Defending the Constitution

This evening I was reading on one of my favorite gun forums and in the Second Amendment Discussion section of that forum I ran onto a topic I have been pondering for a while now. The basic topic was, Is a Christian allowed to participate in civil disobedience to defend the Constitution? Apparently I have not been the only one pondering this lately so I am posting my conclusions here. I make no claims to have the correct answer here. However, at this point this is the conclusion I have arrived at after much thought a prayer.

As a Christian (albeit far from a perfect one..I admit that up front) I have pondered the same issue.

The first Issue I had to resolve was the priority of obedience. In a fallen world it is impossible to be perfectly obedient at all times. There are many "catch 22s" in this world. In those cases our only choice is to choose the lesser of two evils or the higher of two goods.

I do agree that we are to obey our authorities and are instructed to do so by our Christian teachings. However, I do not see anywhere in scripture where obeying authority is given as the ultimate obedience in light of injustice.

There are higher principles that the Christian is to obey. The principles of Justice and Righteousness come to mind. When we are in situations where we see people being oppressed and treated unjustly, the greater good is to work or fight for Justice even at the cost of civil disobedience.

The second issue I had to resolve is Exactly what is our government in this country?

We do not live under a king or a noble aristocracy as Phalanx pointed out. There is no hierarchy of "anointed" royal ancestry set over us as a king or emperor. Although most of our legislators and judges have woefully forgotten that fact.

We live under a representative republic who's law is based on a foundational document, Our Constitution. This republic is set up in such a way that "we the people" are empowered by the Constitution to rule ourselves through the representatives WE elect to "enact" the rule of law set forth in that founding document.

"We the people" are the rulers of this country. We hire, through election, (and pay taxes to pay their salary and benefits) legislators and administrators to do the footwork of that self rule. We are the employer... They work for us! That is why it is called PUBLIC SERVICE in this country. Another fact our SERVANTS have woefully forgotten.

This is why every soldier's first oath is to protect the Constitution from enemies abroad and "at home". Their second oath is to obey the President of the United States. This implies they day may come when the military has to disobey or maybe even apprehend/arrest the president in order to protect the Constitution.

This principle in our system of self governance is exactly why the Second Amendment is in our Constitution. Because the day may come when "we the people" have no other choice but to toss our SERVANTS out of the vineyard by force.

Because that is the system of government we have, I have come to firmly beleive God honors our fighting to keep our constitutional rights safe and justice in tact...even if our only choice left is a violent one.

The greater disobedience is to set by and watch as our Servants chisel away at the rights we are guaranteed by the Constitution without reprimand. That is being a poor steward of your government.

I do beleive violence should be the absolute last resort. Vote, petition,demonstrate, heck even riot first. That said, If all other resources and methods have been exhausted and the people's rights are still being oppressed, I do not believe it is sin to take up arms and defend the constitution against tyranny.

God bless,

Ray

Here is a link to the original forum thread
Greybeard outdoors forum