Abstract
Let me begin this brief article by noting what I take to be an obvious fact—namely, that whenever human beings gather together to form communities, however large or small, a system for exercising authority inevitably emerges to secure the community’s well-being. For ideals must be articulated, laws emplaced, problems appraised, decisions made. The subject which will concern us is precisely this authority exercised in human communities. And my remarks will be premised on the idea that there is a distinction between what I will call “political” authority and, drawing from my work as a theologian, “prophetic” authority. Let me
begin as follows, then, with a few descriptive comments regarding this distinction.