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We haven't thought through the implications of Christendom's long-held doctrine of the State. Let's look at it more closely.
Romans 13 has long been the mainstay of the traditional view of the State. What it says is that the principalities and powers (against whom we as Christians are to wrestle (Ephesians 6:12)) are ordered by a sovereign God, who ultimately will cast them down from their thrones and dominions (I Corinthians 15:24). This is what Romans 13 says. What the theologians have said Romans 13 means is quite another thing.
What Romans 13 means, we are told, is that the State (which we have argued elsewhere is an institution of theft, violence, war, and coercion, an institution which longs for "separation" from the Church of Jesus Christ) is nevertheless a "Divine Institution." God prescribes a State; He commands men to form a State.
None of this is present in Romans 13, and it is certainly denied by the rest of Scripture, from the founding of the State by Nimrod (Genesis 10), the ordering of one State by God to judge another State (Isaiah 13), to the description of the State as a beast from the sea, empowered by Satan himself (Revelation 12-13).
Why have the theologians missed the mark so radically?
They have rightfully seen that "vengeance belongeth unto God" (Deuteronomy 32:35) and that we as Christians are not to seek peace in society through violence (Matthew 26:52; Romans 12). Thus, violent revolution is not Christ's way of putting down the powers (Titus 3:1). Christ triumphed over the powers not by the way of political advancement (John 6:15) but by the Way of the Cross (Colossians 2:15). We are to follow this pattern of good works (I Peter 2:21).
But the theologians have been grasping for political power and "respectability" in the eyes of the "establishment," the "system," the world (kosmoV). They have labored to justify the existence of the State. They have tried to participate in its machinations, and encouraged their followers to do the same. This is their doctrine of "Representative Government." If it were not so unBiblical, it might not be so self-contradictory.
The Myth of "Representative Government"
The two prongs of the traditional (American) view of the State are pointing in opposite directions. He who tries to eat with the mangled fork of the theologians will soon feel the pain. Pointing in the direction of "obedience," "subservience," and even "patriotism" and "national pride," is the use of Romans 13 to inculcate servile approval of the policies of the politically active. We are to bow before the politicians of church and State, recognizing that they live on a higher plane of existence than the lowly "layman." Citizens are not to "revolt" against their leaders, but exhibit obsequious trust in their wisdom. The slaughter of young men in foreign lands, the redistribution of wealth through a debased currency, and the levying of taxes at a rate many times that of God's tithe (10%) are not to be questioned, but supported. This prong is a perversion of the Christian doctrine of non-resistance and respect for Godly wisdom.
The other prong of this twisted fork points to the depravity of man (even of statesmen!) "Power corrupts," we are told. "Checks and balances" are needed. This is simply a way of escaping the sharp implications of the first prong. Thus, when colonial merchants were fed up with the taxation imposed by the British colonial government (a rate of 3 to 5 percent, some experts hold), they began the "American Revolution." Rather than the governed obeying the governors, as the first prong demands, the governors must now have the "consent of the governed" before they can pass their laws. This is total hypocrisy. But is is also the mythology of all States. Let us expose the façade.
How much does the State have a right or an obligation to tax, according to the Bible? The question cannot be answered with even one verse. The Bible does not command men to even form a State, much less extract revenue ("tribute") from those they have conquered. In the dialogue below, I discuss this issue with another "Reconstructionist" student.
At this point the tape was being turned over. The subject, as so often happens, was shifted from taxation and prescriptive commands for the State, to capital punishment, which we have argued elsewhere is never given to the State, but is a command for the Church. I can assure you that the question of how much the State has a right to tax was not answered; I would have had the answer repeated for the tape; perhaps even bronzed. If I could find one verse where Biblical Law says "You may call yourself a "State" and forcibly seize (say,) six percent of a man's income," then I would agree that the State has any rightful authority to do so, and then we can argue about what to do when the State takes 60%-90%, or what poor Frederico Fellini should do next time Italy assesses him for 104% of his income (he moved). If I could find such a passage I could also criticize the American revolutionaries who murdered British officers over a tax rate of 1-3%. By no means am I saying that we shouldn't pay the tax. But where does God give the State the right?
