(no subject)
What the Bible has to say (and therefore what I believe) about Civil Disobedience.
Mark 12:17 - And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
Honor the laws of the land by giving what is required of you, in service, goods, money, obedience.....etc.
John 18:36 - Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
The Kingdom of Christ is not like the kingdoms of this world. It centers around doing the will of the Father. To fight against Christ's arrest was to go against the cup the Father had given to the Son and therefore unacceptable behavior at the time. It might be possible that members of the kingdom could fight at other times? (end of the world? righteous fighting? defense of the weak? etc.....?)
Luke 3:14- Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."
Some translations translate diaseiō as "violence" but it has a more complex connotation than that and is better translated within in the context of the passage (extortion) and historical context (soldiers frequently were themoney-collectors for the government in that day).
Greek: diaseiō
1) to shake thoroughly
2) to make to tremble
3) to terrify
4) to agitate
5) to extort from one by intimidation money or other property
Thus, this is not an exhortation to ignore the responsibilities as soldiers (battle is necessary for a soldier) but an exhortation to refrain from intimidation, extortion, and other abuses of their power.
John 18: 33-38 - Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault [at all]. (Pilate would've been forced to find fault if Christ were truly a political anarchist)
Mark 12:17 - And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
Honor the laws of the land by giving what is required of you, in service, goods, money, obedience.....etc.
John 18:36 - Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
The Kingdom of Christ is not like the kingdoms of this world. It centers around doing the will of the Father. To fight against Christ's arrest was to go against the cup the Father had given to the Son and therefore unacceptable behavior at the time. It might be possible that members of the kingdom could fight at other times? (end of the world? righteous fighting? defense of the weak? etc.....?)
Luke 3:14- Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."
Some translations translate diaseiō as "violence" but it has a more complex connotation than that and is better translated within in the context of the passage (extortion) and historical context (soldiers frequently were themoney-collectors for the government in that day).
Greek: diaseiō
1) to shake thoroughly
2) to make to tremble
3) to terrify
4) to agitate
5) to extort from one by intimidation money or other property
Thus, this is not an exhortation to ignore the responsibilities as soldiers (battle is necessary for a soldier) but an exhortation to refrain from intimidation, extortion, and other abuses of their power.
John 18: 33-38 - Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault [at all]. (Pilate would've been forced to find fault if Christ were truly a political anarchist)