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Don't be afraid of Romans 13, use it!

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Message carol wolman, MD
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Chapter 13 of Paul's Letter to the Romans is about submitting to the governing authorities.  It was Hitler’s favorite passage; with it he persuaded the German clergy to obey him and to get their congregations to do the same.  Will it be used against Americans?  Or can we arm ourselves with it and use it to depose the Bush/Cheney dictatorship?
Romans 13: 1-2:

 1Everyone 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. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 

The Bush/Cheney fascists are doing what Hitler did.   The Dept of Homeland Security is training clergy to help pacify the populace in case of martial law.  They tried it out in Louisiana, in the wake of Katrina, as reported by station KSLA:

 http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=6937987 

Homeland Security Enlists Clergy to Quell Public Unrest if Martial Law Ever Declared 

Could martial law ever become a reality in America?  Some fear any nuclear, biological or chemical attack on U.S. soil might trigger just that.  KSLA News 12 has discovered that the clergy would help the government with potentially their biggest problem: Us…. 

 For the clergy team, one of the biggest tools that they will have in helping calm the public down or to obey the law is the bible itself, specifically Romans 13.  Dr. Tuberville elaborated, "because the government's established by the Lord, you know.  And, that's what we believe in the Christian faith.  That's what's stated in the scripture." 

We all need to arm ourselves with a true understanding of Romans 13, so that when they try to use it to make us obey Bush/Cheney, we have a ready answer.  Rather than reject the Bible, we need to understand that the Bible is on our side, the side of We the People. 

The “governing authorities” in the US are We the People.  The US government rests on the Constitution, which vests sovereignty in We the People.  We the People are the governing authorities, NOT Bush/Cheney and their minions.  Let me repeat that; the governing authorities in the US are We the People, not Bush/Cheney.  Thus, Romans 13 upholds OUR authority.

Under the Constitution, We the People delegate our authority to Congress, to make laws in our interest.  We elect the members of the Executive Branch, the president, veep, etc, to be public servants, who are supposed to be carrying out the will of the people who elect them. 

Romans 13 is friendly to the governing authorities, whoever they may be.  In the US, Romans 13 upholds We the People.  

1Everyone 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. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

If the US is indeed one nation under God, if in God we trust, then God-fearing Americans, Christian Americans, have to respect the governing authority which God has established for this nation.  The Constitution defines this authority as deriving from We the People, and distributes the People’s delegated power among three branches, and also divides it between federal and state, so that the authority of We the People can never be usurped by a king. 

Many think of the US as the New Jerusalem, a nation blessed by God. The principles that Jesus espoused and personified are incorporated in the US Constitution.  These include: the dignity and worth of every human being, no matter how poor or sinful, the right of every person to have a say in his own governance, according to his conscience, the rule of laws, not individuals, the crucial nature of free speech and ability to tell the truth to power, to name a few.

Whatever is good about America comes from the sovereignty of We the People.  The US Constitution was the first of its kind, abolishing the European model of hereditary rule of kings and nobles, and replacing it with representative democracy.  Most other countries have followed our example, at least in theory.

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Carol S. Wolman, MD is a psychiatrist in Northern California. A lifelong peace activist, she is helping to distribute a Peace Plan for the Holy Land- email her for a copy. She also a film producer with Paradise Cove Productions, currently (more...)
 

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