Pay to all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due,
revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honour to whom honour
is due.45
[Christians] reside in their own nations, but as resident
aliens. They participate in all things as citizens and endure all things as
foreigners. . . . They obey the established laws and their way of life
surpasses the laws. . . . So noble is the position to which God has assigned
them that they are not allowed to desert it.46
The Apostle exhorts us to offer prayers and thanksgiving for
kings and all who exercise authority, "that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way."47.
Notice it does not give an obligation to vote in a federal election? By the way, voting in local elections is still voting, but I think like Fr Dwight Longenecker (Patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead) calls it the "Amish option". Jimmy Akin (JimmyAkin.com) said during the election in 2012 that it would be better to sit out of an election in certain circumstances. Mark Shea (who gets a lot of undeserved hate), at www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/ has given reasons (very good ones) not to vote in presidential elections. He has done it more than once, so you have to search. I personally think the two-party system is a problem. But hey, what do I know? My grandfather was just a politician, it's not like me and Grandpa didn't talk about this.
Trump actually ended up being a pretty good president, and the whole torture thing was not actually an issue...we never went to war.
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