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Romans 13
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“This is one of the short videos I recorded for my church, which I’ve been doing daily since the COVID lockdown started. I recorded it before I knew about the rioting and looting in protest of the death of George Floyd. I had received questions from my flock about whether Christians may, or even should, protest police brutality, considering Romans 13 tells us to submit to government.” - Clint Archer

Discussion

Mon, 06/01/20

Somehow, Paul’s words to the magistrate in Acts 16 come to mind. When he was whipped without trial, Paul stood up for not only himself, but everyone who would come before that magistrate, by insisting that the magistrate come into the jail and release him himself.

Regarding the talk, it would be interesting to see the pastor involved interacting with someone like Joel Schaffer, who has personally witnessed “DWB” (driving while black) citations and the like. For my part, when I hear “take it up with the courts”, the response is “tell poor people working two jobs and unable to pay a lawyer to do so.”

That, again, might be a bit of why Paul said that to the jailers. Then, as now, it was not always easy to find and pay an “orator” who would bring one’s case before authorities.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Mon, 06/01/20

I watched it. Dr. Archer wrongly assumes that the overall present criminal justice system-including laws, procedures, and agencies are non-biased and fair. There are aspects that are not. There are little or no checks and balances to keep overzealous prosecutors from abusing their powers. Public defenders have overworked caseloads and cannot adequately represent the defendants. I’ve had many of my former students that were overcharged by prosecutors and were advised to take a plea deal even when they did not commit 3 or 4 of the 5 crimes that they were charged with. They should’ve got 6 months to a year but end up in prison for 7 or so years. If they plead not-guilty and lost the case against them, they would’ve spent 20 or more years in prison. Or even the idea of private prisons, which are more prevalent in the Bible- belt South (with hardly any in the North) which incentivizes over-criminalizing the population to make sure they are filled so that they can be profitable. Also, Police Immunity laws and powerful police unions often keep bad cops from being sued or fired. There needs to be a compromised adjustment of the law where police cannot plead immunity so easily when police brutality or fatalities take place. And as much as police unions have been a positive force for good in making sure police are taken care of when it comes to benefits or helping the families of fallen officers, it has been on the wrong side of justice on several occasions, including opposing the First Step Act, a Trump-supported criminal justice reform bill that improved Obama’s Fair Sentencing Act.