrain evil by sentencing the wrongdoers. Politics affect government, shapes the society, and influences culture. Because of what the bible teaches and the inevitability of its effects, Christians should care about politics.
The early Christians were revolutionary and, at the same time, conservative. The crucifixion of Jesus was as a result the revolutionary changes that He had brought about, including not honoring particular religious laws of the Romans. On the other hand, when Christians are advised to obey their authorities, they are doing their civic duties, not religious. It is, therefore, essential to note that despite being revolutionary, early Christians were also conservative in that they followed civil laws like paying taxes.
The reason why the Roman authorities persecuted Christians is that they failed to acknowledge Ceasar as the sovereign deity in the Roman empire. Their refusal to accept Ceasar as the sovereign being is, however, a contrast to their revolution as they were at the same time paying their taxes to Ceasar, which is a civic duty. The early Christians refused to observe the numerous feasts and festivals held throughout the year, offering sacrifices to the Roman gods. The Christian nature of monotheism prohibited them from worshiping other gods besides the one true God (Attridge, 2006).
Christians also moved their worship activities from the streets to confined spaces such as houses, severing the regular ties between religion, tradition, and public institutions. This privatization of religion did not go well with the Roman authorities. Christians sometimes met at night, in secret, which aroused suspicions hence another reason for their persecution (Attridge, 2006).
References
Attridge, H. W. (2006). HarperCollins study bible-student edition: fully revised and updated. San Fransisco: HarperOne.