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Political Suicide

Wednesday, July 04th, 2012 | Author:

Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Romans 13:1 NASB

Governing authorities – Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has written a lot of books.  Two in particular are blockbusters:  Kosher Sex and Kosher Jesus.  I can’t say much about the first since I haven’t read it, but the second, Kosher Jesus, is a great piece of fiction.  Of course, it was meant to be a serious study, even a scholarly one.  But it contains so many mistakes in exegesis, such a lack of understanding of the New Testament text and ethos, and such a tangible polemic against Paul that it is hard to think of it in any other terms than a work of imagination.  Boteach goes to great lengths to “demonstrate” that the authors of the New Testament documents edited and altered the true story of Jesus, a Jewish political rebel.  He sets himself up as the correct interpreter of the documents, telling the reader again and again what pieces of the gospels are true and what pieces have been “heavily edited.”  Of course, how he determines the difference remains unexplained, except for the fact that the “edited” portions are the ones that don’t portray Jesus as the political rebel Boteach wants him to be.

But the most egregious reconstruction of the New Testament comes in his treatment of Paul.  Boteach is willing to accept Jesus as a misguided political zealot but still a hero of first century Judaism.  But Paul?  No, he was a traitor to Judaism, a convert to a new religion and ultimately responsible for accommodating Jesus’ teaching to Gentile ears.  Paul, according to Boteach, made Jesus palatable to Rome!

One of the arguments Boteach uses is Paul’s remark about submitting to authorities.  It doesn’t surprise me that Boteach uses this passage.  He is historically correct when he recognizes that the Christian Church has used Paul’s words to endorse submission to the most vile and corrupt leaders (including, as he notes, men like Hitler).  Boteach draws the conclusion that such advice cannot possibly be in line with the ethics of Jesus and must, therefore, have been constructed by Paul in order to make Paul’s new religion acceptable to the brutal powers of the Roman Empire.  Boteach would be correct – if his exegesis weren’t so flawed.  His history is right.  The Church did and does use this verse to assert control over its followers.  But Boteach didn’t read Nanos (and probably doesn’t even know about him).  Mark Nanos clearly shows that the letter to the Romans is not about pagan politics or governments.  Paul’s remarks must be read in the context of his audience, and that audience is the Gentile-Jewish members within the synagogue.  Nanos demonstrates that Paul is calling for submission to synagogue leaders.  These are the only ones put into position by God and they are the only ones who “will have praise” for righteous behavior.  Boteach understands correctly what the Church has taught.  He just doesn’t understand Paul (and neither does the Church).

Why should we care about a book that contains such blatant inaccuracies and deliberate misunderstandings?  We should care because a lot of people read Boteach as if he were the gospel.  This only leads to further schism.  Was Jesus Jewish?  Of course!  Was he a political zealot who mistakenly thought of himself as the Messiah?  Boteach says so, but his basis for saying this is the most tenuous re-reading of the text.  Was Paul to blame for Christian pogroms against Jews?  Boteach says “Yes.”  But Bo doesn’t know Paul.  (I wonder if he even read Paul’s work).  He certainly knows what the Church says about Paul, but he stops well short of real scholarship.  Unfortunately, his efforts only contribute to greater antagonism between Christians and Jews.  And his claim that all faiths lead ultimately to God makes me wonder if he actually represents Judaism accurately.  He does sell a lot of books.

Nevertheless, Boteach’s big mistake grants us a learning opportunity.  We must correct the exegetical nonsense about submitting to political authorities!  We must read Romans in context!  We must stop the terrible proclamation that God endorses whomever happens to be in power in the government.  God desires righteousness and when the government does not display righteousness, it is wrong, sinful and destructive!  God is not on the side of the king, the prime minister or the president (although they would like us to think so).  Boteach shows us just how ridiculous and immoral it is to offer a blanket endorsement of political entities.  It’s time to bring Paul’s context back into play.  It’s time to say “No,” to unrighteousness no matter where it is found.

We do not submit to evil authorities and Paul never suggests that we should.

Topical Index:  governing authorities, submit, Boteach, Kosher Jesus, Romans 13:1

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 19 Comments

Conflict Of Interest

Saturday, December 04th, 2010 | Author:

Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Romans 13:1

Governing Authorities – Do you have difficulty reconciling this verse with the actual history of the world?  Most people do.  While theologians go through hoops trying to show how a holy and good God could be behind despots and tyrants, most of us simply ignore the implications.  We can’t do the theological gymnastics necessary to claim that a good God would put Hitler or Pol Pot or Stalin into power.  The texts tells us that the governing authorities (exousias huperechousias) derive their authority from God.  Paul seems to argue that since God establishes these men, we should all submit to them.  But the history of governments causes us all kinds of ethical distress.  We just can’t understand how God could expect us to subject ourselves to the rule of men whose megalomania led to the extermination of millions.  What kind of God is that?  Since the ethical dilemma is overwhelming, we avoid talking about it.

But what if our interpretation of Paul’s words is completely off base?  What would happen to this typical but excruciatingly difficult exegesis if we looked at the historical context before we decided that Paul was speaking about general principles of governance?  Mark Nanos makes a compelling argument that Christian exegesis has ignored the actual cultural situation in Rome at the time Paul wrote his letter.  Nanos shows that the real objective of Paul’s advice was not general principles of government but rather the relationship between Gentile believers and Jewish believers in the synagogue.  In other words, Paul is telling those Gentiles who have joined the Messianic community of believing Jews to subject themselves to the governing authorities of the synagogue.  The problem is a local one, not a universal one.  Paul wants the congregation to be in harmony.  So he tells the newcomers to follow the directions of the already-established synagogue authorities.  That’s why he can describe these men as ministers of God, servants of God and rulers.  He is not talking about Caesar (or any other worldly leader).  He is talking about the very specific hierarchy in the synagogue in Rome.  Nanos writes, “Jan Botha points out that the terms describing those in power do not indicate ‘abstract institutions’ or ‘systems.’  Rather, their lexical sense is specifically related to personal relationships.”[1] Nanos continues, “[Paul’s language] was a clear reference to those in charge of the government of the synagogue, an institution that in fact has been ‘ordered’ by God to interpret righteousness for his people.”[2]

For centuries Christian political theory has assumed that Paul’s comments were about the divine authorization of the governments of men.  All kinds of “divine rights” have been based on this misunderstanding.  Can we suggest that removing the Jewish historical context from Romans resulted in claims to power that Scripture never endorsed?  Nanos thinks so.  If you have ever struggled with Paul’s passages on government, maybe you also need to put Paul’s remarks back into the actual circumstances his letter addresses.  If you read these words as a Gentile believer in a first century Roman synagogue, what do you think they would mean?  Maybe the answer has been staring us in the face all this time, but we couldn’t see it because we had a global point of view.  Now we have a chance to re-examine our assumptions.  What will your view of God and government look like if Paul is only talking about governing inside the community?

Topical Index:  government, authorities, Mark Nanos, exousias huperechousias, Romans 13:1

[1] Mark Nanos, The Mystery of Romans, p. 297.

[2] Nanos, p. 301.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 36 Comments