Resisting Oppressive Governments

Resisting Oppressive Governments

Thomas Allen

[Editor’s note: The texts of the verses cited in this article are given in the appendix that follows.]

In Glad Tidings of the Kingdom of God, issue 1658, p. 18, the Christadelphians argue that good Christians should not resist, but should obey implicitly, a despotic government no matter how tyrannical or evil it is. Other denominations also hold this same position. (When it advances the liberal or progressive agendas, many liberal churches interpret Romans 13:1-7 and Matthews 5:38-42 as the Christadelphians do. However, when governments act contrary to the liberal or progressive agendas, these liberal churches reject the Christadelphian interpretation.)

The Glad Tidings’ article uses the Nazi government of Germany as an example. Good Christians should not have opposed the Nazis rounding up Jews and other undesirables and sending them to concentration and labor camps. This included not opposing the Nazis verbally as such opposition was illegal, either implicitly or explicitly. Later, when the Nazis executed millions of Jews, good Christians should not have objected.

On the contrary, good Christians, being obedient to the government, would have aided the government. If they knew where a Jew was hiding, they would have informed the government as required by law. They certainly would not have hidden or aided a Jew as that was against the law.

That is because the Nazis were only obeying God’s will. According to the Christadelphians, God wanted the Nazis to execute large numbers of Jews so that He could use the slaughter as an excuse to drive the Palestinians from their homes and turn Palestine into the Jewish state of Israel, which has the reputation of being the pornographic capital of the world.

To support their position of implicit obedience to despotic evil governments, Christadelphians cite Romans 13:1–7, which is a despot’s favorite biblical passage. A good Christian should not resist any government no matter how evil it is because no government is a terror to good works but is always a terror to evil. Moreover, governments are ministers of God for good and only punish doers of evil. (If Paul practiced what he wrote as most people interpret this passage, he would have never been jailed. However, he was jailed several times.)

Consequently, if a despot declared that all children less than 13 years old are to be turned over to the government for sexual pleasures and tortures, good Christians will turn their children over to the government. Thus, being implicitly obedient to the government, all good Christians would turn their children over to the government for the pleasures of their pedophiliac overlords, who want the children to satisfy their sexual deviations culminating in torturing the children to death. These Christians are obeying the government as the Christadelphian interpretation of Roman 13 tells them to do. Moreover, they would insist that the government take their teenagers per Matthew 5:38-42 as the Christadelphians interpret this passage.

If the government decrees that all Christians are to be executed and that they have to appear before the local magistrate to receive a lethal injection, Christadelphians would be first in line for their shots. Other Christians who understand Romans 13:1-7 as the Christadelphians understand it would be standing with them. (Moreover, following their understanding of Matthew 5:38-42, Christadelphians would report every Christian whom they knew to the authorities.) After all, all rulers are ministers of God (Romans 13:4) and have been ordained by Him (Romans 13:1). As such, they are God’s avengers to doers of evil (Romans 13:4). Since the government has decreed that Christians must be executed, then Christians must be doers of evil. If the mass execution of Jews were part of God’s plan, then the mass execution of Christians must also be part of God’s plan. No Christian could object without going against the will of God.

However, Christadelphians are pacifists who resist the draft and serving in the armed forces. Thus, they show their inconsistency and hypocrisy. By resisting being part of the Nazi army, they were resisting God’s will of mass execution of Jews.

Nevertheless, Christadelphians do give themselves an out. They cite Acts 4:19–20. According to their understanding of this passage, a Christian has to disobey the government when it tells them to act contrary to God’s will. How does a Christian know what is God’s will? If the Nazi murder of millions of people is God’s will, what is not God’s will?

APPENDIX

The following verses are quoted from the World English Bible.

Romans 13:1-7

13 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority, 4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. 5 Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, continually doing this very thing. 7 Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Matthew 5:38-42

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. 41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

Acts 4:19-20

19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves, 20 for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.

Copyright © 2023 by Thomas Coley Allen.

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