© Bryan Kēhua

I am being a bit cheeky with the title but I did want to lay out some thoughts about Christians protesting against lock downs, especially in light of Brian Tamaki's very public violation of bail conditions by attending a second such protest. Civil disobedience has its place, and Christians need to be critically engaged with their governments' choices.

Romans 13:1-7, an extensive section on the nature of governments from a Christian perspective, exhorts Christians to be obedient to the government that the Lord has placed over them. That is, give them what they are owed, whether that is taxes, honour, respect or your obedience. Jesus Himself was a little more nuanced when he said give to Caesar (the Roman state) what is his and to God what is His (Matthew 22:15-22). It should be remember that they were both referring to an overtly unGodly state apparatus that brought peace at the edge of a sword. And yet Christians were called to obey them.