Romans 13 and the Obama administration

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. Romans 13: 1-7

So I have been pondering what the Obama administration means to Christians, especially in light of Romans 13. There has been a pretty heavy political tinge to my writings over the last month, but after all I have been a conservative a lot longer than I have been a Christian. So I am becoming concerned that maybe I should keep it down on political issues. Is my speaking out against the policies of the Obama administration a violation of Romans 13? Should we ignore the strictly political issues in submission to President Obama as one who rules over us? What is our responsibility? Meekly go along with the administration? Keep silent about issues, not just the issues of human life but purely political decisions like tax policy? I am speaking here of an individual Christian who is a citizen of the United States. I have no tolerance for someone claiming to be a minister of the Gospel preaching against tax policy from the pulpit.

It seems to me that one can speak out against policies while still submitting to authority. Romans 13:7 tells us: “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.”. I pay my taxes (or would if I owed them), I obey the laws (except some of the traffic laws), I do not propose or endorse an armed insurrection or even civil disobedience. Barack Obama is the President of the United States, duly elected under the laws of this land and as far as his Constitutional authority extends I submit myself to his authority. I respect him as President, and I respect the office no matter who is in it. I often pray for President Obama, praying that God will convict him of the sin of abortion, homosexual marriage and harvesting humans for stem cell research. I pray most of all that God will break his heart and that Barack Obama is converted, born-again and saved from his sins.

But I don’t see where a Christian has to be silent about the issues. In fact I would say that I have a responsibility as a citizen of this country to speak out on the issues, provided I don’t blur the line between the political and the sectarian. I think that Romans 13 does not muzzle us, but it does curtail behavior. I think abortion is a horrific stain on our nation, infanticide for profit couched in terms of “choice”. But I also don’t think that blowing up clinics or attacking abortionists is permissible. Speaking out against abortion? That is not only permitted by Romans 13, or at least no prohibited, but I think it is incumbent on Christians to speak out in defense of those who are defenseless. So as long as I don’t slander unnecessarily or bear false witness against the puppet regime in the White House, I believe I am in compliance with Romans 13.

What do you think?