Now the mainline American theologians are in a difficult spot. If they try to insert their mangled fork further into their mouth, they are stuck with obeying a tyrannical and oppressive government, whose IRS machinery operates with Gestapo-like tactics, the very existence of which (in the 16th Amendment) is shrouded in constitutional darkness, and whose tax-rates are increasing with every cost-of-living increase in our paychecks.
But when they try to pull the fork out of their mouths, the "Consent of the governed" prong jabs them the other way: "The People" are put in control; they determine the form of government and the governors must answer to "The People."
Let us imagine Joe Protestant, as he tries to obey the two commands of American Protestantism with regard to taxation, and finds himself face to face with the Myth of the State.
Joe receives an official-looking letter in the mail: he has been summoned for jury duty. He dutifully reports and is impaneled on a tax case. The defendant is accused of skipping taxes. His argument is a legal one, that is, he is saying his actions are according to the letter of the law. After listening to the defendant's case, Joe is completely baffled. Does the law of the land give the government the power to tax in the way it is? The defendant's case is compelling; it seems that the government is over-stepping its powers under the United States Constitution. The specific statutes are vague: is filing a tax return "voluntary," a matter of "self-compliance"? Joe decides to get out his sermon notes from First Behemouth Church of the Christian Right. What did his pastor say about taxes and the State, anyway?
Biblical Laws on Taxation Joe searches long and hard, but cannot find a single verse in Scripture which gives men the right to call themselves "the State" and then demand money from others at the barrel of a gun. That the State now takes over half a man's income, and in some cases completely destroys the inheritance of widows and orphans, cannot, by Joe's way of thinking, be Biblical. God surely does not give men the right to do what the IRS in many cases does. Perhaps He doesn't give the IRS the right to do anything it does.
Biblical Laws on Submission But Joe is somewhat uncomfortable with the defendant's refusal to pay any taxes. Joe believes men are supposed to give the government something, he just isn't sure what.
Constitutional Laws on Representation But what really confuses Joe is his Pastor's sermons on "The Christian Origins of American Government." The Constitution is supposed to be a Christian document, but for the life of him, Joe can't find any mention of Jesus or any Scripture texts. The Declaration of Independence is particularly discomfiting to Joe:
"When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them. . . .
Aren't we supposed to be subject to the powers? (And what are "the Laws of Nature"?)
"We hold these truths to be self-evident ... that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
"I thought the powers were 'of God,'" Joe says to himself. Joe's public school civics class comes to mind and he remembers that, far from being "subject" to the governors (Romans 13:1?), the governors are "public servants," and the people are over the governors! As one book put it, "God is the higher power over man and man is the higher power over the law which created and governs our government. The public servant is at the bottom of the totem pole. That is why he is called a public servant. He must obey the Constitution, the individual, and God." "How can I be subject to them if they are supposed to be subject to me?" Joe asks.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. . . .
That does it; Joe spent quite some time studying the French Revolution and the Maoist Revolution in China, and is familiar with the rhetoric of "the People" engaging in revolution. Now Joe is really confused. Just how does all this line up with Romans 13?
Joe gets out the copies of the exhibits submitted by the defendant. The defendant argues that Joe, as well as the other 11 jurors, have the right to exonerate the defendant even if the law says otherwise. This, the defendant argues, is based on the powers of the people, who have final say as to what their "elected representatives" may do, and to whom these "representatives" must answer. The defendant has provided some fairly clear statements by respected authorities:
"If the jury feels the law is unjust, we recognize the undisputed power of the jury to acquit, even if its verdict is contrary to the law as given by the judge and contrary to the evidence. This power of the jury is not always contrary to the interests of justice." (U.S. v. Moylan 417 F.2d 1002 at 1006)
"The pages of history shine on instances of the jury's exercise of its prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge; for example, acquittals under the fugitive slave law." (U.S. v. Dougherty, 473 F.2d 1113 at 1130)
Joe takes this doctrine of "jury nullification" seriously. He concludes that in America government answers to the people. He believes political reform can take place if juries across the land decide to take their powers seriously and vote not to convict those who do not "rejoice in the spoiling of their goods." Joe holds out, and by a vote of 11-1, the defendant is acquitted of tax evasion. Joe and the defendant become good friends, and begin to tell others of their Constitutional rights to nullify unjust laws and assert their rightful authority over their servants, the "officials" of the government.
The following questions have to be answered, and they haven't even been asked by most people:
How much does the State have a right to tax? Which verses of God's Law authorize men to call themselves "the State" and seize property and wealth? Note: do not confuse this with verses which command us to give to those who demand it of us. This question asks for verses which say "You must/may take money from your 'constituents.'"
Can Christians accept the American doctrine of sovereignty resting in the People? How does this square with the traditional view of Romans 13, of God prescriptively setting some people (kings) over the others (subjects)?
If you aren't persuaded that the Bible doesn't give any command/permission to form a State and coercively "tax" money from others, consider the right of the People, alleged in the Declaration of Independence, to abolish government and form a new one. Suppose I convinced a majority of (voting) Americans to abolish the present State and set up a new system: self-government, Autarchy, Anarchy, whatever you want to call a Family-centered Stateless society. Can you cite a Bible verse which prohibits men from living as Abraham did, without a State? How about taxation: Suppose we decided to retain the current form of government (Constitutional Republic) but make all offices voluntary, i.e., without pay. With the State handing health, education, welfare, commerce (and all other functions which the Bible gives to the Family) back to the Family, we could charge no taxes. Would this be permissible? Can you give one verse which says the State must charge taxes, and may not be voluntary? Suppose I succeeded in establishing a voluntary State through majority vote of "the People," and shortly thereafter you convinced me that the State must levy taxes. Can you cite a verse which tells me at what rate?
The absence of such verses simply corroborates what we have already argued, that God does not command men to form a State, and coercively extract money from others. God gave all the responsibilities of those acts and things which provide for social order to the Household of Faith.
Consider our State in America, and then consider the traditional view of Romans 13.
If the Declaration of Independence corresponds to "the Powers" of Romans 13, does Romans 13 then command me to obey that document, accepting my "duty to throw off" an unacceptable government and establish one which to me seems "most likely to effect" my "Happiness"? If I am "happier" with an anarchist form of society (State), does Romans 13 command me to work for such an order, under the logic of the Declaration of Independence?
Some have viewed with alarm our previous papers on the State, its demonic origin, and its eventual disappearance. It is of the utmost importance, they claim, for there to be a State to tell us what to do, to "restrain wickedness." We need to be "under authority," they say; we must be "under subjection" to a State. Such are nearly always very conservative in their politics. Thus, when the State begins telling them that they cannot do something they want to do, or must do something they don't want to do, they are quick to remind the State that its powers are "limited," and that they are answerable to us as "Servants of the People." Why do we maintain this fiction? There is no real "authority" here; we are responsible. Constructing a State is simply the slavish hypocrisy of telling the State what to tell us to do. In so doing we seek to avoid our responsibilities and we cultivate a smug self-righteousness.
"REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT":
Is this not the slavish hypocrisy of
telling the State what we want
it to tell us to do?
Christian "Anarchism" is Our Goal
All Evil is Predestined by God
Pray for a Servant's Understanding
Angels and God's Throne of Government
Why the State Always Encourages Immorality
Unlucky 13 -- Romans 13, Revelation 13 and Isaiah 13
A Roman's-Eye View of Romans 13
Lakes of Fire in "Smoke-Filled Rooms"
Romans 13: The Burden is on the Archists
Taxation, Representation, and the Myth of the State
Why the State is not a "Divine Institution"
Here is what a Christian Anarchist looks like
after he has joined The Christmas Conspiracy.
The Christmas Conspiracy |
Virtue
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Vine & Fig Tree |
Paradigm Shift |
Theocracy |
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