If you read the New Testament in its original Greek it becomes obvious that Newt Gingrich is hated by God and can in no wise be elevated to be his minister, his deacon, or the President of the United States. I knew this instinctively, as I use common sense, but it is nice to see the exegesis that proves it.
One things troubles me, however. If God ordains the president, then we have no reason to worry. Why exercise our reasoning thingies and let our stress hormones fly when we are assured that whomever is elected president is God’s choice?
I don’t have to knock doors or make phone calls or donate money. I don’t even need to have a preference.
…Paul makes clear in v. 1, “[T]here is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Every politician, whether he knows it or not, is using delegated power, delegated authority, authority delegated to him by God himself.
Nothing can go wrong.
Ahhh, you have brought up the whole god conundrum. If god is all wise, all knowing and all powerful, then he already knows what is going to happen in November. In fact, whatever happens is his will, as it has been preordained and known to him since he created this whole mess. So the whole praying thing, asking for his guidance in choosing the President, asking him to anoint a particular person, in addition to the whole campaigning thing you point out is a completely and totally moot point. It is all just a big waste of time. An exercise in futility. Because god is not going to change his mind about his original decision. That would imply that his original knowledge about who was going to be elected in 2012 was wrong. And we can’t have that. He is, after all, god.
So sit back and enjoy the ride. God is in the pilot seat. Ain’t that AFA kind of faith great???
You can justify the divine right of kings with exactly the same argument. And many people did.
It provides a nice answer to, “who died and put you in charge?” doesn’t it?
Damn, sounds like Ron Paul needs to be recruiting his campaign volunteers from Bob Jones University.
I’m having trouble reconciling this idea with the fact that so much of this authority is directly and undeniably used to commit at least one of the 7 deadly sins.
I think the SNL writers about nailed it the other week, Jesus-wise:
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/tebow/1374394
Now we need to get a response from this guy when it’s pointed out that that means that God put Obama in the White House.
HA! He must be a cafeteria Christian.
What!!!???
You mean…Ron Paul said that, too!!!
Wow!!!
I’d really better rethink my positions!!!
Oh.
Wait a minute?
What’s that?
It was some other “Paul” who said that?
Oh.
Nevermind.
I’m going to go talk to my freind the Church Lady and get this all straightened out. She’s for a Rick Perry/Rasputin ticket, herself. Isn’t that special!!!
Yore freind too,
Emiliy Litella
Just you wait. Ron Paul will say that at some point. 🙂
Well Tarheel…
I studied for years with people who might be called “Sufis” if they allowed themselves be called anything…which they did not…nor did they use the word “God” or anything close to that term. No “names” of God, no nuthin’. But they did speak of a perfect universe…a living and evolving universe, vast beyond our comprehension.
Perfect.
Hmmmm…
I’ve got no beef with that lick of St. Paul’s. Not when seen through the undarkened glass.
More from Paul:
Just another cranky old dude, I guess.
Right?
Hmmmmm….
AG
As cranky as they come.
Totally ruined an otherwise harmless message of peace to persons of goodwill. He’s like the Ray Kroc of Christ.
Except for the fact that the intent of Paul’s statement in context is a warning for the authority in power, not complacency of the people.
Delegated power is free to be abused. That is why we need to reason things out. And that is why things can go wrong. And in democracies, that power is delegated to the people first (Jefferson, Declaration of Independence). They become the instrument of God’s power.
Besides, this is not God’s claim, it is Paul’s claim.
There’s the theological argument against your superficial reading.
A lot of the other stuff is from assigning to the “person” signified by the symbol “God” the powers that human beings in the Ancient World ascribed to emperors and kings.
In spite of the claims, it’s human beings who write and copy the sacred texts and in a variety of human languages incapable of expressing the WTF character of existence.
But isn’t it great to poke fun at the hubris of the politico-religious right?
I’m pretty sure she knows what she’s doing.
.
Newt’s third spouse is a born Catholic and is seen more active in his campaign in recent days. Oh no, Newt converted to Catholicism … how can that be!
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."LAMENT OF THE NEWT…
Were I hard-favoured, foul or wrinkled old,
Ill-nurtured, crooked, churlish, harsh in voice,
O’er-worn, despised, rheumatic, and cold,
Thick-sighted, barren. lean, and lacking juice,
Then mightst thou pause, for then I were not for thee,
But having no defects, why dost thou abhor me ?
Thou canst not see one wrinkle in my brow;
Mine eyes are grey, and bright, and quick in turning,
My beauty as the spring doth yearly grow,
My flesh is soft and plump, my marrow burning;
My smooth moist hand, were it with thy hand felt,
Would in thy palm dissolve, or seem to melt,
`Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear,
Or, like a fairy, trip upon the green,
Or, like a nymph, with long dishevell’d hair,
Dance on the sands, and yet no footing seen:
Love is a spirit all compact of fire,
Not gross to sink, but light, and will aspire
(from Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare)