What makes covenantal relationships covenantal is that they are founded in gift exchange. Authority must be given away to someone so that the social order can function properly. The covenant delivers to the ruler what must, in any case, be delivered to someone.
In an orderly society the wielder of authority cannot consume (eliminate) the powers of their having the ruling authority. Because it cannot be consumed, it cannot be withheld. Market transactions are interactions where the option to withhold is central to the logic of the interaction. In an orderly society, therefore, authority cannot be transactional. That’s why legitimate authority is properly dispensed covenantally.
What the terrorists do is withhold the power of authority by creating havoc in the society. Terrorists force the dispensation of authority into a transactional mode.
No comments:
Post a Comment