Below you will find a good discussion that explains why requirements imposed by politicians like former Governor Roy Cooper to shut down churches were in direct violation of scripture. He was forbidding, after all, what God commands!
But, in spite of the “happy talk” in the below video, it also reveals how many of our churches failed this test because they refused to reopen even when government allowed it; and they chose not to resist tyrants like Cooper. Indeed, entire denominations failed this test here in North Carolina.
This is a simplified discussion of political theology. Churches and denominations insufficiently explored this particular aspect of theology during Covid, and certainly failed to act upon it. The exception here in North Carolina is the group of independent Baptist churches who won their suit in federal court:
I got it. Do the things God commands and don’t do the things God the things God forbids.
Romans 13:
Paul writes that government officials are servants of God appointed to maintain order, punish wrongdoers, and reward good behavior.
While submission and respect are required, many theologians note this does not mean blind obedience. When a government demands something that directly disobeys God’s law, Scripture teaches that believers must obey God rather than human authority.
That’s a great summary, Fred, in a nutshell.
I think all the churches and denominations need to take a remedial course in Political Theology.