A critical appropriation of Romans 13:1–7 in contemporary African politics

Abstract

Nothing makes the interpretation of Romans 13:1–7 more problematic than the active presence of repressive regimes around the world. The controversies that the interpretations of the text have raised over the centuries have not been whittled down, particularly in Africa. The text has more often than not been invoked to silence oppositions and criticisms of regimes, while enabling bad regimes to continue in their oppressive dealing with the citizens as a strategy for coercive legitimisation. This article raises two important issues that have not received enough scholarly attention. One, it argues that the text cannot be uncritically and universally applied without impugning on the attributes of God and endorsing illegitimate and repressive regimes. Two, it queries whether Christians are duty-bound to ‘pray for’ regimes that derive their legitimacy from ‘God’s will’ while repressing God’s children. The article suggests a contextual approach to interpreting and applying the text, based on how each regime administers their space. It concludes that Christians should practise spiritual disobedience towards ‘blasphemous regimes’.

Contribution: The article expands the social ethical and political application of Romans 13:1–7 by arguing that the text cannot be universally applied; a particular regime must be evaluated to determine whether or not it should be obeyed or the level of obedience it can garner from the people. Thus, rather than pray for blasphemous regimes, the oppressed should pray against them as a form of spiritual disobedience to the regimes.