"Discovering the Meaning and Giving an Example." Obedience to Authorities on the Path of a search for the Truth and Good
Abstract
Restoration of respect to authorities and obedience as a virtue, which is not going to be a caricature and relict of the previous era, demands to recover their psychological foundation in a free search for the truth and good, the bond between authority and functioning of human society and the whole creation, and eventually Christs' and therefore Christian obedience to God the Father. Considering the degradation of the role of authority and obedience, we need to properly understand the dynamics of secularization and liberalization and do not hope for revision of previous orders as well as not to resign from viability of authorities and education to obedience.
However, it is necessary to rediscover the meaning of authority for the healthy functioning of civil society. The Christian understanding is based on an example of Christ's free obedience as an appropriate and deep realization of the human way to God.