I realized yesterday that this whole Kim Davis-as-guardian-of-marriage-licenses
has crossed the line into the realm of annoyance, if not stupidity. Whatever legitimacy
may have been involved Davis’ original stance has now been thrown out the
window…undermined by politics. So as we turn on the news or look at the
trending topics on the right hand column of Facebook and beat back the waves of
opinions, let’s try to remember a few things.
Christianity’s response to civil authority has always
been nuanced. At a fundamental level, we must remember that Paul told the
Church at Rome to respect civil authority as established by God (cf. Rom 13:1).
Thus, Paul exhorts “give to everyone what you owe: If you owe taxes, pay taxes;
if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor”
(13:7). Yet one must also admit that Paul’s comments assume reference to daily
civic duties and an unoppressive form of government. But even in cases where
the government was authoritative and oppressive, books like Daniel and
Revelation appeal more to verbal resistance than anything else (Protestant
Christians don’t hold the book of Maccabees authoritative). So, all of this
begs the question. Does this situation—a situation of issuing marriage licenses
to homosexual couples—warrant the defiance of someone’s vocational and civic
duty? Moreover, does Davis’ jailing represent the persecution of Christianity
and an era of Christianity’s criminalization?
Davis has been
jailed for being in contempt of court—for continually defying a judge’s orders
(…and a judge happens to be her authority within a system of government, which according
to Paul, has been established by God) and not performing her duties and
responsibilities. Thus, any association of her faith with the reason for her
imprisonment is merely a contributing factor to her imprisonment. By
implication, if one insists on calling this “persecution of faith,” then you
must concede the fact that you have defined persecution in a rather generic fashion.
But the most potent reason why we should not call this
"persecution" appears by means of a very simple juxtaposition. There are children
and families washing on shores because they have died trying to flee the
hegemony of ISIS. People all over the Middle East are being slaughtered because
they do not conform to, or are not willing to conform to, a particular sect of
Islam. This is persecution…a danger or restriction of liberty directly
associated to one’s ideological or ethnic position.
So, do I stand with Kim Davis? Only to a certain extent.
She should resign, and the circus should stop. Most importantly, particularly as
Christians, we need to stop associating her situation with the persecution or
criminalization of Christians in America. The people who are making this
association look ridiculous and out of touch.
Thanks, Dr. Schreiner. I recently taught Romans 13 in a bible study, and I'm convinced that Kim Davis and Paul would disagree.
ReplyDeleteThe mission of the Church is not to try to conform any human government to the kingdom of God. That is actually impossible. The Church transcends any human government in power and purpose. It is revolutionary and global and can transform a person from the inside. Governments can only manage citizens as best they can, legislating consequences for crimes.
America was never a Christian nation. It simply employed a new form of government that emphasized the value of individual rights and freedoms, which includes religious rights. The ruling on gay marriage is not exactly contrary to American values. Unless, of course, we think that America is supposed to be Christian, which really shows how limited of a vision we can have of the Church.
This law on gay marriage is not persecution. It is not killing anyone. Christians can be bothered, but they should not be surprised. We should maintain peace with our governments as far as we are able. Unless, of course, someone like Hitler comes and someone like Bonhoeffer has to take a more aggressive stance.
Obama is no Hitler. And Kim Davis is no Bonhoeffer.