They Quote It, But Do They Believe It?
Because imperialists have used it to crush dissent ever since Constantine baptized the Church into Romanism and militarism; and now Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, and some Evangelical preachers are reviving the use of it; and because it is a serpentine slander of the life and teachings of Jesus; we cannot let their use of it disappear beneath the latest deluge of distractions.
What is it? It is the misapplication or the “scriptorture” of Romans 13:1-4, most recently used to rationalize the separation of families of immigrants and asylum seekers. It has been a reliable tool of “Christian” colonizers for the last 500 years. They used it to justify unjustly wresting two continents from their indigenous peoples, and then worked the newly acquired land with enslaved Africans.
Belief in a Higher Power
Want to know what’s amazing about it? While wool-covered wolves (see Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29) misrepresent this passage’s alleged command for compliance, they don’t actually believe or practice it themselves. Look at the evidence of resistance:
- Independence Day—American preachers of Romans 13’s supposed principle of subservience will be celebrating 4th of July fireworks today, glorifying the bloody revolt of British colonists against their God-ordained British government, because they felt oppressed.
- The Civil War—While Southerners were mentally whipping their slaves with Romans 13, they started the bloodiest war of U.S. history when Abraham Lincoln was duly elected president. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, along with the Confederacy’s first general, P. G. T. Beauregard raised arms and an enemy flag against the nation whose
military and congress they used to serve. Many of the states that rebelled against their national authorities still have official state flags with patterns based on rebel flags to show that Romans 13 doesn’t apply to them. - The Civil Rights Era—Soon after the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision and other Civil Rights advances, Southern states began flying the Stars and Bars at their government buildings in defiance of the very same government they now say is God-ordained.
- President Barack Obama—Many of the same right wing religious leaders and politicians quoting Romans 13 today became “The Party of No” to anything President Obama recommended:
- No to increased health care access, in spite of how underserved their constituents might be
- No to criminal justice reform, which should interest all those concerned about a militarized police state
- No to environmental protections, in spite of the water crises many rural, as well as urban, residents are suffering from
- No to fuel efficiency standards, despite their arguments that we should be less dependent on foreign oil
- No to consumer protections, in spite of how many vulnerable people are hurt
- And definitely no to his judicial appointments, because we don’t want activist judges—except to overturn stuff we are against!
Ministers of God?
When leaders have been voted into office by their supporters, it becomes their turn to manipulate the law according to their ideology. As the power shifts from one party to another and policies swing from one side of the pendulum to the other, that’s politics as usual.
When the party in charge, however, tells opponents that they’re carrying out God’s will as God’s ordained agents, then they’ve gone from politics to hermeneutics. They’re proclaiming to do more than just speak for the people who elected them; they’re pretending to speak for God.
What is the basis of their pretense to speak for God? They say Romans 13 claims they’re ordained by God by virtue of being government leaders. If God hadn’t ordained them, they say, then they wouldn’t be in power. Them being in power is offered as evidence that God is speaking and working through them. Expanding from this, it is then argued that only ungodly people would dare to resist and therefore deserve whatever punishment comes to them.
Problem With Inconsistent Biblical Application
As shown above and repeated many times throughout history, politicians only preach Romans 13 when they are in power and have things going their way. When they don’t like what’s going on, they quickly find a different text.
Since they don’t believe it, don’t you buy it!
Stay tuned for part 2.
