God didn’t give Trump OK to attack North Korea
As a pastor, I take an active interest in the immorality of war — nuclear or otherwise — not to mention the reality of a president who might plunge us into such a war. Because I don’t believe that President Trump wastes much time worrying about what Jesus would do, I have reserved my disappointment for those who do claim to preoccupy themselves with that question.
I remain baffled by the evangelical wing of Christianity, which sees in Trump a possible champion for Christian values. Trump has done nothing that if Jesus showed up on the scene would cause him to say, “Yeah, nice job! That’s totally what I had in mind.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that Robert Jeffress, a fundamentalist megachurch preacher, released a statement showing support for the president’s saber-rattling. But this one makes me ashamed to say that he and I share the same religious designation.
Jeffress says: “When it comes to how we should deal with evildoers, the Bible, in the book of Romans, is very clear. God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary — including war — to stop evil. In the case of North Korea, God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un.”
First of all, Jeffress couldn’t interpret the Christian Scriptures well ... even by accident. He is proof that we shouldn’t let people roam Scripture without adult supervision.
Why do I say that? Jeffress is referencing Romans 13, in which Paul admonishes Ro- man Christians to subject themselves to the governing authorities, who have been placed where they are by God. Therefore, to resist such an authority is to resist God. Paul makes that appeal to avoid provoking Caesar. Why? Because Christians were assumed to be political subversives, and Christianity was already in a weak and vulnerable position. In effect, Paul says keep your heads down; don’t give Caesar any reason to lower the boom.
Romans 13 wasn’t meant to be a universal admonition to all people to do whatever the governing powers tell you to do. If it were, then one would have to conclude Kim has as much claim to divine legitimacy as Trump does.
“Yes, but we’re a Christian nation,” Jeffress might say. “North Korea is a heathen nation.” Two things:
►We’re not a Christian nation — and God help us if we ever were. Because if we were, biblical illiterates disguised as patriots would be high priests, and actual Christianity would disappear.
►Even if we were, God forbid, a Christian nation, that wouldn’t have any relevance to this nuclear discussion. When Paul made his instruction in Romans 13, Rome wasn’t a Christian nation, either.
People who follow Jesus, a man executed by that same Roman government in the name of extinguishing challenges to its authority, should always be suspicious of those who claim to know whom the state should “take out,” especially if they also claim it should be done on God’s behalf.