tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430311074920331065.post4078635804250407712..comments2024-03-17T13:35:47.463+00:00Comments on Sacred Wrightings: Guns, Governments, and GodTerry Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01641805384260706563noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430311074920331065.post-79527450078557535992015-07-06T22:05:27.068+01:002015-07-06T22:05:27.068+01:00I just read an unrelated article which also commen...I just read an unrelated article which also comments on Romans 13:1<br /><br />http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/clarion-call/50397-should-christians-submit-to-government-s-rebellion-against-god<br /><br />Quote:<br />To be clear, under our constitutional republican form of government, "We the People" are "the governing authorities," and our elected officials in Congress and the White House are the hired help. They are subject to us, and we are all subject to God, who is the Final Authority.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519814597461779960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430311074920331065.post-83024597789853268582015-06-26T16:55:11.997+01:002015-06-26T16:55:11.997+01:00I don't think anything I've said implies t...I don't think anything I've said implies that an unjust government shouldn't be resisted. In fact, what I say about protest <i>is</i> resistance, albeit not (usually) armed resistance. So for me the issue here isn't about whether an unjust government should be resisted - it should - but what form that resistance should take.<br /><br />The Bonhoeffer example is interesting (we discussed it briefly last night in my home group). But I do think there's a vast difference between a group of people plotting to assassinate a tyrant and a disenfranchised teenager on a shooting spree. But the social, cultural, and political causes of both sorts of killers need to be addressed.Terry Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01641805384260706563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430311074920331065.post-55019155948939453792015-06-26T15:25:14.206+01:002015-06-26T15:25:14.206+01:00The Declaration of Independence says, “Governments...The Declaration of Independence says, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This is a result of the heavy influence of the philosopher John Locke and other Enlightenment thinkers upon the Founding Fathers. And though I would agree generally that Christians should submit to the authority of their government, I don't believe we are bound to submit to an unjust or tyrannical government. Was Bonhoeffer wrong to oppose the Nazi regime? Here is an interesting commentary on the balance and context that is worth reading. http://www.directionjournal.org/issues/gen/art_849_.html<br /><br />Let's put this in a more personal sphere and compare it to a marriage. The man is the head of the home. He has all the responsibilities of government in that sense: protection, provision, and support. When it works, it works well. But what about when the husband fails in those responsibilities? Or, even worse, abuses the wife? Is she under a moral obligation to stay with him? It may be desirable to try to work out the problems and heal the marriage, but is that not a decision she has to make on her own? And is it something she should do absent repentance of the husband?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519814597461779960noreply@blogger.com