Authority, Freedom of Speech & the Kingdom

Posted At : March 18, 2008 9:55 AM
Related Categories: WhirledView

There's an article on urbana.org this week called Understanding Authority, written by a pastor. I agreed with some things he wrote and disagreed with some things. After you take a few minutes to read it, here are some thoughts in response.

There are many other passages in scripture about human and divine authority, but since it was mentioned, here's the Romans 13:1-4 passage: (NIV)

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

So we have these words which Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome a couple thousand years ago. Like much of scripture (including much of Romans) if these words are taken completely on their own, outside the context of the rest of Romans and all of scripture, they could lead to some understanding, but perhaps also some misunderstanding.

For example, verse 3 of this Romans passage states something which at face value is proven many times in history to be plainly false: "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you."

If we assume that every ruler were upright before God in their leadership, this could at least be possible; but there are many cases then and now where rulers most certainly can and do exercise injustice, whether or not the people on the receiving end are "doing what is right."

Through history, millions of people who were "doing what was right" (or just minding their own business) have been killed rather than "commended" by political rulers.

So what is Paul saying, how can we understand this? When we have a disconnect like this in scripture, we should welcome it as a challenge and opportunity to better understand God. What is NOT recommended is for us to walk around mindlessly repeating the words (such as "rulers hold no terror for those who do right") that don't measure up to reality and which we may not even understand yet in their full context.

Instead, an apparent disconnect in scripture is an opportunity to seek God's face and prayerfully study what light can be shed on the matter from ALL of scripture, from God's Spirit speaking to us, from the teaching and example of Christ, and from the wisdom and collaboration of other Christ-followers who are seeking the truth along with us.

Large volumes could be and perhaps have been written about a scriptural basis for understanding and honoring authority as a follower of Jesus. I agree with Pastor Flaherty (and lucky for me, with the Apostle Paul) that in some sense God "establishes" all authority, although the fuller implications and meaning of that are a huge mystery which this article does not unravel for us.

Quite often, truth is not very simple.

Along with the pastor I agree that probably most American Christians, myself included, "don't understand how God feels about positional authority."

I'll suggest a couple assumptions that might be reasonable to make, as a Christian.

First, every type of human authority is subject to God's ultimate authority.

Second, while God somehow does have authority over all human authorities, this does not necessarily mean God endorses every individual who has this human authority, nor sanctions the decisions, actions, and leadership that each of them might carry out.

This article stated, "There is no freedom of speech in the kingom." I disagree. There seems to be a huge amount of freedom of speech in the kingdom of God. However, it comes with some qualifications and a lot of responsibility. It's how we use our freedom of speech that matters to God.

Galatians 5:13 says, "You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

I Peter 2:16-17 says (MSG), "Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government." (Note, the last sentence was not "endorse everything your government does.")

James talks about the importance of taming the tongue, likened to a rudder steering a ship. He concludes, "No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."

Freedom of speech in the kingdom? Yes, I do think so. But freedom of speech is not license to say anything. It's responsibility to speak the truth in love.

There were many times when Jesus used his freedom of speech to challenge authority.

It's the implied statement in this pastor's article that gives me the greatest concern, that there is "no freedom of speech in the kingdom" and therefore (here's the implied part) if any Christian disagrees with or observes wrongdoing by a person in positional authority over them, they should keep quiet (e.g. not exercise freedom of speech) in order to honor the positional authority.

The article states that "All authority has been instituted by God (Romans 13:1-4), and therefore should be unconditionally honored."

I disagree with the second part of this statement, and I do not see in the text from Romans any mandate for "unconditionally honoring" the words or actions of any authority which might happen to do wrong or evil.

For example, in what way should I as a Christian "honor" a political leader (might even claim to be a Christian too) who has many clear opportunities to denounce and reject torture (as defined over many decades by a global community and also from everything Jesus said about how to treat our enemies), but instead this leader shuns those opportunities and intentionally leaves lots of room for torture to be used when and if deemed "necessary" by military insiders who have little or no accountability?

I'd like to hear Jesus' answer to a question like that.

How should I honor the positional authority of the political administration "established" by God, without honoring the huge moral pothole that my "ruler" just drove through in his humvee?

Honoring positional authority is quite different from irresponsible silence, or breaking the silence to speak truth.

So yes, the challenge for Christians is how to submit to positional authority when a leader in such a position of authority might do things that are clearly wrong.

There's a difference between submitting to positional, political authority (such as Jesus' clever answer to give to Caesar that which is Caesar's and to God that which is God's) versus condoning or silently looking the other way when a ruler does wrong.

Jesus challenged the positional authority of the Pharisees, and made it clear he had little respect for them. ("You brood of vipers.") Was it wrong for him to do this? I don't think so. On the other hand, did he actively try to overthrow their authority? No. For that matter, did he actively work against the Roman occupation like many Jews were expecting the Messiah to do? No, he went about his more important work.

Was it wrong for Bonhoeffer to conspire to assassinate Adolf Hitler? I haven't reached an opinion on that. Even if someone today were to argue that was wrong, it's perhaps easier to come to such a conclusion from the safety of a 21st century armchair than under the tyrannical rule of a mass murderer.

