The gospel is a clear election campaign theme in the USA. Clearly visible in Donald Trump and also to some extent in his opponent Kamala Harris. The evangelicals use this situation to quickly bend the statements of the Bible for their own purposes.
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Opposing positions in the USA election campaign
In the USA, the election for the next president is getting closer. The two main candidates from each opposing party are Donald Trump for the Republicans and Kamala Harris for the Democrats. Trump’s position on Christianity has now spread. For him, the Christian faith appears to be an integral part of his announced political agenda. What kind of Christianity it is, let alone whether it can be brought into harmony with the Gospel, is another matter. Trump’s religious philosophy is a mixture of “legislative religious right” and the ecumenical chant of Rome. One of the main topics selected is abortion rights.
Kamala Harris’s understanding of religion, on the other hand, is far less developed. Understandable, because she fulfills the role of representative of the completely opposite side of left-wing atheism. A liberal position taken that calls for every woman’s unconditional right to self-determination on the issue of abortion. Donald Trump, said Harris, should under no circumstances tell women what they should do with their bodies. Harris only addresses the topic of the gospel indirectly by postulating that one’s own faith and deeply held convictions do not have to be given up in order to approve a government.
A bent interpretation of Romans 13
For the evangelical magazine “Christian Today” this position is a great opportunity. Kamala Harris, as a government official, can express any view she wants, but when she poses as an authority and expert on the Bible, the issue takes on a completely different character (Source).
Romans chapter 13 provides information about why there is a government, according to the magazine. According to this, the government exists to represent the views of God to people. Apostle Paul said that the government is appointed by God as his representative for our good.
The evangelical magazine is treading on extremely thin ice, and is also revealing that it clearly represents Trump’s position. Such a statement that God sets up governments to teach people His views is simply false and far-fetched.
What the Bible actually says
Romans 13:1-6 says this:
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Little to see of God’s “views”.
What is true is that God appoints governments, whether actively or simply by authorization. What comes close to the magazine’s claim is the passage “For he is the minister of God to thee for good.” But does it contain the statement that God wants to convey his views to people through the government? There is no such statement anywhere.
Take any government from the time of the existing Soviet Union. Communism was booming. At the same time, the presidents of the “Free World” ruled. Such government systems could not be more contradictory. But according to the evangelical magazine, both opposing governments represented the views of God.
Paul wrote his letter in the first century. The ruler was Imperial Rome. Did they represent the views of God? Also, the kings and emperors in the following centuries? Is it God’s view what the autocrat Kim Jong-un represents in North Korea? This already shows how nonsensical it is to claim that God sets up governments to promote His views.
God has everything under control
God establishes and removes governments. Prominent examples include many of the kings of Israel in the Old Testament, as well as the last ruler of Babylon the Great, Belshazzar (Daniel 5). Babylon was replaced by the ruler of Medo-Persia, Cyrus. Another head of the beast (Revelation 17 – More info) took over, and God allowed it. Belshazzar had known about the fate and purification of the first ruler of Babylon the Great, Nebuchadnezzar, but still exaggerated himself. Belshazzar represented all sorts of things, but not the views of God.
It appears that the evangelical magazine is using a misrepresentation of Romans 13 to justify a “Christian government” that, by its own definition, represents the will of God. Political developments in the USA are moving in exactly this direction. A government that gives the appearance of Christianity, but does not represent the gospel, but rather the ideas and statutes of the papacy. The second beast from the earth according to Revelation 13 (Info) is now preparing.
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Revelation 13:12
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
