I recently saw an Instagram post by Reverend Joash Thomas on Romans 13 and ICE which served as an inspiration and catalyst to share some reflections of my own. You can view that original post here.
Introducing Romans 13
The part of Romans 13 which is invoked far too often in times like these is Romans 13:1-7. It reads:
3 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval, 4 for it is God’s agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s agents, busy with this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. (Rom 13:1-7, NRSVue)
These 7 verses are often invoked to justify compliance with authoritarian regimes and impulses. Alternatively, they are used to as a form of spiritual bypassing to excuse the church from close moral examination of their political and social responsibilities. Both are problematic.
Examining Romans 13
One possible objection to Romans 13:1-7 is that it could be an interpolation. This means that it might have been added to the original epistle later. This reading comes, in part, from noticing that if Rom 13:1-7 were removed then the Romans 13-8-14 would fit just as well following the conclusion of Romans 12. In other words, Romans 13:1-7 are not strictly necessary. Th reason this objection is not particularly useful is because interpolations and related discussions like authorship and emendations are necessarily conjectural; they are unlikely to be persuasive in challenging interpretations of the inherited text, which is to say the text as we have it now. Discussing interpolations can be fruitful lines of academic inquiry, but lack sufficient power to affect more lived theological contexts.
One rule in theological interpretation which is helpful for a better understanding of Romans 13:1-7 is that any selection from the Pauline epistles must be interpreted in conversation with the wider Pauline epistolic corpus. In the case of Romans 13:1-7 this means remembering that while Paul was undoubtedly concerned with orderly conduct to some degree, there were limits to this. The opening of Romans 1 is, in part, a very thinly veiled condemnation of the Roman imperial household and Roman imperial cult. The epistle to the Galatians documents Paul’s willingness to go toe-to-toe with acknowledged authorities in the early church such as Peter and James.
Inherited church tradition tells us that Paul was killed upon order by the Roman Emperor. For all of Paul’s concerns stated concerns with obeying the governing authorities he did not endorse participating in the mandatory worship of local pagan deities of the cities in which early church communities resided. Under Roman imperial edict, Jews had been excused from such worship; the early church communities, comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, did not have such exemptions for their Gentile members. In a world where proper worship of the local pagan deities was thought to mean life or death for the community as a whole, failure to participate in such worship was seen as a great threat to public order and well-being. While there is no documented widespread, systemic persecution of Christians in Paul’s time, it is likely that the local incidences that did arise were in part due to this failure to participate in communal worship to other deities.
In short, Paul’s epistle to the Romans does contain this urging to be subject to governing authorities-but crucially this urging comes out of ultimate allegiance to the one true Deity. Paul’s epistles, the New Testament more broadly, and inherited Christian tradition all contain numerous instances where this allegiance to God conflicted with allegiance to governing authorities. And in such cases, it was the allegiance to God, rather than the allegiance to governing authorities, that took precedence-often with severe consequences.
Interestingly, Chen style taijiquan provides a similar example. Chen Family Law contains 20 disciplines, 12 characters and 12 vices. One of the 20 Disciplines reads, “Do not engage in unlawful acts.” However, there have been periods in the history of Chen style taijiquan where practice of traditional martial arts was outlawed, most recently during the Cultural Revolution in the 20th century. During these times, devoted martial arts practitioners continued to practice in secret defying the law of the governing authorities. In this case, another of the 20 disciplines, “Do not neglect your training or waste your skill”, took precedence over the prohibition against engaging in unlawful acts.
In reality, most would concede that strict adherence to the letter of the law is never followed in all situations and contexts, and that there are times when the higher moral law takes precedence. Indeed, in Canada it is rare to find an automobile driver who consistently drives under the maximum posted speed limit-in this case, shared social convention for the sake of convenience overrules obeying the law as such!
Canadian PM Carney and American ICE
In this geopolitical moment, we are witnessing a resurgence of authoritarian movements and impulses. In the US, ICE is enacting great harm against fellow human beings under the direction of a corrupt Presidential regime. They would do well to remember that the world decided, at the Nuremberg trials following World War II, that “just following orders” was not a sufficient defense. Collectively, it was recognized that there was a moral duty to disobey immoral orders regardless of their formal legality.
The Canadian Prime Minister Carney, in his policy decisions and his recent speech at the Davos Economic Forum, is taking a seemingly different tact. He claims to be trying to walk a middle ground where he builds up national capacity for defense and economic prosperity while engaging with multiple international partners so that the colloquial eggs aren’t all in one basket. His insight only goes so far, however. His strategy fails to acknowledge that all peoples are indeed interconnected and interdependent regardless of artificial national constructs. His strategy for economic prosperity partly relies on resource extraction which perpetuates long-standing systemic harm against Indigenous peoples and the land we all share. While there is wisdom in diversifying interests and partnerships, Carney fails to consider that the current global socioeconomic system is inherently unsustainable.
Both the USA’s ICE and Canada’s PM are responding to crisis by turning to authority. In ICE’s case, of an authoritarian regime with dictatorial and imperial impulses; in Carney’s case, of a socioeconomic system that is inherently unsustainable, exploitative, and oppressive.
In these times of crisis, turning to Romans 13:1-7 is unhelpful. Perhaps instead, we should read just a little bit further. Romans 13:8-10 reads:
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom 13:8-10, NRSVue)
Practicing unconditional, self-emptying love is one of the most consistent strains within both the Pauline epistles and the wider Christian New Testament corpus. It is the practice of this type of love which is said to fulfill all that the Torah of Hebrew teaching was urging towards, and is this type of love which paradoxically transforms the practitioner into their most true self, and brings flourishing to the practitioner, their neighbours, and even their enemies. If we must follow a law, let it be this higher law of love.
Amen.
The Dreamers' Corner 