Jesus is Lord

==Background==
In antiquity, in general use, the term "lord" was a courtesy title for social superiors, but its root meaning was "ruler".  Kings everywhere were styled "Lord" and often considered divine beings so the word acquired a religious significance.{{sfn|Richardson|1950|p=130}}  When the [[Hebrew Bible]] was translated into Greek in the [[Septuagint]] at least two centuries before Christianity, ''[[Kurios]]'' was used for the divine [[Tetragrammaton|tetragrammaton YHWH]]<ref>[http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1888 ''tetragrammaton''] in Oxford Biblical Studies Online</ref> which was no longer read aloud but replaced with ''[[adonai]]'', a special form of the Hebrew ''[[adon]]'' = "lord".{{sfn|Whiteley|1964|p=103f}}

When in 27 BC Roman Emperor [[Octavian]] received the title of "Augustus" it carried religious overtones, suggesting a special relationship with the world of the gods, symbolised by the cult of the Emperor's "genius", a veiled form of emperor-worship.{{sfn|Frend|1965|p=16}}  To refuse to honor the national gods was unpatriotic and akin to sabotage.{{sfn|Workman|1960|p=44}}

J. G. Davies comments that the Christian begins from the confession of Jesus as Lord – Jesus who is sovereign over the individual's relation to the state, "we must understand the state in the context of the command to love one's neighbour."{{sfn|Davies|1976|p=48}}