Are Christians above the law?

Takaiki

Takaiki

The Spirit of Death.
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I have been having a little debate with another member here at FFF and I figured I would post the debate here, so we can see what everyone else thinks.

I believe that we Christians are not above the law mainly because of Romans 13:1-7 Which states.
Romans 13:1-7 said:
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. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
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So what does everyone else thinks?
 
IMO no one should be above the law. I get pissed when I hear bout celebs who get away with not paying tax, etc. Chrisitians shouldnt be an exception. I do my best to follow the law and Im Catholic, Im scared of doing anything wrong in the eyes of the law lol.

Did you encounter any against arguements?
 
Hm... And I thought being obedient to the laws that govern us would be something that is above us? I never exactly thought myself to be above the law simply because I'm Christian, and honestly wouldn't be able to understand the basis for that thought.... Is there seriously people who think Christians are above the law???
 
Give to God what is God's, give to Caesar what is Caesar's.

I don't think Christians can consider themselves above the law when (in most of the western world) the vast majority of the laws are based around basic Judeo-Christian ethics. In that case, holding themselves above man's law would be virtually similar to holding themselves above their religious laws.

Now in the case of a Christian being faced with a law that goes directly against their beliefs, I think that they would be morally obligated to not honor that law, and hold themselves above it. Especially if the law itself could be deemed unjust.
 
Zephiris said:
Is there seriously people who think Christians are above the law???
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The Roman Church asserted that it was over the law back in the Middle Ages. In 1302, for instance, Pope Boniface VII issued the bull Unam Sanctum, a document which reasoned that since "there is no power except from God and the things that are, are ordained of God" (Rom 13:1-2), and since the Papacy held the succession of St. Peter's spiritual authority, then "we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff." Forget the fact that Peter himself said, "Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people" (1Pet. 2:13-15).

But as for Christians who believe they are above the law today... Well, there are some who certainly act like it. But I don't think it's a problem. Actually, I think we have the opposite problem of Christians trying to cozy up to different political agendas -- we decide whom we side with in politics, and then push that as the "Christian" position. And I'm talking about liberals as much as I am conservatives. There may be a bunch of lip service from the Left to separation of Church and State, but when it comes right down to it, Obama was implying just last month that it was "Christian" to support his health care plan.
 
I really have never seen too many cases where Christians thought they were above the law. I mean they love to tell people what to do as far as who to follow and how to act, but that is not "every" Christian. The only places where I can think this occurred was when the Roman Catholic Church was pocketing money and becoming rich from the taxpayers. These days they would never get away with that especially here in the states, thanks to auditors. I mean they could only get away with it for so long till some nosy government official/treasurer would look into their pockets and find out their source of income.
 
I really don't think Christians are any exception, whether it's the law from God or law from their country. Unless, like some have pointed out, if a law challenges their beliefs.

If God says we shouldn't commit adultery, then we can't commit adultery. If the U.S. has a law against homicide, the citizens are expected to follow it. If the U.S. passes a law on abortion, with many Christian politicians in Congress, that could be tricky. I would understand why they wouldn't agree to a law favoring abortion. They would have problems concerning their conscience. If a non-Christian were to be in their place, he wouldn't have a problem at all unless he/she had a problem against abortion.

That was an example I just provided. If people on either sides (either Christians or extreme patriotists, if that's a word) had their beliefs challenged, there'd be a reason they'd would feel themselves above the opposite law. Sure, sometimes we don't like what we hear, and some Christians may feel they are above the law. But there are times we have to understand where they're coming from, unless they are just doing what they do to get noticed.

I may have strayed from the topic at some points, but I hope someone understands. i don't like talking too much. x.x
 
A man should not use religion as a reason for being above the law.

I think the issue comes from the belief that because god is omnipotent and omniscient, he is above the law, and whatever he wants his believers to do, they feel they must do--even if it contradicts the law. If it didn't interfere with the way other people lived, it wouldn't be an issue. But sadly, it still happens at this day and age. Churches get tax-exempt status. They protect members of their congregation who engage in child rape (some of them do anyways). There are no atheists that are politicians. They get into a big fuss over evolution being taught in schools.

Of course, not all Christians are like this, but the ones that are, should not be doing these things.
 
The laws were made with everyone in mind, including those governing over the people...us. I mean, the british government was stealing tax payers money and spending it on things like iPods and other useless (in general), material things.That's what makes that one part of your quote so funny, Eric:

"This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants". God's own servants are stealing money from us! We must run as fast as our little, lowly legs can carry us!

*Cough* anyway...religion has nothing to do with who has the right to obey laws and who doesn't. Everyone should obey, no matter what religion, race, gender etc. I hope this wasn't too much of a rant.
 
Religion is not a contributing factor in whether or not you follow the law, I think. For anyone. You live in a country, you abide by that country's rules and regulations, regardless of your nationality or your religion. The idea of the law is that everyone follows it. Its a set of general principles established for society.

Religious people have their own rules that they are supposed to follow as a part of their faith? Fair enough. But that does NOT mean that they can do things that are against the law of the country they are living in. What happens in the unlikely event those two clash? The law wins out, because they are a part of society. They have no choice but to follow the laws of a country. They have every choice in whether they follow the laws of their religion.

Christians are no exception to this. Why should they be? You are free to worship whoever and whatever you please, but there are laws in place in a country for everyone to follow. They are society's laws. You are part of society, so you follow the laws. If you don't like it...well, tough luck. You can show respect for the laws, just as the laws show you respect by allowing you to practice your faith freely and without persecution, or you can move to another country where you're allowed to do as you like. There is no third option.

So, simply put...no. Christians are no exception.
 
One word. No.

And they dont act like it. There are certain beliefs that they hold to, but for the most part, Christians, just like any sane people, follow the law unless the government is being tyrannical or unjust. In these situations, religion has nothing to do with people trying to circumvent that law.

On the other hand, alot of minority groups that either put themselves in bad positions or expect handouts, especially in recent times, do try to be above the law.
 
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