The Danish Democracy Canon

2	The Idea of Equality

Identification

With all their individual differences, all people are equal before God and must be equal before the law. This idea of equality is to be found in the epistle to the Galatians, which was probably written by Paul the Apostle (circa 10-circa 67 AD) in spring 54 AD. About the same time, the Stoic philosopher Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) referred to a similar idea of equality as a universal order where all human beings are equal.

St Paul (circa 10-circa 67 AD).

The epistle to the Galatians was probably written by St Paul in spring of 54 AD to a group of congregations that he had previously established in Galatia, an ancient region in Asia Minor. The congregations had apparently allowed themselves to be persuaded by Judeo-Christian preachers who regarded Christianity as Judaism for gentiles. Therefore, they had tried to persuade the Galatians to accept circumcision and comply with the Jewish dietary rules, in other words accept the Jewish rules as they are set out in the Mosaic Law, which normally constituted the visible distinction between Jews and non-Jews. The Judeo-Christian line of thinking was that it was necessary first to become a Jew – and subsequently become a Christian. However, in his epistle, St Paul strongly refutes the attempt to supplement Christianity with acts based on religious law; acts that would make human beings worthy in the eyes of God (i.e. that the individual can obtain salvation by acting in accordance with the laws set out in the Old Testament). It is not statutory provisions that must regulate the individual’s relationship with God. Only love of fellow human beings counts, and it cannot be delimited and translated into rules and regulations. As St Paul puts it, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

In his epistle to the Galatians, St Paul preaches Christianity which has no laws and rules, but places Christ at the centre, and in Christ crucified God has manifested himself as he who is powerless in the world. According to St Paul, God has overthrown the hierarchies of power and the faithful are therefore not slaves, but free sons and daughters. To St Paul, Jews are therefore no longer closer to God than non-Jews; men are not more important than women; and free people are not grander than slaves before God. For in the belief in Jesus Christ, all men are equal before God.

When Jesus made the distinction between the Kingdom of God and that of Caesar, he held a coin in his hand. It was not only because money clearly belongs to this world but the coin also bore the image of a god of this world: The emperor of the Roman occupying power.

An occupied country distinguishes inevitably between worldly law and universal justice. The law imposed from outside by force is not perceived in a favourable light, so it is possible to protest against the occupation by pointing at a universal moral order for all human beings. Strangely enough, at the same time one of the brightest members of the Roman elite, the Stoic philosopher Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) arrived at the same conclusion. Also an occupying power must consider the relationship between its own law and the laws of the occupied countries. Seneca took the idea to its radical conclusion. He pointed at a universal order where all people are equal, irrespective of whether they locally were both different and unequal, for example as slaves and free people. Even though Seneca did not contribute to a theory about democracy, equality before the law is an important brick in the house of democracy.

Reason

In a democratic context, the idea of equality, which is to be found among others in St Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, is a crucial confrontation with religious laws that are required to be visibly manifest in the lives of the believers, and are thus seen as important for the individual’s place in society. St Paul underlines that belief in Christ is a spiritual matter that cannot be visibly seen in specific acts, but must become manifest only in the acts of love. The Apostle Paul here lays the foundation for the separation of religious belief and law that is a crucial precondition for the separation of religion and politics. In continuation of this, there is the Pauline emphasis on equality between human beings. That all people are equal before God is an expression of the idea of equality which is reiterated in later Western democracies. In these, it becomes a democratic hallmark that all citizens are equal and, consequently, must be equal before the law.

St Paul

The Apostle Paul was originally a Jew and a Pharisee even though he was born and raised in Tarsus in the south-eastern part of Asia Minor. He participated in the persecutions of the first Christians, but after having experienced a revelation circa 40 AD, he himself began to preach the new faith. He preached also to non- Jews, which led to the establishment of a number of congregations in Asia Minor and Greece. He perceived himself as an apostle; that is, one who is sent out by Christ. In his epistles, we find the full theological consideration of the Gospel and its consequences that constitutes the background to Christianity without the ethnic limitations of Judaism. A total of 13 epistles in the New Testament are ascribed to St Paul, but some of them derive from later disciples of his. Among the epistles that are generally recognised as authentic Pauline epistles, there are, in addition to the epistle to the Galatians, the epistle to the Romans and the two epistles to the Corinthians.

Seneca

Seneca was a Roman lawyer, Stoic philosopher and landowner, who lived in the precarious environment of the emperor’s court. He became a teacher and later adviser to the Roman emperor Nero (37-68 AD). However, Seneca found it difficult to reconcile philosophy and politics and eventually withdrew to the peace and quiet of private life in order to avoid the strife and problems of political life. A few years later he was accused of participating in a conspiracy against Nero and was forced to commit suicide.

Stoic philosophy underlines that because of the unpredictability of the world at large, it is wise to find stability in the world within – in oneself and in the close relationship with family and friends. Seneca was a humanist and regarded also slaves as fellow human beings. In terms of religion, he believed that there is only one god.

groslash;n streg This page is part of the electronic publication "The Danish Democracy Canon"
© The Ministry of Education 2008

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