Tuesday, July 30, 2013

At What Point Is Rebellion A Reasonable Response?

Is there a point where rebellion is a reasonable response? The founders of this country felt that independence must be declared as the King of Britain was breaking common laws and that:

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent…
Some would say that imposing taxes on us without our consent occurs today and that this is a reason to rebel. Christians are bound by Biblical authority to be in subjection to the governing authorities in this regard. Still some would say that if the basics of the U.S. Constitution are broken then it is time to take a stand.

For the Christ follower the clearest example is that of Peter in Acts chapter 5 wherein he is given orders not to teach in Christ’s name.  He replies that, “We are to obey God rather than men.”

We are living in a time where the present government is considering revoking tax exempt status for churches.  Persons of all faiths that home school their children are under attack as well.  Furthermore the recent Supreme Court ruling on DOMA paves the way for governmental accusation and attacks on pastors that preach that homosexuality is a sin; and who refuse to marry same sex couples in their churches.  Is that the point at which we are to rebel?  Stand our ground we must but rebelling isn’t our call.

I have no simplistic answer.  It only seems to me that men of character must choose to stand for principles that they know to be true despite significant political and personal pressure to relent and cave to popular opinion.  This has always been the path of the few; and eventually a called remnant will awake and follow the example. 

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

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