Quick Poll: Should Hutterites in Alberta Be Required To Have Their Photo On Drivers Licenses?

Submitted by editorkevin on 9 March 2010 - 11:34pm

Re: Quick Poll: Should Hutterites in Alberta Be Required To ...

Submitted by KJuneBug on 10 March 2010 - 12:12pm.

I was studying my Bible last night and these verses popped out at me, in regard to Christian citizenship.

Titus 3:2 says "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey maginstrates, to be ready to every good work." This verse then refers to Romans 13:1, which says,

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." The notes for this verse state this; "Subjection to governement is the obligation of all mankind, not just Christians. It is not optional, but an absolute necessity.

And 1Peter 2:13-17 says, "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; (14) Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. (15) For so is the will of God that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foollish men: (16) As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as servants of God. (17) Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king."

And finally, Act 5:29; which says "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." And the study notes state: Peter is not sanctioning civil disobedience, as he made clear in 1Peter 2:13-17 and in Romans 13:1-7. We are to obey civil governament, but when contrary to the explicit commands of God, we must obey God and be ready to suffer the consequences.

So that's what the Bible says about our civic duty; photo ID's**, not using rubber wheels, properly situated outhouses and bulding codes are all civil ordinances, and the Bible is clear that we are to obey those civic laws. The above items are not against any of God's commands-

**In Exodus 20:4, the 2nd of the 10 commanments states, "Thou shalt not make unto to thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:" No where in the commandment, does it state that images of anything ON the earth is a problem.

I've always sided with the Anabaptists in their fights, it's pretty clear where God stands in all this. I'm all for traditions and simple living, but those are not ordinances of God. Just as civil laws have been written by man, so have the Anabaptist standards for living, and not modernizing. Even Jesus was not able to escape the civil laws of the land, as Acts 5:30 states; "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree" As these groups come up against civil leaders that are Christians and well read in the Bible, they are going to have a tough time upholding their traditions.

Re: Quick Poll: Should Hutterites in Alberta Be Required To ...

Submitted by Mommyspoor on 11 March 2010 - 10:14am.

KJuneBug, I don't believe that the original Hebrew texts giving the command about not making graven images uses prepositions the way the English language does. When it says "in the earth," it means exactly the same as when we say "on the earth."

In many, many places in the Bible it is made clear that followers are NOT to follow the rulers in all things. Daniel and his friends were resolved not to eat the rich foods the king provided and, by acting respectfully, were able to get an exemption. Daniel refused to worship the king. Many martyrs for Christ were killed because they would not recuse their faith in God and adopt the religion of the state.

Clearly there are some instances when we cannot follow the rules of government and remain faithful followers of Christ.

Re: Quick Poll: Should Hutterites in Alberta Be Required To ...

Submitted by KJuneBug on 11 March 2010 - 1:15pm.

Unfortunately I only have my English Bible, I'm not versed in Hebrew and/or Greek. God gave me these scriptures the other night, I was not seeking at that moment, His answer to the questions I had on these issues. I'm very comfortable with the answers He gave me.

According to the FreeDictionary (onlline) a graven image is two things; "An idol or fetish carved in wood or stone" or "(Christian Religious Writings / Bible) Chiefly Bible a carved image used as an idol. Unless these folks are planning on worshipping/idolizing their drivers license pics, it's doesn't fall under the category of "graven image."

Romans 13, outlines our requirement to "Honour Authority"; Titus 3:1 - states "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work" By resisting the local laws, they are actually not following God's Holy word.

Yes, I know the story of Daniel who was told by King Nebuchadnesser that he could no longer pray to God; that is clearly an instance where we as faithful Christians could not follow the local law. Paul, also disobeyed local laws, in order to share the Good News; and when jailed, God brought down the walls of the prison for Paul to escape. Neither Paul nor Daniel complained to their jailers about the injustice they had been served up. And remember, Paul ended up being beheaded in the end.

I stand firm on this one, you want to drive a car like the rest of the WORLD, then your going to have to get your picture taken, in order to get the license, like the rest of the world. If you don't wish to have your picture taken, then don't drive a car! It's pretty cut and dried. This is not a Biblical issue and this is not one of those instances when they cannot follow the rules of government and remain faithful followers of Christ.

Re: Quick Poll: Should Hutterites in Alberta Be Required To ...

Submitted by Mommyspoor on 10 March 2010 - 10:52am.

If religious conviction is of enough importance to constitutional rights to allow exclusion from military service, it should be of enough importance to allow exclusion from driver's license photos. Most photos are so outdated as to be of little help in identifying people, anyway.