How to Think About Citizenship

Overarching theme: Submission to authority does not mean political quietism.

Key concepts to cover:

• The general biblical assumption is that we will submit even to unjust rulers
• Although our context is different, much of the rationale for this remains
• However, even in the New Testament, we see examples of how to appeal to the rights of citizenship to resist unjust authorities (Paul in Acts).
• In our own context, such rights, and institutions for vindicating them, have multiplied and this is the product of Christian civilization
• How Christians should think about lawsuits
• The doctrine of the “lesser magistrate” and its relevance to constitutional mechanisms of resistance
• Just war theory as a paradigm for thinking about resisting unjust authority
• How to think about voting
• How to think about nations and borders