Was it wrong for Christians (or anyone) to join the nonviolent protests in the Indian subcontinent in the 1940's which led to the end of British colonial rule?

How should Christians in Sudan respond to their government which enables a slow motion genocide to continually take place in their own communities?

Is it wrong for Christians to thoughtfully and respectfully speak out against any form of unjust leadership, on behalf of those who are unjustly treated? Of course not.

How should Christians "submit" to positional authority while they do speak truth to power? That's the real question.

I don't think we should suggest there is no freedom or responsibility for Christians to speak truth to power in some appropriate way when the powers that be might act unjustly.

Was this something OK for Jesus to do that's not OK for us to do?

I think it's not only a freedom but an obligation for Christians to speak and sometimes even act against positional authority when it is clearly wrong. There are appropriate (and inappropriate) ways to do that, of course. In love, not anger. In humility, not arrogance or self-righteousness.

As a Christ follower and American citizen, under an administration that I believe has repeatedly contradicted several fundamental principles of truth and justice that are plainly laid out in the gospels, the notion that scripture somehow calls me to be a submissively silent citizen is a curious one.

What do you think?

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Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Posted At : March 11, 2008 8:08 AM
Related Categories: WhirledView

The apostle Paul writes in the first chapter of Romans,

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Sometimes when I read or hear this passage, I recognize some uneasiness in myself. Why am I uneasy? Am I ashamed of the gospel I have chosen to believe?

Or if not, am I ashamed of some other things surrounding that gospel? And as I think and pray about the matter, I am usually reminded that yes, there are some things regarding the "reputation" of Christianity in this country and other parts of the world of which I am indeed ashamed. There are things which are said and done in the name of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which conflict with the very essense of the things Jesus himself taught and demonstrated and died for. Of those, especially if and when they come from within the church, I am ashamed.

I'm ashamed of the Crusades. I'm ashamed of the church's complicity in some destructive parts of the history of colonialism which even today are still playing out all over the world. I'm ashamed of the church's abuse of power at many times in history. I'm ashamed of hate speech by Christians. I'm ashamed by mediocrity in the church. I'm ashamed when people aligned with Christianity bomb abortion clinics, or favor violence before the alternatives have been exhausted. I'm ashamed of angry street preachers. I'm ashamed of safe communities of church goers who disobey Jesus and don't apply their overabundance of resources to engage the needs of the poor in their midst, not to mention across the street or around the world. I'm ashamed of divisive bickering among Christians over theology or politics especially when accompanied by our own ignorance, and by the absense of the "fruit of the spirit" in our lives.

I'm ashamed of my own complacency, my own selfishness, my own sin, my own involvement in some of the above shameful things.

That doesn't mean I'm ashamed of the gospel; but the dividing lines can be blurry, putting me and many Christians in an awkward place, to be associated with things said and done in the name of the gospel which are NOT part of the gospel.

What do we do about this?

There are four answers I've found so far.

The first thing is to keep seeking, looking, asking, listening, and learning what the gospel is and trying to live it out. In humility and obedience, to keep acting on what I already know. The gospel is not a package, not an outline, it doesn't fit in a box, it's not something we can label and contain. It's something we can choose to believe and then move into a life long journey toward experiencing, gradually understanding more, deepening in faith, making mistakes and misunderstanding some things about Jesus along the way.

We need to act on the simple things first, like loving God with everything I am, and loving others sacrificially. We need to be in community with other believers, locally and also those who are far away, to have the best shot at better understanding the full implications of the gospel. This is not a private quest that can be fulfilled in a holy silo.

The second thing is to NOT be ashamed of the gospel itself, to have confidence as we explain in appropriate ways, in loving relationship with people created by God who are placed in our lives, the faith we choose in the good news of Jesus. The opposite of "not being ashamed" is not merely some pious inertia and private worship of God who has shown us such mercy and grace, but it should involve sharing, telling, explaining, risking, demonstrating all the things that we say are Good about this News. We can imitate Jesus and find no shame in anything that is really true to the Word become Flesh for us.

Thirdly, I should do my best to not contribute to the problem - to not add shame to the name and cause of Christ. This involves repentance, forgiveness, renewal, and conforming to Christ. When (not if) I do repeatedly fail, the point is not necessarily to avoid failure, but to learn from it and move beyond it with God's grace and strength. This is the essense of the faith journey of following Christ - to keep turning and returning to Jesus, pointing ourselves and those around us to the Good News, of which there is nothing to be ashamed.

Lastly and somewhat unfortunately, when there is peripheral noise and misinformation about the gospel itself, "not being ashamed of the gospel" involves lovingly and graciously correcting false information or conduct, setting the record straight, helping to clarify the gospel's reputation and that of Jesus, so that people's faith decisions might be based on more accurate information than the public square might offer.

In a nation obsessed with everyone having and voicing their personal opinion, many of our opinions are ill-informed. It's the responsibility of Christ-followers to help correct the ill-informed, starting with ourselves.

There is plenty of negative advertising about the Gospel, not just in election years. Those of us who are not ashamed of the Gospel, and are still on the faith journey toward seeing and understanding a little more of it each day, are called to strip away the peripheral misinformation and instead emphasize the Good News that Jesus offers.

Peter, who was martyred for his faith, encouraged the church:

In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

- I Peter 3:15

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