Christian flags and Jesus T-shirts are visible in the footage from the Trump Insurrection against the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2021. One of the most disturbing images from the video presented by the committee this past week was of a flag pole on which there was a US flag and a Christian flag being used to jab a police officer trying to defend the Capitol. Anyone in that mob who claims to be a Christian needs to be called out. There's absolutely no justification whatsoever for a sincere follower of Jesus Christ to be involved in an insurrection of any kind, especially not a violent one. The Bible's writers call that kind of behavior "antichrist." I call it sinful, and substantiate my claim with the scriptures Christians claim are authoritative in all matters of Christian faith and practice.
Lying is Sinful and the Reason Behind the January 6th Trump Insurrection is a Lie
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Exodus 20:7, NRSV
Claiming that there was massive voter fraud, and that the 2020 Presidential election was "stolen" from Trump is a lie. I'm not even going to argue that point here, there is so much evidence out there, including much of it from pseudo-auditors paid by Trump supporters to sift through ballots in six states, five in which the state legislature allowed it, none of whom found even a small piece of evidence to prove anything but that the vote totals were accurate. Believing a lie makes one a liar.
It's possible for a reasonably intelligent person with a high school diploma to do some research, find facts, develop an understanding of how elections work, including the process for protecting the integrity of the vote and the safeguards to prevent fraud, look at specific information regarding this election and see that the "evidence" presented by Trump's campaign was not credible, while the evidence presented by every secretary of state in every state they sued was consistently accurate, and discern the truth. It is also possible to look at the conspiracy theories and the stories of fraud, and determine that they are false and lack credibility. And regardless of personal bias toward a favored candidate, someone with integrity, a Christian who understands this commandment, would not defend a lie even if it is to their advantage, because it dishonors their faith in God.
We now know, from the testimony of multiple individuals in the Trump Administration, that everyone knew there was no evidence of any fraud, and that they knew, by their own inside information, that the vote totals in the six states Trump tried to challenge and accuse of fraud, were accurate. They knew that he had lost and they knew his claim that the election was stolen was a lie.
Carrying a Christian flag into a violent insurrectionist mob that intended to kidnap, torture and murder members of Congress, and who did murder five police officers, is exactly what commandment number 3 warns against doing. The flag represents Jesus, the pledge that goes along with it declares allegiance "to the savior for whose Kingdom it stands." I do not know whether the individual who carried that particular banner, and used it as a weapon against a police officer who was protecting the Capitol and doing his job, was a Christian or not but that really doesn't matter. What matters is that what they did with it was a sin, for which the commandment says there is no acquittal from the Lord.
Three of the gospel writers reference blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as "unforgiveable." An act such as this, the violent misuse of a symbol of the Kingdom of God, would qualify, since the flag represents the spiritual kingdom Jesus established through the Holy Spirit. Bringing the flag to this insurrection is an indication that the person who did it knew exactly what they were doing. There are no excuses for supporting a lie. And there are spiritual consequences for doing so. A sincere Christian with an understanding of the faith would know this.
The Example of Jesus in the Face of Arrest is the Most Powerful Argument Against Participating in Violent Insurrection by Christians
John's gospel account of Jesus' arrest is the most comprehensive record of what occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane. And it is the single most powerful argument for the Christian virtue of peace, versus rebellion and violence, anywhere in the Bible.
Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, "For whom are you looking?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
When Jesus said to them, "I am he", they stepped back and fell to the ground. John 18:4-6 NRSV
This would have been the point, in Jesus' ministry, when he could have started an insurrection against the Temple guards and Jewish authorities who had come to arrest him. And in fact, at least one of his disciples, Peter, who had brought a sword for this purpose, attempted to take some action.
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the High Priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given to me"? John 18:10-11, NRSV
In one of the other gospel accounts of this moment, after Peter wields the sword, Jesus tells him, "No more of this" then touches the slave's ear and heals him. And he tells the Temple guards, "Have you come out with clubs and swords as if I were a bandit?"
According to John's account, Jesus had the power to resist arrest, and in fact, to completely overcome the Temple guard, contained in the spiritual power of his spoken word. When he identified himself, according to John, the guards fell to the ground. But to use that power to save himself would have been a complete rejection of who he was, and of his reason for existing. He is the one who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the Sons of God," along with "Love your enemies and pray for those who despitefully use you," and "turn the other cheek also," to the one who hits you in the face first.
