About Authority

I have a real problem with authority. Anyone who has found themselves in the unfortunate position of being my superior will no doubt claim this as the world’s greatest understatement. My attitude toward authority goes back almost as far as I can remember, and rather than taking the traditional route of blaming my parents for improper toilet training, etc, I’m going to blame it on Jesus. I personally have been unable to read any of the four gospels without finding evidence that he, too, had a real problem with authority. Not just any authority, but the kind that is not justified. Let me see if I can explain.

Gravity has a universal authority on the planet Earth. Humankind has found ways around that authority, but it nonetheless applies to everyone equally. This is in contrast to the “because I told you so” brand of authority. I’ll admit to hours on the therapist’s couch—usually at the insistence of someone who was displeased with my insubordinate attitude—and one of the first insights I gained from that process was that everybody puts their pants (or pantyhose) on one leg at a time. I first experienced that truth when learning about Jesus. His “superiors” reportedly often asked, “By what authority is he saying or doing these things?” Such as having the audacity to tell the commoners that they were just as important in God’s eyes as those who assume positions of authority because of their "superiority".

So, my argument is not with universal authority, but with that which is contrived. The kind of authority that I rebel against is that which considers itself as superior and me as inferior; e.g. you must obey me because I am your superior. In a world where there’s no shortage of super-egoism, this paradigm quickly becomes one of oppression that inevitably deteriorates into violence. Again, in the four gospel texts which provide our fundamental understanding of Jesus of Nazareth--later to be proclaimed the Christ--I cannot find any example of him telling his friends and disciples that he was superior to them. Instead, he considered himself their equal, one of them. Now, that’s my kind of authority.