Response to ‘Submitting to Authorities’ letter

“Why should we submit to authorities?” Really?! It feels so wide of the mark to use the Bible to justify what is happening in our country and our state in this moment. I really don’t see how anyone can justify the actions taken by the Trump administration and DHS against American citizens.

The author of the faith forum piece from January 16th quotes Romans 13:1-5, which suggests that if we don’t want to live in fear of the government, then people should just submit to the government’s will. Let me ask the author and readers this, where would we be if American colonists 250 years ago simply submitted to the authority of King George III, a monarch who claimed to derive their authority directly from God? Should the Sons of Liberty have given up their thoughts of rebellion after seeing their fellow citizens gunned down in the streets of Boston on March 5, 1770? Should George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and their ilk have put aside their ideas of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to submit to God’s word.

From a moral standpoint, why should citizens submit to unjust laws that terrorize citizens, take their liberty, and, in some cases, even deprive them of their right to life. Much has changed in the 2000 years since Paul wrote his letters to the Romans. Though I don’t disagree that obedience to the government can be necessary at times. However, the times that Americans presently find themselves in should require them to ask not why they should submit to authorities, but rather if they should submit to a tyrannical government’s oppression. I think Jefferson said it best: “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”

Nick Kline

Marshall

Respecting our neighbors

God gave us 10 Commandments so we would best know how to honor Him and respect our neighbor. There have been differences of opinions expressed regarding acquiring Greenland as part of our United States of America.

The last of the 10 commandments deal with coveting. Coveting goes beyond wanting something. It is wanting something that does not belong to us. Deuteronomy 5:21 reads as follows: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land … or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

In Catechism class, my father (also my pastor) would have us read the story of “Naboth’s Vineyard,” beginning at chapter 21 of 1 Kings, in the Bible. To summarize: King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel ruled Israel at that time.Ahab’s neighbor was Naboth. Naboth owned a vineyard. Ahab said to him,”Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden … I will give you a better vineyard, or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

“But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” Ahab went home “sullen and angry,” laid on his bed and refused to eat. When Jezebel heard what happened, she said, “Cheer up.” Then she planned a way to get Naboth’s vineyard for her husband. Her plan and the outcome continues in chapter 21.

God sent his prophet Elijah to Ahab. Elijah found him in Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab was not happy to see Elijah who told him he had done evil in the sight of the Lord. The reaction of Ahab was sorrow and his meekness lasted for three years. Chapter 22 gives us the details of the rest of Ahab’s life. Ahab wanted his neighbor’s vineyard to use as a vegetable garden. Some

American authorities want Greenland for security purposes. What does God want?

Trudy Madetzke

Marshall