Maybe you dig the New Testament a little more? Thats cool too! How about Romans 13:1-3? "Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you."
Christian Anarchist. An oxymoron if I ever heard one. You call yourself a Christian, and you criticize your entire country for it's murderous and apathetic ways. Your entire political system is biblically flawed. The Bible says time and time again to respect and be grateful for those in power. You are not doing that. And, unfortunately for you, you just sound stupid and hypocritical when you criticize those in power, those in the military, and those who celebrate Independence Day. You are ignoring the laws set by your own God, just by being an anarchist. I've seen you say on here that some Christians give others a bad name because they serve in wars or support wars. Do you not recognize all the wars that God himself commanded men to take up? I encourage you, by all means to pursue Christianity, and if you can find a way to be an Anarchist without blatantly contradicting yourself, please go for it. I doubt you will though.
Answer:
Perhaps some context on Hebrews 13:17? I see no mention of government, and believe that Paul was speaking of leaders within the church.
As for Romans 13:1-3, I don’t think you’re understanding what Christian anarchism is. Simply being an anarchist isn’t disobedient to anyone. It’s an opinion that the government is incapable of dealing with society and even makes life worse for society. It does not mean that I protest or vandalize state or private property. It means I educate people on the benefits of no government.
For the most part I do obey government, with a few exceptions, and it’s likely that I’ll never be arrested for anything. But there are times when you can’t obey both the government and what the Bible teaches. I don’t think you can live Christ’s teachings of peace and love while working in law enforcement or in the armed forces. I don’t think you can live Christ’s teachings of peace and support the drug war or the war on terror because they don’t solve anything and they harm innocent people. Christ would not have supported war. I don’t think voicing my anti-government opinion is disobedient because we’re allowed freedom of speech. Even if we weren’t allowed freedom of speech, I think my anti-government opinion is crucial to Christianity, and when told to be quiet or spread the Gospel, who am I to obey? God or government? I think the obvious choice here is to obey God and disobey the government.
I’m not advocating civil disobedience (unless we are in a circumstance where we must choose between God and government). I’m advocating we stop participating in government and separate ourselves from things of this world. I’m advocating that we stay out of politics and stop using the government to enforce our morality onto everyone through violence, because there is no doubt that that is the exact opposite of how Jesus taught us to behave. Obedience does not mean conformity.
Even if I weren’t an anarchist, I could still criticize those who celebrate Independence Day because we aren’t independent, even by a statist standard.
What wars did God command? In what context? Are you speaking of the Old Testament, because the rules for Christian behavior clearly changed after Jesus’ birth and death.
Have you seen the many instances of anarchism in the Bible such as Judges 8:22-23, Judges 17:6 & 21:25? How about 1 Samuel 8:5-21, where Israel begged for a king because they rejected God as their king? How about Psalm 146:3, where we’re told not to put our trust in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation? How about Isaiah 2:2-4, where it is prophesied that there will be anarchy in the last days? A little further on in verse 22 will tell you to stop trusting in man (government). How about Ezekiel 45:8? How about Hosea 13:9-11, where God states he gives kings in anger and in wrath takes them away? That’s just the Old Testament.
In the New:
Matthew 4:8-10 and again in Luke 4:8, Jesus states, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”
Matthew 5:33-37 is a clear commandment for Christians not to pledge or swear oath to anyone other than God, which would most certainly rule out saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mark 10:42-43a and again in Luke 22:25-26a is a commandment for Christians not to take part in government.
In Luke 4:8 Jesus says to worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.
In Luke 16:13 Jesus states that we cannot serve two masters. He uses the word money, but what are governments always after? Money.
Luke 17:20-21 and John 18:36 state that the Kingdom of God is not of this earth, it is of heaven and it is within us.
In John 18:36, Jesus states that his Kingdom is not of this world.
In Acts 4:19 and again in 5:29, Peter and John clearly state that it is not right to obey government rather than God.
Romans 12:2 tells us not to conform to the pattern of the world.
1 Corinthians 6:1-6 condemns believers who go to court for having their affairs judged by the ungodly.
Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Philippians 3:20 states that our citizenship is not of this world, but in heaven.
If you think that one day we won’t have to choose between Christ and the anti-Christ (who will have a large influence in government and politics), specifically in Revelation 20:4, then I wonder if you’ve even seriously read the Bible.
The reason that Jesus and the disciples were persecuted and ridiculed was because they did not need government to be good. They brought peace and anarchy and the Pharisees knew that if that attitude and belief spread that they would no longer have power over the people because their existence would be obsolete.
Jesus taught non-violent revolution, where we change people’s hearts and minds instead of trying to change their actions through law and force. I suggest you read the works of Leo Tolstoy, specifically The Kingdom of God Is Within You, for more on Christian Anarchism. The more I study it the more I understand that it’s the only consistent form of Christianity and is completely in line with what Christ has called us to do.
Next time I suggest studying the other side of an argument before you jump to accusations of others being wrong in their beliefs. It seems you’ve only studied the side that benefits your argument.
