The North American religions, JW. 7th Day and Mormons, don't see Jesus as God (I think) and I wonder if that has more to do with the growth of the enlightenment and democracy than anything else. We live in a time of freedom from Kings and rulers and lords and lieges. In this age every person is their own god.
But what we miss from this is the nature of saying Jesus is Lord, or X is my King, is the complete ownership that was implied in the past by someone who said they were King. Game of Thrones is perhaps the closest we have seen of the absolute sovereignty of an Emperor, or a master within their own household. When Cersei says jump, kill, die, the soldiers and people do.
Tom Holland in his book Dominion talks about how a Roman citizen had absolute rights over his slave property says this.
https://scroll.in/article/953904/christ ... om-holland
We say we understand God and sovereignty but the argument I making here is that we don't. Can you or I really fathom the totality of a leadership position back in antiquity?A Roman man had the right to sexually use anyone who was subordinate to him: Slaves, social inferiors. He could just use their mouths, their various orifices, as receptacles for his excess sperm. And so, the Romans had this one word “mayo� for urine and ejaculate. This is how it’s seen. And so it casts those who have to receive the Roman males’ attentions in a rather unpleasant light.
The Bible in Matthew 8:5-13 talks about a centurion who approaches Jesus to heal his servant. The centurion says to Jesus, "But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.� and Jesus is amazed by him. But if Jesus was amazed can you or I understand actual authority in this day and age?
Consider all the Kings in the old testament and how they could sign into law the death of whole people groups (book of Esther) or could sign a law that everyone had to worship a statue (book of Daniel). Absolute power or an attempt to do so.
To call Jesus Lord is to call Jesus God because for all intents and purposes a King or Emperor or Master in antiquity was god for the people under them.
Thoughts?
."
