Source (Bluesky)
Transcript
FFRF:
Here’s how pliable bible-based “morality” is: she swerved right past “thou shalt not kill” and found a verse to justify killing someone for defying authority.
If your ethics can be weaponized that easily, it’s not morality.
Megan Basham:
To those invoking Christianity in this current controversy over the shooting in Minnesota, it is important to remember that our God is a God of order. And he requires submission to all legal authorities.
Romans 13: "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong."
Biblically, what Renée Good was doing was actually a sin. She was breaking the law. She was defying legal authority that was justly being carried out.
I'm sad about what happened to her. It's tragic. But as a Christian, I can reflect that this is why Romans 13 wisely tells us to obey the authorities. It is for our safety and good.
There's a much more famous example, which is actually in the gospels, that details how Christianity and government are related, and that's when Jesus said "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."
Why wouldn't she go for the most famous example, and the one that is actually in Jesus's words? An example that has been examined and debated more closely than just about anything outside of the gospels. Why did she go for a book that is attributed to Paul, instead of going to Jesus's words?
My first theory is that she just doesn't know the Bible very well. She probably doesn't understand the contextual meaning of Jesus's words. My second theory is that it's a slightly more subtle opinion than the black-and-white world which that sort of asshole thinks she lives in. Jesus is responding to a tricky challenge where the easy answers are either that he supports breaking the law, or he believes religious people should subjugate themselves before their governments.
And the simplest interpretation of his answer is that earthly authorities have authority over earthly matters. So, it means nearly the same thing as Romans 13.
Of course, there's no evidence that Renee Good was breaking any law, either, so