The Christian and Submitting to the Governing Authorities
The Christian and Submitting to the Governing Authorities
The state legislature passes a law that makes stealing anything valued under $100 a second-degree felony that is punishable by a minimum mandatory prison sentence of 5 years. The legislature also passes a mandated reporting provision to that law that makes it a criminal misdemeanor for anyone who has knowledge of such a theft and fails to report it to the authorities.
As Todd walks into the downtown Starbucks, a homeless man approaches Todd and tells him that he hasn’t eaten in two days. The man begs Todd to purchase him something to eat. Todd tells the homeless man “no” and walks inside to buy an espresso macchiato. Feeling guilty about turning down the homeless man’s request for food, Todd decides to surprise him and purchase an egg and cheddar breakfast sandwich. As Todd walks outside to give him the food, he observe the homeless man stealing a bacon and gouda breakfast sandwich from an outside table of a customer who had just walked inside to get some extra napkins.
Thread: In his article, The Christian and Civil Government author Bob Deffinbaugh addresses the role of a Christian in submitting to human government. Applying the arguments articulated in Deffinbaugh’s article, develop a well-reasoned argument why Todd, who is a Christian, should or should not submit to the governing authorities in this scenario.
