civil disobedience

²⁹But Peter and the Apostles responded by saying: “It is necessary to obey God, more so than men.

¹⁷Therefore, he who knows that he ought to do a good thing, and does not do it, for him it is a sin.

¹Let every soul be subject to higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those who have been ordained by God. ²And so, whoever resists authority, resists what has been ordained by God. And those who resist are acquiring damnation for themselves. ³For leaders are not a source of fear to those who work good, but to those who work evil. And would you prefer not to be afraid of authority? Then do what is good, and you shall have praise from them. ⁴For he is a minister of God for you unto good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid. For it is not without reason that he carries a sword. For he is a minister of God; an avenger to execute wrath upon whomever does evil. ⁵For this reason, it is necessary to be subject, not solely because of wrath, but also because of conscience. ⁶Therefore, you must also offer tribute. For they are the ministers of God, serving him in this.

²⁸and said: “We strongly order you not to teach in this name. For behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and you wish to bring the blood of this man upon us.” ²⁹But Peter and the Apostles responded by saying: “It is necessary to obey God, more so than men.

¹Let every soul be subject to higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those who have been ordained by God.

¹⁸And calling them in, they warned them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹Yet truly, Peter and John said in response to them: “Judge whether it is just in the sight of God to listen to you, rather than to God. ²⁰For we are unable to refrain from speaking the things that we have seen and heard.”

¹⁵Then the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews, (one of whom one was called Shiphrah, another Puah) ¹⁶instructing them: “When you will act as a midwife to the Hebrew women, and the time of delivery has arrived: if it is male, put it to death; if it is female, retain it.” ¹⁷But the midwives feared God, and so they did not act according to the precept of the king of Egypt, but they kept the males safe. ¹⁸And summoning them, the king said, “What did you intend to do, so that you would save the boys?” ¹⁹They responded: “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. For they themselves have the wisdom of a midwife, and so they give birth before we can come to them.” ²⁰Therefore, God acted favorably toward the midwives. And the people increased, and they were strengthened exceedingly.

¹King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ²Then king Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather together the governors, magistrates and judges, generals and sovereigns and commanders, and all the leaders of the regions, to come together for the dedication of the statue, which king Nebuchadnezzar had raised. ³Then the governors, magistrates and judges, generals and sovereigns and nobles, who were appointed to power, and all the leaders of the regions were brought together so as to convene for the dedication of the statue, which king Nebuchadnezzar had raised. And so they stood before the statue that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴And a herald proclaimed loudly, “To you it is said, to you peoples, tribes, and languages, ⁵that in the hour when you will hear the sound of the trumpet and the pipe and the lute, the harp and the psaltery, and of the symphony and every kind of music, you must fall down and adore the gold statue, which king Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶But if anyone will not bow down and adore, in the same hour he will be cast into a furnace of burning fire.”

¹³Therefore, be subject to every human creature because of God, whether it is to the king as preeminent,

⁴⁰And calling in the Apostles, having beaten them, they warned them not to speak at all in the name of Jesus. And they dismissed them. ⁴¹And indeed, they went forth from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer insult on behalf of the name of Jesus. ⁴²And every day, in the temple and among the houses, they did not cease to teach and to evangelize Christ Jesus.

¹⁵Therefore, if you are prepared now, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, pipe, lute, harp and psaltery, and of the symphony and every kind of music, prostrate yourselves and adore the statue which I have made. But if you will not adore, in the same hour you will be cast into the furnace of burning fire. And who is the God that will rescue you from my hand?” ¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “It is not right for us to obey you in this matter. ¹⁷For behold our God, whom we worship, is able to rescue us from the oven of burning fire and to free us from your hands, O king. ¹⁸But even if he will not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not worship your gods, nor adore the gold statue, which you have raised up.”

¹It pleased Darius, and so he appointed over the kingdom one hundred twenty governors, to be placed throughout his whole kingdom. ²And over these, three leaders, of whom Daniel was one, so that the governors would be accountable to them and the king would have no trouble. ³And so Daniel excelled above all the leaders and governors, because a greater spirit of God was in him. ⁴Furthermore, the king considered setting him over the entire kingdom; whereupon the leaders and the governors sought to find a complaint against Daniel and in favor of the king. And they could find no case, or even suspicion, because he was faithful, and no fault or suspicion was found in him. ⁵Therefore, these men said, “We will not find any complaint against this Daniel, unless it is against the law of his God.” ⁶Then the leaders and governors took the king aside privately and spoke to him in this way: “King Darius, live forever.

¹⁰Now when Daniel learned of this, namely, that the law had been established, he entered his house, and, opening the windows in his upper room towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and he adored and gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do previously. ¹¹Therefore, these men, inquiring diligently, discovered that Daniel was praying and making supplication to his God. ¹²And they approached and spoke to the king about the edict. “O king, did you not decree that every man who makes a request to any of the gods or men for thirty days, except to yourself, O king, would be cast into the den of lions?” To which the king replied, saying, “The sentence is true, and according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, it is not lawful to violate it.” ¹³Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, of the sons of the captivity of Judah, is not concerned about your law, nor about the decree that you have established, but three times a day he prays his supplication.”

¹Admonish them to be subordinate to the rulers and authorities, to obey their dictates, to be prepared for every good work,

¹⁷Obey your leaders and be subject to them. For they watch over you, as if to render an account of your souls. So then, may they do this with joy, and not with grief. Otherwise, it would not be as helpful to you.

²⁷And when they had brought them, they stood them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸and said: “We strongly order you not to teach in this name. For behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and you wish to bring the blood of this man upon us.” ²⁹But Peter and the Apostles responded by saying: “It is necessary to obey God, more so than men. ³⁰The God of our fathers has raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging him on a tree. ³¹It is he whom God has exalted at his right hand as Ruler and Savior, so as to offer repentance and the remission of sins to Israel. ³²And we are witnesses of these things, with the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to all who are obedient to him.”

⁷Therefore, render to all whatever is owed. Taxes, to whom taxes is due; revenue, to whom revenue is due; fear, to whom fear is due; honor, to whom honor is due.

²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.

¹Let every soul be subject to higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those who have been ordained by God. ²And so, whoever resists authority, resists what has been ordained by God. And those who resist are acquiring damnation for themselves. ³For leaders are not a source of fear to those who work good, but to those who work evil. And would you prefer not to be afraid of authority? Then do what is good, and you shall have praise from them. ⁴For he is a minister of God for you unto good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid. For it is not without reason that he carries a sword. For he is a minister of God; an avenger to execute wrath upon whomever does evil. ⁵For this reason, it is necessary to be subject, not solely because of wrath, but also because of conscience. ⁶Therefore, you must also offer tribute. For they are the ministers of God, serving him in this.

¹¹Jesus responded, “You would not have any authority over me, unless it were given to you from above. For this reason, he who has handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

¹⁷Therefore, tell us, how does it seem to you? Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said: “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin of the census tax.” And they offered him a denarius. ²⁰And Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” ²¹They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Then render to Caesar what is of Caesar; and to God what is of God.” ²²And hearing this, they wondered. And having left him behind, they went away.