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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Romans 14:2 - 14:2
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2. ὃς μὲν κ.τ.λ. The absence of connecting particle shows that this is an illustration of the principle.
ὃς μὲν—ὁ δὲ ἀ. Cf. Blass, p. 145. πιστεύει, has faith to, so far as to—no |[270] to this use; Act 15:11 the only other case of inf. after π. is different. Giff. qu. Dem. Onet., p. 866, προέσθαι δὲ τὴν προῖκ' οὐκ ἐπίστευσεν.
[270] | parallel to
λάχανα ἐσθίει, i.e. refuses to eat meat. This is the only clear evidence that an ascetic vegetarianism existed among the Christians of this time. It is very remarkable that S. Paul should choose this form of asceticism as his illustration; and the reason must be sought in special conditions at Rome. The practice may have been due mainly to the imitation of contemporary asceticism (cf. von Dobschütz, op. cit[271], p. 93 f., Lietzmann, Romans, p. 65). But it is conceivable that these influences may have been at least reinforced by the difficulty in which Christians found themselves of avoiding εἰδωλόθυτα (cf. 1 Corinthians 8). For tender consciences a solution was ready, in the avoiding of animal food altogether; cf. the wide statement 1Co 8:13. The whole argument shows that it is not a case of sects imposing rules on others, but of private scruples and practice. See Introd. p. xxx.
[271] op. cit. opus citatum