freeborn | ελεύθερος on Nostr: I would direct your attention to 1 Pet. 2:13–14, 16: "Submit yourselves to every ...
I would direct your attention to 1 Pet. 2:13–14, 16: "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.… as free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." (Is this 'corrupted' and 'fundamentally erroneous'? - he asks, with a mischievous yet fraternal grin)
Secondly, section IV conditions all power as "lawful" and "in accordance with the light of nature" -- which means, if you've read widely in this tradition -- obey the civil powers only so far as the civil powers "stay in their lane," as defined (basically) the natural law. With Augustine, the Reformers would've said, in effect, 'any law out of accord with the divine law is unjust, and an unjust law is no law at all.' A case in point would be that when Governors in the U.S. "mandated" church closures and other various restrictions on attendance and/or practices, those were "unlawful" ordinances, and not only did they not have to be obeyed--they had to be actively resisted.
Secondly, section IV conditions all power as "lawful" and "in accordance with the light of nature" -- which means, if you've read widely in this tradition -- obey the civil powers only so far as the civil powers "stay in their lane," as defined (basically) the natural law. With Augustine, the Reformers would've said, in effect, 'any law out of accord with the divine law is unjust, and an unjust law is no law at all.' A case in point would be that when Governors in the U.S. "mandated" church closures and other various restrictions on attendance and/or practices, those were "unlawful" ordinances, and not only did they not have to be obeyed--they had to be actively resisted.