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| | | Jesus of Nazareth has been called many names: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Immanuel, Son of God, the list goes on. I would like to introduce an additional title into the corpus of names held by Jesus: Coiner of Enigmatic Phrases. Luke 20, Mark 12, and Matthew 22 showcase Jesus the orator at his most clever and inscrutable. Jesus was approached by several ill intentioned questioners who sought to catch Jesus in a rhetorical trap. They nonchalantly asked whether or not it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. If Jesus had responded in the negative, he could have faced a premature execution at the hands of the Romans. If he had responded in the affirmative, he could have angered the Jews laboring under the yoke of Roman occupation who viewed Jesus as a liberator. Instead, Jesus gave a pregnant pause and asked for a denarius. After surveying the coin Jesus asked whose image was inscribed on the currency. "Caesar's." the would-be deceivers answered. Jesus then responded with "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." If Jesus hadn't been preoccupied with being the Messiah, he could have had a lucrative career as a lawyer. This clever response has become an oft-quoted maxim that encapsulates the relationship many believe Christians should have with the secular elements of society. | |
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< | Ever since Jesus ambiguously laid down the partition between the lay and divine, Christian thinkers have been speculating as to what is owed to Caesar as opposed to God. The apostle Paul, a Roman citizen, urged early Christians to accept Roman rule, pay their taxes, and obey the emperor short of worshipping him. Peter implores Christians to "fear God, honor the emperor." Massachusetts Puritans chose to merge the secular and divine | >
> | Ever since Jesus ambiguously laid down the partition between the lay and divine, Christian thinkers have been speculating as to what is owed to Caesar as opposed to God. The apostle Paul, a Roman citizen, urged early Christians to accept Roman rule, pay their taxes, and obey the emperor short of worshipping him. Peter implores Christians to "fear God, honor the emperor." Massachusetts Puritans chose to merge the secular and divine. According to Haskins, a number of the colony's laws were based on the Old Testament while there was also a moderate embrace of various forms of English law during the early period. (Haskins page 7).
The Massachusetts meetinghouse illustrates the blending of the secular and divine. There was compulsory church attendance (88)
Thomas Shepard pleaded for stricter observance of town bylaws, Hugh Peter urged the support of economic programs, and John Cotton preached on the ethics of trade and business practice. Each year, special election sermons exhorted reverence for the symbols of government by commending the fit character of civil leaders (88). Tried once by the civil authorities then again by the church. the county courts sentenced people to confess their sin before their congregation.
"Thus, the church communities were not only active agencies of law enforcement within the colony but also sources of positive law in the sense that law consists of the rules and standards whereby men are expected to order their conduct" (89)
Excommunication did not preclude one from holding public office (93)
Miller - the puritans showed "how a discipline gathered out of the Word could subserve the political ideals of civil supremacy and national unity" (93) | | |
Augustine
John Donne questions the relationship between physical frailty and divine | | | As therefore thy Son did look upon the coin, I look upon the king, and I ask whose image and whose inscription he hath, and he hath thine; and I give unto thee that which is thine; I recommend his happiness to thee in all my sacrifices of thanks, for that which he enjoys, and in all my prayers for the continuance and enlargement of them. (VIII Expostulation) | |
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> | Laws are, "the product of, or a response to, complex social and psychological pressures. Their purpose is to secure, limit, and adjust the demands and desires of men with respect to things, to one another, and to the community. Law in this sense consists partly of received precepts and ideals and partly of legislative enactments, judicial decisions and the orders of public officials.The law is a compound of past as well as of present forcesl it is both ananchor to tradition and a vehicle for change. The law is the highest inheritiace by which the people are preserved" (p. 4 Haskins) | | | Linking psychological attitudes towards behavior, as Weber does in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
I could discuss Brown as a counterargument wherein religious belief motivates one to actively oppose secular jurisprudence rather than acquiesce to it. Someone mentioned on the pad that there seems to be a correlation between being an activist leader and having strong religious beliefs.(e.g. Brown, King, Malcolm X). I agree but believe this correlation is only present in activist leaders, not necessarily in the less ardent supporters of a movement. |
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