Young Anabaptist Radicals

Tag Archive: Romans 13

Rethinking Peter and the State

I recently wrote about Romans 13 and the state. I mentioned that I did not believe that text was even about the Roman government. I believe, based upon the evidence I have seen, that Romans 13 talks about reconciling Jewish and Gentile Christians in relation to the religious, community authorities. Tyler Tully picked up on this and wrote a far more detailed analysis of this here and here, which I strongly recommend reading.

Today, another questionable text in regards to the New Testament and the state has been brought up, this time from Peter instead of Paul:

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV)

This passage is a bit different than Romans 13. Unlike Romans 13, this passage is pretty straightforward. Romans talks about vague authorities, the sword, and taxes, and it is surrounded by teachings on religious instruction and ethics. Simply put, Romans requires a lot of unpacking in addition to looking at possible translation errors. On the other hand, this passage from 1 Peter is pretty much independent, and any issues in our reading of the text would primarily originate from possible translation errors. (more…)

February 12, 2014 Anabaptism, empire, Interpretation, neo-Anabaptism, patriotism, Politics, Power, President, The Bible, , , , , , Read more >

Romans 13 and the State

N.T. Wright recently had a Q and A session on his Facebook page, and he responded to this question:

What would Paul say to a Christian serving in the military?

Wright’s response can best be summarized by these two statements:

This is again straight Romans 13: God wants there to be human authorities, but they are answerable to him.

It is therefore appropriate in principle for a Christian to serve in such a force [the state], basically an extension of police work.

(You can read the full response here.)

In reaction to this, Kurt Willems wrote a response showing where he disagrees. Kurt, in classical Anabaptist fashion, believes that Christians should be nonviolent, but that the state still serves a purpose. There is a separation of church and state, and the state is a necessary evil.  (more…)

January 24, 2014 Anabaptism, neo-Anabaptism, Nonviolence, The Bible, Theology, , , , Read more >