Paul's Cult In The Roman Empire

There is a presence of cult in the Roman Empire, as it is filled with statues, temples and festivals. This according to Wright is ‘part of the fabric of society that it was bound to impress itself forcefully on the minds of all who inhabited such cities.’ The meaning behind this is that as Paul visited the Roman Empire, it was hard for him not become influenced by the social phenomena’s however, Wright states that Paul should say nothing about the imperial cult, and continue his travel of preaching. Whereas if Paul was to talk negatively about the festivals and Roman Empire. ‘Paul is not opposed entirely to everything to do with the Roman Empire, and on the other, that the main target of his critique is the imperial cult and its associated ideology.
As there are so many religious belief, festivals, temples and fabrics, it is important for Paul to stay focused on his goal, to preach Christianity, and to keep a peaceful environment wherever he goes.
To encourage Paul to show the importance of the Roman Empire, Paul uses the symbol of the cross to initiate the importance of the Roman Empire. Christ who was buried on the cross by Romans, have a clear history and connection with the reoccurring symbol the cross in the ancient world. ‘it spoke both of politics (the unstoppable military might of Rome) and the theology (the divinity of Caesar, whose power stood behind that of his armies).’ Pauls response for Caesar not being a lord is ‘the fact that the true Lord was crucified on a Roman cross, the very means by which Rome expressed her power in the world, reinforces the sense of a total antithesis between two
kingdoms. Wright’s message clarifies one important factor, and that it the importance of one God according to Paul. His goal is to travel throughout the Roman Empire and preach through Christian views, and to convert Roman citizens. The idea of Paul supporting the Roman Empire can be questioned however, the Roman empire appears critically important to Paul, as he is the servant of Christ, preaching Christianity and sending the sole message of one god only. Barclay does not hide the fact that he disagrees with the importance of the Roman Empire in Pauline thought, in fact, his title of the reading suggests the complete opposite. Barclay’s reading evolves around the question ‘why the Roman Empire was insignificant to Paul, and uses Wright as the main theologian to contribute to his factors which Barclay will then critique using his own opinion. Barclay states that Pauls theology is not apolitical. He digs deep from the beginning of the text ‘observing on the polemical parallelism between the cult of the emperor and the cult of Christ.’ Just like Wright, Barclay quickly mentions the protest other Lords, however, is quick to change the subject, leaving little space to argue for Paul preaching in Rome. Barclays main arguments evolve around Wright and his opinion of the importance of the Roman Empire in Pauline thought. Barclay then critiques these eight points by putting his opinion into three headings, a) Rome and Pauline Thought, b) Political Vocabulary in Paul and c) Pauls Political Theology.