Why does Paul suddenly bless God?

Explanation:

Paul introduces a doxology at the end of Romans 1:25, blessing God. The use of a doxology to bless God is common in the Old Testament, and Paul is following this trend (Genesis 9:26; Genesis 14:20; 1 Samuel 25:32; 2 Samuel 18:28; 1 Kings 1:48; 1 Kings 8:15; 2 Chronicles 2:12; Psalm 41:13).³ So why does Paul suddenly include a doxology in Romans 1:25? Most likely, he uses the doxology to emphasize the folly of worshipping created idols rather than the Creator.⁴ Paul has explained that although God has made himself known through creation, people knowingly worship idols rather than the living God, who is blessed forever! Amen. The doxology solidifies that God is the living God through whom come all blessing, so that worshipping created idols is the epitome of folly.⁵

Counterargument:

The reason Paul introduces a doxology here is that he has mentioned God the Creator. It was common Jewish practice to acclaim God whenever his name was mentioned.⁶ Since Paul mentions the name God in Romans 1:25, he follows this common Jewish practice and acclaims God’s name by saying he is blessed forever! Amen.

Response to counterargument:

Unfortunately, this argument will not work because Paul often mentions the name of God without articulating a doxology. In fact, Paul has mentioned God’s name over a dozen times before reaching Romans 1:25, and only in Romans 1:25 does he issue a doxology. Of course, we know from the Old Testament that writers would sometimes issue a doxology at the name of God, but our task is to understand why a writer chooses to do this on certain occasions. In the case of Romans 1:25, Paul issues this doxology in order to highlight the folly of worshipping the creature rather than the Creator, who is the living God and blessed forever.

Explanation:

Paul describes the folly of the ungodly who exchange worship of the living God for idols that resemble created things (Romans 1:23). He then says that God is blessed forever! Amen. Likely Paul introduces this doxology to emphasize the folly of idol worship. We can detect this because he does the same thing in other passages to emphasize a point.⁷ For example, in Romans 9:5 he writes that to the Jews belong the patriarchs, and according to their race is the Christ, who is blessed forever. By stating that Christ is blessed forever after stating that he was born of the Jews, Paul highlights both the glory of Christ and the uniqueness of the Jewish race. Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 11:31, Paul says that he boasts in his weakness, and God the Father, who is blessed forever, knows he is not lying. In other words, while it might surprise his audience that he boasts in his weakness, given that God the Father, who is blessed forever, knows that Paul is not lying, the Corinthians should believe him. By including a doxology, Paul highlights the importance of his point. Likely, he does the same thing in Romans 1:25, which is to introduce the doxology in order to highlight that idol worship is foolishness.

Counterargument:

It could be that Paul uses the doxology to highlight his point. On the other hand, he could be articulating the respect God deserves in contrast to the foolishness of idol worship. That is, maybe Paul is not using the doxology as a rhetorical device but makes the statement out of allegiance to God after being repulsed by the folly of the ungodly who reject him. To say that Paul is being rhetorical to highlight a point is to suggest that the doxology is not meaningful, when in fact it might be Paul’s desire to praise God’s name, and not rhetoric, that motivates him to record the doxology.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument overlooks the fact that rhetorical statements are not meaningless to the author. That is, just because Paul uses rhetoric to highlight the fact that idolatry is foolhardy, does not mean the doxology is disingenuous. The doxology is genuine, and it is an effective rhetorical device that highlights the folly of idolatry.

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be. The Israelites were taught that there is only one God, so idol worship was particularly offensive. Paul highlights the offensive nature of idol worship by blessing God’s name just at the mention of it.

Explanation:

After stating that God makes his divinity known through creation, Paul explains how the ungodly respond. They respond by ignoring the praise and thanks they owe to God, thereby becoming hard of heart (Romans 1:21). In fact, they exchange the glory of God for idols and dishonour their bodies (Romans 1:23–24), substituting the truth about God for a lie (Romans 1:25). Simply recalling the folly of how the ungodly react to their knowledge of God is enough to incense Paul, and he cannot help but to articulate a doxology blessing God.¹⁰ Reflecting on the disobedience of the ungodly threatens to pollute Paul’s mind, but the doxology blessing God cleanses it.¹¹

Counterargument:

There are two problems with this argument. First, it was common among Jewish writers to offer a doxology to God after stating the divine name.¹² Since the divine name has been stated, this moves Paul to offer a doxology praising God. Second, this argument implies that when Paul reflects on the behaviour of the ungodly, it pollutes his mind such that he needs to cleanse it, in this case, by articulating a doxology to God. The problem with this assumption is that Paul often articulates the behaviour of the ungodly without offering a doxology. Further, if recalling the behaviour of the ungodly did threaten to pollute Paul’s mind, he does not need to ask his secretary to record a doxology. Rather, he could preserve his holiness by simply blessing God in his heart and mind.

Response to counterargument:

It is important to remember that Paul was Jewish, and the thought of idolatry was extremely repulsive for a Jew.¹³ Jews had been taught since the time of Moses that God is one, and there was to be no idol worship. Throughout the history of Israel, God punished the Israelites for worshipping false idols, so Jews were particularly incensed by pagan idolatry. Now Paul explains that God made his divinity known through creation, and still the pagans exchange God’s glory for the worship of created things. Given that the behaviour is specifically idol worship, and Paul is particularly incensed, he offers this doxology.¹⁴

The weakness of this view is that it overlooks the fact that Paul writes his letters to teach the gospel to his audience. As such, we do not expect Paul to use space on parchment to clear his own mind. Rather, we expect him to use space on parchment to teach his audience, in this case, the folly of idol worship.