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.
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