False Syllogism (5)

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established (Rom 13:1b).

The traditional interpretation of these verses says that we must submit to all political authorities, because there authority is from God. This a false syllogism. To see the twisted logic, look at the following sets of statements.

All authority is ordained by God
Hitler has authority
Therefore Hitler is ordained by God, so we must submit to him.

This following example exaggerates the point.

All authority is ordained by God
Satan has authority
Therefore Satan is ordained by God, so we must submit to him.

That is not true.
The correct logic is as follows.

All legitimate authority is from God.
Hitler and Satan are hostile to God
Therefore, the authority of Hitler and Satan is illegitimate.

The statement that all authority is ordained by God cannot be used as to legitimise any and every political authority.

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