Many on the so called Religious Right
say that we owe the President complete obedience because of
Romans 13,
which commands Christians to be obedient to civil authority because it
has been put in place by God.
Interestingly, the mere fact that you and I can have a discussion on
how Romans 13 affects modern life is a sure sign that it wasn't
slavishly adhered to! Christians throughout history and many places
have been ordered to stop preaching by the local authorities. They
didn't. So clearly Romans 13 had at least one unwritten exemption.
There's
an
article from a Mennonite Christian seminary that offers a deeper
analysis of Romans 13, that I believe to be on target.
This page looks past Romans 13 to see how the God-inspired people of
the Bible interacted with the civil governments of their time. I was
surprised by the amount of dissent and in some cases direct action that
people directed against their government under the calling of God. I
found everything from simple criticism to sadly, murder of government
representatives. I found all of that just between the books of Samuel
and the 11th Chapter of Ezekiel. In the coming months I hope to comb
through the entire Bible for more examples of God-inspired dissent
against one's own government.
To be placed on this page, a Bible passage had to meet these conditions:
1) The conduct had to be directed against one's own government.
2) The person committing the antigovernment conduct had to be
motivated by God as shown by approving remarks by scripture. So the
various rebellions against Israel and/or Judah that were pure power
struggles were not counted.
These criteria unfortunately, do not screen out Isaiah's killing of
over 100 men with divine fire in
2 Kings 1.
Apparently the scripture writer wanted to highlight the power of God
over the State. I want to make it that despite listing this scripture
and the one's that talk about David's rogue army, I am NOT in favor of
violence or armed struggle against our government.
What I am in favor of is refuting the idea that Country is entitled to
the same devotion that God is, and that opposing the State is
equivalent to opposing God. The Bible is littered with verses that show
otherwise. So, without further ado, here they are:
----------------
All Bible hyperlinks go to the
New American Bible version
of scripture.
Political Rebellion (
1 Samuel
16) - The prophet Samuel anointed David King of Israel in
opposition
to the reigning King Saul.
Operating an Illegal Militia
(
1
Samuel 19-30) - Despite repeated summonses from the reigning King
of Israel, David raised a band of hundreds of men and never surrendered
to King Saul. Important to note that David's band fought mainly against
Israel's enemies and only fought Saul's army when cornered. But David
was still operating against his government's wishes.
Criticizing Government Conduct
(
2
Samuel 12) - The prophet Nathan rebuked King David for sending
Uriah
into certain death in battle and taking Uriah's wife Bathsheba as his
own.
Criticizing Unjust Legal Proceedings
(
1 Kings 21)
- The prophet Elijah criticized the trial and execution of
a man which ostensibly followed legal procedure in Israel.
Opposing an Optional War of Offense
(
1 Kings 22)
- The prophet Micaiah said that Israel will pay a heavy
price if it embarks on a war of aggression.
Violent Resistance to Government
Orders (
2 Kings 1)
- The prophet Elijah killed 102 men in the
process of refusing two orders to appear before the King of
Israel.
Political Rebellion (
2 Kings
9) - The prophet Elisha rebelled against the King of Israel by
anointing
General Jehu as King.
Refusal to Obey Unjust Law
(
Ester 3)
- Mordecai refused to provide Haman with legally mandated
marks of respect that conflict with Mordecai's Jewish faith.
Supporting a Country's Adversary
(
Isaiah 10)
- The prophet Isaiah announced that Israel's archenemy Assyria
was an instrument of God and that Israel's military defeat is a part of
God's plan.
Spreading "Defeatist" Rhetoric
(
Isaiah 29)
- The prophet Isaiah announced that Jerusalem, capital of Israel would
be destroyed as a punishment from God.
Criticizing Government Conduct
(
Isaiah 30)
- The prophet Isaiah denounced Israel's alliance with Egypt as
destructive to the nation.
Criticizing Government Conduct (
Jeremiah 5)
- The prophet Jeremiah publicly cataloged the sins of Israel's leaders.
Spreading "Defeatist" Rhetoric
(
Jeremiah
21,
27,
34,
37)
- The prophet Jeremiah repeatedly counseled Israel to surrender to
Babylonia and told all levels of Israeli society that fighting was
futile.
Failing to "Support the Troops"
(
Jeremiah
38) - Officials in Israel denounced the prophet Jeremiah for
demoralizing soldiers and the people. They charge him with being solely
interested in the destruction of Israel's people.
Criticizing Government Conduct
(
Ezekiel
11) - The prophet Ezekiel denounced the princes of Israel for their
corruption.
Please check back for more entries. I know I'll be able find examples
up
through the Acts of the Apostles.
-----------------------
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