CurveLight
Rookie
- Oct 16, 2009
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- #141
Where does Jesus say to obey the "Law of the Land" except where it contradicts the "Law of God?"
How did people find guidance in the Bible for creating a secular Republic? That doesn't exist anywhere in the Bible. If it does, please provide the citations.
Okay, first of all, what is expected of Christians is not articulated just in the specific words of Christ during His earthly ministry, but in the entire Bible, studied in context in its entirety.
However, Christ did say, "Do not think I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17) He Himself obeyed the laws of man during His time on Earth, such that no actual, actionable crime could be found against Him for which He could be lawfully executed.
Now true, this refers to Old Testament Jewish law rather than modern-day law. Nevertheless, the principle remains sound. Nowhere does the Bible instruct us, by word or example, to defy man's law except at such time as it conflicts with God's law, an occasion which I would interpret as choosing what is right and moral over what is merely legal, and is something I would hope any decent person would do.
As to our current form of government, it derives from our Founding Fathers' attempt to design a government and a society according to what they understood to be God's will for how people live. It does not require specific Biblical citations for "representative republic" to extrapolate things like self-determination and equality under the law from Christian teachings.
If you believe, as Christians do, that all humans hold equal value in the eyes of God merely by virtue of being His creations, then it follows that those who aspire to live by His teachings must also value others, and must create a society that does so.
Excellent post, you explained it very well. There is an excellent video done about our founding fathers and their religious beliefs and how they were a part of what they did whenever creating our founding documents, and how such christian men formed a government that allowed freedom of religion. It's the American Heritage series by historian David Barton, one of the best presentations I've ever seen.
Do you have a link or something? The post you quoted was absolutely nothing but circular reasoning and the only verse quoted had absolutely nothing to do with government. Even that verse isn't understood. Jesus was talking about the Messianic prophecies which are the sum of the OT.