Today's inspirational scripture is
Romans 13:1-7:
But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice.
It is dominion we are after. Not just influence.
It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time.
It is dominion we are after.
World conquest. That's what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel. And we must never settle for anything less...
Wait, that's not what Romans 13 says, is it? Nope. It isn't.
This is.Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
But then, silly Apostle Paul thought the end was nigh, so what use would a government run by Christocrats be?
4 comments:
I laughed aloud. And then I read it again and laughed some more. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post.
I do wonder, though: what would Paul make of a democratic society in which Christians are allowed to influence the government as much as (though no more than) anyone else? My thoughts on the matter have always been that the vast majority of the rules governing "how to live" that make perfect sense for a theologically conservative Christian are the physical implications of a metaphysical faith, and if you don't subscribe to that faith, there's no reason why you should subscribe to its implications either. They very obviously should not be legislated -- and moreover, I think it's contrary to their very nature that they be legislated, which may be why they fare so poorly against logical secular arguments, which invariably trump them. Logical secular arguments should govern logical secular politics; Christian beliefs should govern the practices of Christians. The notion that they have some sort of moral authority over the nonbeliever is absurd.
I think I'm going to write a post about that. Thank you again for yours.
P.S. "Christian beliefs should govern the practices of Christians" does not mean, obviously, that Christians are exempt from the law. Paul was all over that in your passage from Romans. Rather, it means that whatever decisions they make for themselves in the private sphere should be in line with Scripture if they choose to follow it. Why it is that they keep trying to bring the public sphere into line with their own convictions is way beyond me.
I'll wait to read your upcoming post until answering fully. My initial impression, though, is that the idea of secular governance is entirely foreign to Paul. In his eschatology, Christ returns to institute the kingdom in a triumphant display of power, not through a revolution, coup, or election.
Also, there's a necessary amount of compromise, both practical and ethical, that prevents truly Christian politics from succeeding, at least in any democratic sense.
Post a Comment