{"id":661,"date":"2026-08-14T17:38:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/?p=661"},"modified":"2026-08-14T17:38:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:38:33","slug":"hi-gem-would-you-say-through-the-description-in-paulus-people-should-honor-the-laws-of-a-country-including-the-opiumlaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/?p=661","title":{"rendered":"Hi gem, would you say through the description in Paulus people should honor the law(s) of a country including the opiumlaw?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/paymentdue.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/paymentdue.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/baarda.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/paymentdue-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/baarda.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/paymentdue-768x419.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, based on the letters of Paul (Paulus)\u2014most notably <strong>Romans 13:1\u20137<\/strong>\u2014the general framework requires honoring civil laws, including regulations like the Opium Act (<em>Opiumwet<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Paul\u2019s Direct Teaching on Civil Law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <strong>Romans 13:1\u20132<\/strong>, Paul explicitly addresses a believer&#8217;s duty toward governing authorities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#171;Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed&#8230;&#187;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul wrote this to the church in Rome under Roman rule. His argument rests on a few key points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Order and Good Governance:<\/strong> Authorities exist to maintain civic order, reward good conduct, and restrain harmful behavior (Romans 13:3\u20134).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Conscience, Not Just Fear:<\/strong> Citizens should obey laws not only to avoid punishment, but as a matter of moral conscience before God (Romans 13:5).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Civic Obligations:<\/strong> This obedience includes practical duties like paying taxes, paying customs, and showing proper respect to magistrates (Romans 13:6\u20137).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Applying Paul&#8217;s Framework to the Opium Law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Civil laws regulating controlled substances\u2014such as the Opium Act\u2014are instituted by government bodies to safeguard public health, safety, and social order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under Paul\u2019s logic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>No Conflict with Divine Duty:<\/strong> Obeying drug laws does not force a person to violate God&#8217;s moral commands.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promoting the Common Good:<\/strong> Laws controlling dangerous substances fall directly under the authority&#8217;s mandate to protect society from harm.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stewardship of the Body:<\/strong> Elsewhere, Paul emphasizes self-control and keeping one&#8217;s mind and body sound (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:19\u201320), which aligns with avoiding substance abuse.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. The Theological Exception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In broader Christian ethics derived from Paul and the New Testament, the only recognized exception to obeying civil law is <strong>when human law directly forces a believer to disobey God&#8217;s commands<\/strong> (such as forcing idolatry or forbidding worship). Because the Opium Act strictly regulates or prohibits certain harmful substances without commanding anything contrary to Christian faith, Paul&#8217;s letters offer no basis for breaking it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, based on the letters of Paul (Paulus)\u2014most notably Romans 13:1\u20137\u2014the general framework requires honoring civil laws, including regulations like the Opium Act (Opiumwet). 1. Paul\u2019s Direct Teaching on Civil Law In Romans 13:1\u20132, Paul explicitly addresses a believer&#8217;s duty toward governing authorities: &#171;Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/?p=661\" class=\"more-link\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">&#171;Hi gem, would you say through the description in Paulus people should honor the law(s) of a country including the opiumlaw?&#187;<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=661"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":663,"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661\/revisions\/663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baarda.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}