There are many issues of life which Christians disagree about, and a topic like
Law and our Legal System is no exception. When it comes to
lawsuits over our religious rights and freedoms, believers take up viewpoints which range from
defending our Constitutional liberties to passively accepting these intrusions as
persecution.
What is the right response? To answer these questions, we must appeal to the source of wisdom and divine guidance that God has given us...His Word, the
Bible. ![]() What does the Bible say we are can do if our legal rights are violated by the government or an agency affiliated with the government (example: a school, or principal)? What is the correct, scriptural response to this illegal act? Some Christians quote I Corinthians 6:1-8 and say that Christians should NEVER go to court. But even a casual reading of this passage clearly reveals that Paul is only forbidding Christians from suing other Christians (notice in verse 6 brother goes to law against brother and in verse 8 ...you do these things to your brethren.) When it comes to defending our Constitutional religious freedoms, it is important to realize that we are not going to court against a PERSON, we are defending the rights that are guaranteed to us by our own law. Some might say, Well, if you do that then you are 'resisting' and the Bible says that we are to be subject to that authority. It is important to see that we are not resisting the authority, we are seeking to come to an agreement about the legalities of an action. Christians should (and they do) submit to authority...that is not the issue, the issue is that our legal rights are upheld. We are not to be troublemakers, but clarifying what the law says that our rights are is not rebellious. |