Proechomai
Romans 3:9
What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; (ASV)
The word for better here is proechomai (pro-ekh-om-ahee). To hold oneself before others, i.e. (figuratively) to excel:--be better.
The Apostle Paul, by this declaration, essentially indicts all of mankind of sin (himself included, as a Jew well-versed in the Hellenic culture). Paul never exuded self-righteousness and always included himself among the guilty.
To the Jews, there were two groups of humanity: The Jews and the Non-Jews. The Jews had been given exceedingly great revelation of God throughout their history but it was not because they were intrinsically better as a group of people than any other ethnic group. They were chosen.
Since Paul was writing to the Church in Rome, he specifically indicts the Greeks of sin also. In the Pagan world, then--as today--the Greek world--its language, its philosophy, its culture, was considered the epitome of civilization. As such, the Greek culture sat on top, like the Pantheon, on the hill of the non-Jewish Gentile world--at least in the "Western tradition."
"Young men of noble and wealthy families, or those whose talents promised a brilliant future, often followed a stint at a school of rhetoric with travel and residence abroad. Favorite destinations were Greece, Rhodes, and Asia Minor. Athens offered the greatest attractions for serious study." (A modern parallel would be "Ivy League" schools and sensibilities).
But, the sun was setting on the West in Paul's day....corruption reigned in religion and philosophy. Only Christ, the Risen One, resurrected the West...it was dead. Makes me wonder why our Founding Fathers were so enamored with Roman jurisprudence and Greek thinking.
Paul called out both the Jew and the Non-Jew. That made him a pretty unpopular individual with the religious (Jew) and philosophical (Greek) elite. Not much has changed in either how Paul is viewed today by such parties or how people like Paul (educated evangelicals) are viewed presently by the sophisticates.
What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; (ASV)
The word for better here is proechomai (pro-ekh-om-ahee). To hold oneself before others, i.e. (figuratively) to excel:--be better.
The Apostle Paul, by this declaration, essentially indicts all of mankind of sin (himself included, as a Jew well-versed in the Hellenic culture). Paul never exuded self-righteousness and always included himself among the guilty.
To the Jews, there were two groups of humanity: The Jews and the Non-Jews. The Jews had been given exceedingly great revelation of God throughout their history but it was not because they were intrinsically better as a group of people than any other ethnic group. They were chosen.
Since Paul was writing to the Church in Rome, he specifically indicts the Greeks of sin also. In the Pagan world, then--as today--the Greek world--its language, its philosophy, its culture, was considered the epitome of civilization. As such, the Greek culture sat on top, like the Pantheon, on the hill of the non-Jewish Gentile world--at least in the "Western tradition."
"Young men of noble and wealthy families, or those whose talents promised a brilliant future, often followed a stint at a school of rhetoric with travel and residence abroad. Favorite destinations were Greece, Rhodes, and Asia Minor. Athens offered the greatest attractions for serious study." (A modern parallel would be "Ivy League" schools and sensibilities).
But, the sun was setting on the West in Paul's day....corruption reigned in religion and philosophy. Only Christ, the Risen One, resurrected the West...it was dead. Makes me wonder why our Founding Fathers were so enamored with Roman jurisprudence and Greek thinking.
Paul called out both the Jew and the Non-Jew. That made him a pretty unpopular individual with the religious (Jew) and philosophical (Greek) elite. Not much has changed in either how Paul is viewed today by such parties or how people like Paul (educated evangelicals) are viewed presently by the sophisticates.
Comments