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July 12, 2018
Father Gerald D. Coleman, PSS
The attorney general of the United States recently proclaimed, “I would cite you the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.” The White House press secretary agreed, “It’s a moral policy to follow and enforce the law.”
This appeal to the Scriptures implies that God supports the government in its immigration policies to separate immigrant parents from their children, of prosecuting everyone who crosses the border from Mexico, and to bolster the government’s denial of asylum to women fleeing domestic violence, and families escaping gang aggression.
The attorney general’s statement is an attempt to manipulate the Scriptures to justify the government’s political agenda.
This uneducated appeal to the Scriptures has created an unprecedented outcry from leaders of many faith communities, including Jews, Muslims, Protestants, and Catholics. The National Association of Evangelicals pleaded for a protection of families and condemned the closure of asylum for immigrants fleeing danger.
The Southern Baptist Convention “declared that any form of nativism, mistreatment or exploitation is inconsistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The Roman Catholic bishops classified immigration policies a “right to life” issue, a language too often applied only to abortion and euthanasia. The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said, “Separating babies from their mothers is … immoral.”
During May alone, more than 700 children were separated from their parents and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency admitted that during this same period “the government lost track of 1,475 children.”
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities” is the opening verse of Romans 13. It has been misused many times in the past, for example, to defend southern slavery in the 1840s and 1850s, to legitimize Hitler and the authoritarian rule in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, to support South African apartheid from the 1940s to the early 1990s.
This misuse of the Scriptures demonstrates a woeful ignorance of Paul’s letter to the Romans. In Chapter 13, he insists that all authority comes from God and assumes that civil authorities are conducting themselves rightly and are seeking the interests of the community (verses 1-7). Paul is clear: Civil authorities are God’s agents working for the good of society (verse 4). He urged “mutual love” (verse 8) when this authority is meeting its moral commitments.
Paul was aware of imperiled authority and persecutions that were taking place against Christians. He penned Romans when Nero was the Roman emperor, the civil ruler who took unscrupulous delight in pouring oil on Christians to set them on fire to light his garden at night. Paul would never have urged obedience to this type of deranged dictator.
Matthew 25 is the Magna Carta for Christian living: When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink, when I was hungry, you fed me, and when I was a stranger you took me in. Paul enshrined this mandate in Romans 13, “Owe to no one anything, except to love one another … Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” (verses 8-10)
Current immigration policies fail to exemplify Matthew 25, do not demonstrate love of neighbor, and misrepresent the authentic responsibilities of civic leaders.
Sulpician Father Gerald D. Coleman is adjunct professor, Graduate Department of Pastoral Ministries, Santa Clara University.