Abstract:
The study underlying this
article investigated the attitude of Sayings Source Q towards the Roman authorities and their
representatives. It primarily aimed at contributing to scholarly discussions on the relationships
between early Christianity and the Roman Empire, but it also attempted to put the research
in a broader context of present-day discussions on the issue of ‘church and state’. The first
part of the study dealt with Q’s views on the government. The second part studied Q’s views
on the emperor cult. The third and final part aimed at putting Q’s views on the authorities
and on the veneration of the emperor in the right context. It concluded that Q compromises
between idealism and realism. Its attitude towards the government is quite hostile. It portrays
worldly power as demonic (Q 4:5–6; 11:18, 20), it regards God as the only true Lord of heaven
and earth (Q 10:21) and rejects the legitimacy of the imperial cult (Q 4:5–8). It fully focuses
on the completion of the kingdom of God (Q 6:20; 7:28; 10:9; 11:2b). Yet, as a relatively
small community (Q 10:2), the Q people seem to have realised that there was no point in
standing up against the Roman authorities and their representatives. Q’s propagated views
on Roman power are not characterised by active resistance, but by passive dissidence (Q
6:22–23, 27–32; 12:4–5). Within the context of the Roman Empire, it was better to be a realist
than a revolutionist.
Description:
This article was
initially presented at the
NavNUT Conference ‘Mag
in die Nuwe Testament’,
16−19 January 2011 at the
University of Stellenbosch,
South Africa.
