Should Christians Invoke Law and Order Above Peace and Justice?

Recently I entered into an online discussion about several mainline Protestant churches that were offering sanctuary to aliens who had entered the US illegally.  The responses to my post were civil, but centered around a theme common to Protestant fundamentalism:

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities..."  Sounds to me like violating the laws of a nation and crossing their borders illegally falls under that.
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You appear to be confusing compassion for aliens with supporting their illegal activities which are very clearly sinful behavior ... I’m sure God is just thrilled that these “aliens” are sinning over and over again just put themselves first regardless of the cost to their soul or this nation’s sovereignty.
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As Christians we are to follow man’s laws unless they directly conflict with us being required to deny Christ. This is not even close to that scenario.

Of course I am referring to "law and order" Christianity.  As a child, I was clearly taught that sin included the breaking of civil and criminal laws instituted by our government.  The call to be a law-abiding citizen is basic to the doctrines of Protestant fundamentalism.  And given that one of the major underlying narratives of the Protestant fundamentalist movement is the unique mission and blessing that God has given to the United States of America, it is also one of the primary reasons that Protestant fundamentalists are generally very patriotic.

The primary scripture used to defend law and order Christianity is Romans 13:1-7:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.   Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.   For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

1 Peter 2:13-17 also implores us:

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.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the emperor.

These scriptures, particularly the passage from Paul's letter to the Romans, have been controversial in Western thought for centuries.  Should we take these passages literally, simply at face value, as divine commands -- or is there a deeper story behind these passages that merits serious consideration?

I would offer the Roe v. Wade decision as a test case.   Taken literally, Paul would command us, "Therefore whoever resists Roe v. Wade resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment."   After all, Roe v. Wade was a decision handed down by our highest court through due process of law.  Even though the court's decision was rendered without public debate or referendum, no laws were broken by using the judicial system to decide the constitutionality of abortion on demand.  And no one has ever been required to undergo the fundamentalist litmus test of "denying Christ" (at least not in the campy, overdramatic way that "denying Christ" is portrayed in contemporary apocalyptic fiction) in relation to this decision.

Perhaps we should also consider the numerous instances of barbarity perpetrated under the banner of Christianity.  Prior to the 18th century, religious wars between Protestants and Catholics cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Europeans.  Should we resign ourselves to believe that the pestilence, destruction, starvation, and disease during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) was the will of God?  Should we assume that the mercenary commanders who did the bidding of feuding Lutheran, Calvinist, and Roman Catholic royalty were "servants of God"?  Was the English Civil War and Oliver Cromwell's deliberate campaign of terror among Irish Catholics simply a result of Puritans being "[avengers] who [carry] out the wrath of God on the wrongdoer"?

I believe that there is a much deeper and complex meaning to both Peter and Paul's charges to obey ruling authorities.  It is derived from the fundamental Christian ethic of being in the world, but not of the world.

The ministry of Jesus Christ and the subsequent apostolic age occurred during the culmination of power and glory for the Roman Empire.  The empire was ruled by the Emperor, Caesar, proclaimed to be "King of Kings and Lord of Lords."  Subjects of the empire were required to acknowledge the Emperor's ultimate lordship and worship him as a living god.

But Jesus Christ proclaimed the beginning of a new age, the Kingdom of God, with himself as its King.  The elect, the saints who are saved by the blood of Christ, were the royal priesthood of the Kingdom. Salvation and subsequent citizenship in the Kingdom of God was universal, available to all -- rich, poor, slave, free, Jew, Gentile -- who repented and sought to follow Jesus Christ.  Repentance required surrendering one's desire for prominence in the empire of man, taking up one's cross, and becoming a servant in the Kingdom of God.  Repentance also required confessing Jesus Christ as the Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Son of the one true Living God.

Naturally such a confession made the Roman authorities very nervous.  Christian repentance was not seen as a simple profession of religious faith, but as an act of treason against the Empire. The Apostles were persecuted precisely because authorities were frightened of anyone who openly advocated allegiance to any dominion other than the Roman Empire.  The Apostles and their converts were branded as seditionists, rebels, and traitors.  It doesn't take much effort to imagine the constant persecution that befell the small band of Christian converts who lived in Rome, the heart of imperial power.

