To Submit or to Rebel against the State?

Description:
""Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."" With these words Jesus has impacted world history, the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and a Christian's submission to the rule of a state. But what should a Christian do when there is widespread rebellion against government, law, and morality? What recourse do Christians have when the state violates its divine mandate, and endorses abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, the lottery, and war? If the state disobeys natural moral law, should the Christian oppose the state? What can Christian resistance from the past teach us about the present? Is it wrong to pledge allegiance to the state? What is the limit to allegiance? Can morality be legislated? James De Young seeks to answer these questions as he weighs the issues confronting the Christian as a citizen of this world yet also a citizen of heaven. Carefully weighing texts such as Matthew 22:21, Romans 13, 1 Timothy 1 and 2, and 1 Peter 2, the author challenges Christians to follow the Bible in this age of revolution and in the struggle for religious freedom.

Endorsements:
""Christians can profit from De Young's investigation of the basic moral questions of citizenship. He illustrates his points with ample citation from Scripture, history, and contemporary scholarship.""
--Tom A. Coburn, U.S. Senator


About the Contributor(s):
James B. De Young is Professor of New Testament at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of Women in Ministry: Neither Egalitarian Nor Complementary: A New Approach to an Old Problem (Wipf & Stock 2010) and Burning Down the Shack (2010).