So who is the enemy against whom the insurrectionists are fighting and where is there any justification in Christian doctrine or theology for joining it? There is nothing in the politics surrounding the January 6th insurrection or the 2020 election that demands Christians deny their faith and act in a manner that violates their spiritual convictions, which would be the only justification for an act of civil disobedience. But there is no justification in any Christian teaching for taking up arms and committing violence, especially against a civil government that protects their religious freedom.
Is Civil Disobedience Ever Justified in Christian Doctrine?
There's no record in the New Testament, other than the crucifixion of Jesus, which provides an example for acceptable civil disobedience by Christians to a government that is persecuting the church or forcing its members to violate their convictions and their faith. Jesus didn't resist the civil authority, nor did he resist the religious authority of the Jewish Sanhedrin that asked the Roman government to carry out his execution on their behalf.
Two of the early church's apostles, Peter and Paul, both provide clear principles instructing the church's relationship with civil government which, for almost all of their audience, was the Roman Emperor and his agents.
For the Lord's sake, accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor. I Peter 2:13-17, NRSV
Peter is specific about who the governing authorities are, and how Christians were to submit to their authority. The emperor's authority was absolute, and the Christians had no say or voice in the decisions they made.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement. Romans 13:1-2, NRSV
Neither apostle makes an exception to this. Paul's obedience to the law and his respect for the authority of the governing authorities was key to his ability to continue to preach the gospel. He appealed to his Roman citizenship for protection against attacks from those who were seeking to silence him, submitted to the authority of the emperor, but was able to continue in his ministry in spite of a house arrest, because of the posture he took toward governing authorities.
Both Paul and Peter were executed by the Roman government, though the scripture doesn't record either event. But even in the record of those events, there's no rebellion or insurrection and they went to their death testifying to the veracity of their Christian faith by their obedience. Their example was followed by the church which, during the various waves of persecution that occurred in the first two centuries of its existence. In their obedience to the instruction of these two apostles, and to the example of Jesus, many Christians went to a horrible death, but their testimony was so visible, and so powerful, that by the time the persecution of the church under the Roman government ended during the reign of Constantine, Christianity had grown into the largest religious group in the empire.
The Roman authorities that persecuted the church were not acting on God's behalf. They were abusing the authority that God had given them. Ultimately, as a result of that, God, in his own timing and according to his own will, turned that around to the benefit of the church. Christianity became the most influential world religion as a result of the obedience of its adherents to these instructions. At that point, the Emperors who ascended to the throne were professing Christians and it was that marriage of Christian faith with political power that let to the corruption of the church.
Insurrection against the governing authorities by the church would have resulted in its demise. Give that some thought at this point in the 21st century.
The other example of "civil disobedience" frequently cited in response to using these two passages from Peter and Paul as an argument against the Christian's use of violence is that of Daniel. Noting that Daniel is an Old Testament prophet, who lived before either Peter or Paul made those statements, Daniel is still not an example that permits Christians to choose violent insurrection as a means of overthrowing a government they consider "unjust," especially if there's no evidence to support that claim.
There are two instances in the historical record of Daniel which are cited as support for the "exception" to Peter and Paul's principles. However, neither of those examples support that contention. In both cases, Daniel, and the three Israelite young men known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, did not resist the authority of the king when it came to a law that they believed was unjust according to their faith. They still submitted to the governing authorities. Even if you think of this as allegorical rather than historical, there is no resorting to rebellion against the authority, or to force. The response is to accept the consequences for disobedience to the civil law, and trust in deliverance from God.
According to Biblical principle, even if a law handed down by the civil government was unjust, there is no justification at all for a Christian to participate in an armed, violent insurrection or, in fact, in any kind of attempt to overthrow the civil government. There's been no abuse of the Christian church in America, of any kind. Even if the premises of those who organized the January 6th insurrection had been accurate, there was still no justification for Christian participation in it. Of course, the evidence has now been laid out and is known that the premise for the insurrection was a lie, and everyone involved, including the former President's inner circle of close advisors, his own children, his attorneys and he himself knew it.
That makes it indefensible. I hope those who claim to be Christians, and who carried those Christian symbols and flags into that seditious insurrection, have appealed to God for his grace and forgiveness, and did not misuse God's name in a manner that denies their acquital.
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