It was in this context that Paul wrote his letter to the Romans. Beginning with Chapter 8 and continuing through Chapter 11, Paul seeks to demonstrate to the Roman Christians (many of whom were not Jews) that salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ is indeed universal, and despite their constant persecution and their heritage as Gentiles they are indeed the elect of God.  Again, it does not take much imagination to understand the plight of the Roman Christians, whose torment at the hands of the imperial powers must have led to some serious doubts about the legitimacy of their salvation and their place as rightful heirs of God's Kingdom.

Now beginning with Chapter 12 verse 1, read what Paul asks of the Roman Christians:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.  For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.   Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine.  Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.   Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.   Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.   Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.  Never be wise in your own sight . Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."   To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."   Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.   Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.   For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Paul's advice to the Romans is simple -- humility, compassion, and peaceable living.  It is not an exhortation to unquestioningly obey every law of the state, but an encouragement for the Roman Christians who are living under the thumb of the Empire.  Both Peter and Paul urge peaceable coexistence within the Roman system, based on honor and respect for authority figures, rather than open resistance.  They realize that judgment (from the Empire, not from God) is reserved primarily for those who shed innocent blood or attempt to destroy the infrastructure of society.  And even when the Empire commits an act of evil, it is sinful for Christians to attempt to violently avenge the deaths or sufferings of the innocent, because their vengeance will only cause the Empire to take more lives in return.  This new ethic of peacefulness requires a "transformation" of believers by the Holy Spirit, so that they become a people whose strongest members carry the burdens of the weakest among them; a community that endures persecution yet refuses to persecute others.  By allowing God to transform them, His people bear witness to the fact that He is ultimately sovereign over all earthly principalities and powers.

Jesus Christ himself said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."  This account is present in all three synoptic gospels -- Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 

Jesus also taught,

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person.  If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.   And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.   If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.   Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

And in Luke's gospel,

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.   If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.   Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.   Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Thus violent rebellion is not an option for those who seek to follow Christ.  However, Jesus makes it clear that resistance through nonviolent, culturally meaningful actions is required when evil is committed -- if someone strikes you on the right cheek (a backhand blow, reserved for the humiliation of one who is inferior) then turn your left cheek toward him and force him to strike you with a closed fist, as an equal; if you are sued for everything you own, give your adversary the clothes off your back as well, so that he will be seen as responsible for your nakedness; if a Roman centurion orders you to carry his pack for a mile, keep walking, and force him to choose between taking the burden upon himself again, or risking punishment from his superiors.

Unfortunately, this message of peaceful coexistence within the human empire -- without aiding the empire in its quest for power, or violently rebelling against its excesses -- has mostly been lost on modern American Protestant fundamentalist Christianity.  Some time ago I came across a fundamentalist "fact sheet" entitled Can A Devout Muslim Be an American Patriot and a Loyal Citizen?  In response, I asked myself whether or not a devout Christian could indeed be a "loyal" and "patriotic" citizen of the United States of America, or of any other nation-state, assuming that such loyalty meant a virtually unconditional support of its government.

The truth is that if Christianity is to possess any prophetic vision for the world, it must be ready to stand clear of humanity's secular politics, governments, and economics,  and offer a vision of a peaceable kingdom built by believers who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit.  We are to honor earthly authorities and respect their laws.  But we have not been ordered by God to place law and order above the needs of those who are suffering.

It is with a heavy heart that I recognize and confess the shortcomings of the white evangelical/fundamentalist Christian tradition of the southern United States, the tradition in which I was raised.  These churches stood by while government and social power structures oppressed and victimized African-Americans for nearly a century after their emancipation from slavery.  They stood by because recognizing the right of African-Americans to live equally among white Southerners would cost wealthy white church benefactors money and political power. 

And they stood by because mistreatment of African-Americans had been enshrined in the law.  They convinced themselves that breaking those laws was a sin greater than deliberately inflicting suffering upon others, because such suffering was "legal."

I believe that we are again standing at the crossroads of legality and justice with respect to the plight of immigrants living in our nation today.  The majority of them come from Mexico and are in this country illegally.  The reason they are here is because they have decided that clandestinely crossing the border and working outside of the law in the United States will inflict less suffering on themselves and their families than continuing to live in the civic and financial poverty of Mexico.  The have not "gotten in line" to come into this country because currently there is no "line," no realistic way for the millions of Mexicans looking for a better life to legally migrate to America.

And rather than focus on the suffering of a people who are oppressed and consigned to social irrelevance, the southern Evangelical movement is again taking shelter under the umbrella of the law, arguing that because these people have broken America's immigration laws, they are first and foremost  "sinners" before God who must be punished by authorities "who [carry] out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer."

I don't think this is what Paul or Peter or Jesus had in mind.