I heard a sermon on obeying the government.  There was a verse that mentioned not overthrowing the king.  Which made me wonder... were the founding fathers sinning by leading the American Revolution against the king of England?

 

Sincerely,
Patriot or Traitor

Dear Patriot Or Traitor,

Your question is a profoundly difficult one to answer because:

1. Most Americans are thankful for the freedom they enjoy because of the American Revolution and are reluctant to consider their national heroes as potential sinners.
2. We were not there and cannot see the world through the founding fathers’ eyes.  We are only left with what details the history books give us.

Because of these two things, it is hard to give a definitive answer.  Realistically, any answer we give ends up being an “armchair quarterback” sort of statement.

Biblically, it is wrong to rebel against a government in almost all circumstances (Rom 13:1-2).  The only times where it is permissible are:

1. When the government is attempting to stop you from obeying God (Acts 5:29).
2. The government is preventing you from providing for your family’s basic needs (1 Tim 5:8).
3. The government is seeking to unjustly persecute and kill/harm you, your family, other christians, etc. (2 Cor 11:32-33).

If the government is attempting to do any of these things, a christian has biblical justification for rebelling against the government’s command.  That is what the Bible says on the matter.  The question is whether or not the American Revolution fits that criteria.  Depending on which historian you discuss the issue with, you will get a different answer.  Some will say, “Yes, it met that criteria,” while others will say, “No, it didn’t,” and some others will say, “Some people who rebelled met the criteria, and other’s didn’t.”  In our opinion (we now move into opinion, and leave the realm of Scripture), the last view is correct.  Some founding fathers rebelled out of a deep-seated spiritual conviction, and others rebelled out of simple frustration with the financial hardships that England placed upon them.  But in the end, all we can do is make sure that how we live is biblically sound – and leave the judgment of others to God.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I have gay parents.  NO, I don't agree with it, but that’s not the point.

Both of them have recently gotten physically abusive.

I want to talk to someone about it, but I feel God is telling me to stay at my mom’s and not move to my dads.  The reason is that I have a better chance in college if I were to stay at my mom’s.

And even if I were to move to my dad’s, I would have to say goodbye to everything I know and love.

What should I do; how should I handle this situation?

Sincerely,
No Easy Choice

Dear No Easy Choice,

Choose what’s right, and the future will care for itself.  If we understand you correctly, the physically abusive parents are at your mother’s home.  Your father’s home does not have abuse and does not have the immorality issues.  So you have two choices:

1. Stay in an immoral home where you have to worry about your mental, emotionally, spiritual, AND physical safety because you believe that you might be able to go to college if you stay.
2. Move to an overall safer and more moral environment that would force you to leave your friends, neighborhood, comfort zone, etc.

The key is to never make decisions based off of the consequences.  Make decisions based off of what is right.  Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33).  You current situation is bad company.  If you stay, it will destroy you.  You do not know what moving will bring, but you know that staying will bring only corruption.  Trust the Lord and His Word to guide your life.  You can never know what is the best choice.  He does.  Have faith, and He will bless you in your new life.  Let the Lord be your hope and shield (Ps 119:114-116).

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

In the book of Revelation, we are told not to hurt the earth.  But I have heard a lot of christians say that they won't recycle, drive a fuel-efficient car, or even pick up litter!  Isn't being "green" part of God's orders?  Thanks.

 

Sincerely,
Green Thumb

Dear Green Thumb,

The verses you are referring to are Rev 7:3 and Rev 9:4, but they are severely torn from their context.  In fact, the verse right before (Rev 7:2) points out that God had appointed angels for the specific purpose of hurting the earth.  The whole book of Revelation is dealing with figurative language and should not be taken literally because God says it is a symbolic book that uses figurative and picturesque language (Rev 1:1) to address a spiritual battle the first century church was fighting.  See our post “Left Behind” for further details.

As far as addressing the issue of being “green”, God did give mankind dominion over the earth to subdue it and use it (Gen 1:27-30).  As stewards of the earth, we have a responsibility to be faithful (1 Cor 4:2).  There is some debate over whether fuel-efficient cars, recycling, etc. are a necessary part of taking care of the earth though.  The specifics of environmental research are highly debatable, and we can’t be too dogmatic one way or the other.