Romans 13, 1-7 a Catholic Priest's reply

Father Angel Sotelo replied on Tumblir to my query about the above passage from St Paul: 

If you understand the context in which St. Paul is writing, you will understand that ancient peoples could rarely count on long periods of stability in government, and law and order. They never knew when they might be attacked and killed on the highway, or suffer a home invasion and be left for dead after a robbery. 

The Roman government provided swift justice, if brutal, and due process of law in a highly advanced court system. St. Paul, being a Roman citizen, is stating that when government is doing its job of provided law and order for the flourishing of its citizens, then it is acting in the place of God’s authority and should be obeyed for the common good of society.

Even if this verse were a later form of editing and were not written by St. Paul, that would be irrelevant for the Church, for the words were confirmed as part of canonical and divinely inspired text.

However, you made a leap from confirming the authority of government to confirming the authority of “evil government.” That is the premise which is giving you difficulty.

However, that is a premise which is not in St. Paul’s teaching. Let’s look at Romans 13:3-4 to clarify that St. Paul is not saying all government is always at all times to be upheld as legitimate government:

For rulers are not a cause of fear to good conduct, but to evil. Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, for it is a servant of God for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword without purpose; it is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evildoer.

St. Paul does not spell it out, but he alludes here to the fact that he is speaking of respect for law and order when it is a moral or ethical type of law and order. It exists to punish “evil.” If, however, the governing authority itself is an evildoer, it also will come under the wrath of God. 

Notice in the book of Revelations that when Nero and the emperors of Rome used their power to murder Christians without rhyme or reason, they are referred to as “the beast” of Satan, branded with the number “666” (total evil) and called “Babylon the great, mother of harlots” and of the abominations of the earth.

Revelations states that God is so angry at the injustice of illegitimate government and its political repression of the righteous that He takes terrifying revenge upon “the great whore.” The Scripture goes on to say that God has her encircled by her enemies, who pillage and burn her:

“For true and just are his judgments, who hath judged the great harlot which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath revenged the blood of his servants, at her hands” (Revelations 19:2).

This is why we must always judge whether a command or an order from governmental authority is righteous or unjust, whether it leads to virtue or is sinful, for God will judge us for blind obedience to worldly government. If we look at the context of Scripture quotes, we can read them as they should be read.