this is your opinion, and i respect it; however let me raise a question. lets say the government proposed an amendment and said "worshipping of god is hereby forbidden." would you follow it? no, because your intellect would tell you that the law isn't just, and therefore doesn't have to be followed.
>My intellect would tell me not to do it because the Bible forbids obeying laws that are contrary to scripture. This is the only time that civil disobedience is Biblically justified. For me personally it wouldn’t have much to do with my subjective sense of right and wrong. My decision to not obey your hypothetical law would be based on what I believe to be the objective teachings of scripture. So to sum it up, from a Biblical perspective, the general rule would be for Christians to submit to the Government and the exception to this general rule would be when the Government is trying to force a Christain to do something that is contrary to scripture.
it is stated in the constitution of the US even.
>What is?
so how far of a stretch is it to do the same thing from a biblical standpoint? I am submissive to the government when it's laws don't infringe on my personal freedoms unnecessarily.
>Then you are basing your obedience on your subjective opinion which you have every right to do. I choose to base my decision on what I believe to be objective…the Bible. My opinions vary but the Bible remains the same.
also, you are taking a very literal translation of the bible. do you also believe in the literal translation of Matthew 5:29-30, ? what about the whole eye for an eye doctrine?
>Jesus was not advocating self-mutilation (the Bible teaches that this would not in fact cure lust, which is actually a problem of the heart). He was using this graphic hyperbole to demonstrate the seriousness of sins of lust and evil desire. The point is that it would be “more profitable� to lose a member of one’s own body than to bear the eternal consequences of the guilt from such a sin. Sin must be dealt with drastically because of its deadly effects. Jesus often spoke in parable/hyperbole throughout the New Testament.
my point is most of the bible's lessons are taught in metaphors and are to be used according to the circumstances in modern society. the bit about being submissive to government is outdated, and was relevant in a time when the romans didn't dictate where you could buy your supplements, what you could and couldn't consume, and other miscellaneous laws that really are just ðlain trivial. back then`they cared about murders, rape, etc.
>I personally don’t think that most of the Bibles teachings are taught in metaphor but a few most certainly are. If you believe that certain parts of the Bible are outdated you are certainly entitled to do so. I am curious about how you pick the parts that are still relevant. Do you just take what believe is currently valid and discard the rest? At any rate I respect your right to believe whatever you want to believe…my point in responding to this thread was never to convince anyone of the validity of the Bible it was to point out what the Bible says about the subject of Christians using AAS. I personally look at exposition from the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts when evaluating the Bible:
Romans
13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Note:
Be subject. This Greek word was used of a soldier’s absolute obedience to his superior officer. Scripture makes one exception to this command: when obedience to civil authority would require disobedience to God’s Word (Ex. 1:17; Dan. 3:16–18; 6:7, 10; Acts 4:19, 20; 5:28, 29). governing authorities. Every position of civil authority without regard to competency, morality, reasonableness, or any other caveat (1 Thess. 4:11, 12; 1 Tim. 2:1, 2; Titus 3:1, 2). there is no authority except from God. Since He alone is the sovereign ruler of the universe (Pss. 62:11; 103:19; 1 Tim. 6:15), He has instituted 4 authorities on earth: 1) the government over all citizens; 2) the church over all believers; 3) the parents over all children; and 4) the masters over all employees. appointed. Human government’s authority derives from and is defined by God. He instituted human government to reward good and to restrain sin in an evil, fallen world.
13:2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
Note:
resists the ordinance of God. Since all government is God-ordained, disobedience is rebellion against God. judgment. Not God’s judgment, but punishment from the government for breaking the law.