Political Theology – The Civil Government (VanDrunen)

I'm in the middle of reading this 2020 publication: Politics after Christendom: Political Theology in A Fractured World by David VanDrunen. I'm enjoying it so far! I especially appreciate the first chapter. In this chapter, VanDrunen gives a biblical foundation for political theology. That is, VanDrunen summarizes the Bible's view of the state (civil government). …

Subjection to the Governing Authorities

 Romans 13 was one of those parts of Scripture that were formative for me in my later teenage years.  I had to think about it quite a bit since I served in the U.S. Army (Reserves).  And it's still a text that I think about quite a bit since submitting to the civil government is …

Civil Authority as God’s Institution (Luther)

 I've been enjoying Martin Luther's commentary on the Genesis Flood; it's been interesting, helpful, and even encouraging in a Christian way.  Today as I was studying Genesis 9:1-17 I came across the following statements Luther made on what this text has to do with civil government. These comments are based on Luther's exposition of Genesis …

The Government and the Christian (Luther)

 The Christian faith is not opposed to civil authority.  For example, Scripture calls followers of Jesus to respect authority, pray for leaders in positions of authority, and live peaceful lives for the benefit of society.  In fact, it is a proper interpretation of the fifth commandment to include obedience to those in authority over us. …

An Ancient Prayer for Government

The Bible clearly calls Christians to honor, obey, and pray for those in authority over us, such as our civil government (Jer. 29:7, Rom. 13, 1 Pet. 2:13-17, Titus 3:1, etc.).  Although it’s not always easy to do, God’s people have been doing it for a long, long time!  One ancient example is found in …