Really?

Tell us, what's retarded about that.

Without making stuff up that this text doesn't say and doesn't address.

Hint: it doesn't say to do wrong things when the government says to. It doesn't say you have to go along with them.

It means you as a private citizen don't go out and start killing people for not following your politics.

If your governor or county sherrif resist like that and call for help ... the above says nothing about that, and it is legit to offer aid to those doing so.

And the parts that you left out made it incredibly obvious, which is why people usually selectively quote this stuff.



Treat this like any other text in that you should, instead of assuming what it says ... ask a question, and see if the text addresses it.

Who is a ruler?

One who is a terror to bad conduct. Not a person who is terror to good.

One who is a servant to you, following God for your good.

When should you rightly be afraid of the leader and his power?

When you do what's morally wrong. And because the leader follows God, not his assumptions and desires, the leader gets his standard for what's right or wrong fromt he one who knows, God. And the leader subjects himself to that standard too.

Who is the lader an agent of retribution to?

The one who does wrong. Not someone who has done what is right, or who has done something that is not in the category of being right or wrong.

Societies with leaders who are a terror to those who do what is right and who lord it over them and unwisely place lots of power in a central authority are going against reality and they fall apart.

That's a bit presumptuous isn't it?  Holy shit.

@RealityCheck0311

A short 4 parter on WOF/ prosperity gospel

It is terrifying how virulantly anti-christian and hubristic the movement is.

https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?seriesOnly=true&currSection=sermonstopic&sourceid=gracenevada&keyword=The+Prosperity+Gospel&keyworddesc=The+Prosperity+Gospel

https://mp3.sermonaudio.com/download/1230181653501001/1230181653501001.mp3

https://mp3.sermonaudio.com/download/16192038552090/16192038552090.mp3

https://mp3.sermonaudio.com/download/11319182258415/11319182258415.mp3

https://mp3.sermonaudio.com/download/224191823483196/224191823483196.mp3

How about you say clearly what you mean so It can be directly addressed instead of making allusions.

Nobody is forcing you to go to church or read a book.

That doesn’t support The Church.

Sorry i wasn't trying to make an allusion with my quote, i just grabbed where I was reading in an attempt to illustrate how little the Bible resembles a fairy tale.

Most fairy tales are pretty concise and entertaining. The Bible is pretty far from that with pages and pages of genealogy, redundant incredibly detailed instructions on tent construction, precise details on what animal to slaughter and how each of it's parts are to be used, the same story about a person told with subtle variation by 4 different people, letters back and forth about how to do church.

Even the exciting fantastic sounding bits come off pretty dry. If the authors' intent was a fairy tale they really should have focus grouped it or something.

This is (at the very least partially) true. Every Christian I talk to, even among those who attend the same church, have a different interpretation of what the Bible, and especially particular verses, actually mean. If God is omnipotent, then he should have backended this, but alas..

No need to apolgize. I just couldn't sort out what you meant, I figured either I was confused, or you were alluding.

The genres that make up the text of the bible are just not fairy tale.

It's history, it's some poetry but the poetry refers to solid things and such, and some apocalyptic. A whole huge heaping ton of straight up historical "this is what happened."

Oh yes, our society is doing just fine. No societal downfall here.

Don't be so obtuse.

Ideologically captured people are a plague on society.  I think that can include extreme religion people as well.  If you are pushing people away with it, you're missing the point of it.

@FlashMan-7k

Thanks, I'll check it out.

I think religion is a great thing for many people and I've personally known some great pastors that truly lived it 24/7.

Just makes me sad when certain types like the prosperity teachers take advantage of the elderly, or the people barely scraping by.

A lot of those preachers are masters at manipulating people and know exactly what to say.

They're just predators scamming the vulnerable.

YW.

Fair warning, some of that may be pretty upsetting.

The Bible was written at about a 5th grade reading level - when I hear about people that  can’t agree because of “interpretation” ?

That’s a lame excuse - made by hearts that don’t want to believe

The person that wrote that murdered Christians and took pleasure in it. He was very well educated in Jewish religion and he believed in God - He came face to face with Jesus Christ and he repented and believed , then went on to write 1/2 of the New Testament

He never stopped preaching that if God could save him - he could Save anyone that wanted to be saved

Yeah, well, I've met both kinds.

You conveniently ignored Romans 13:3 which provides context and better defines the word translated "damnation" (Strong's G2917) as judicial punishment not eternal damnation. "Every soul" includes the higher powers who will also be judged should they do evil.

Romans 13:3 (NKJV)
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

Don't escalate, but don't be a victim either.

Romans 12:17-18 (NKJV)
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.