Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
In Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, Saint Paul says that Christians should be
obedient to civil authorities. What Saint Paul really means here is that we are to be
obedient to reasonable civil authorities. Saint Paul says we are only to respect those
authorities who deserve respect. The only civil authorities that deserve respect are those
which are reasonable. When the policies and orders of civil authorities violate Natural
Law based upon reason, we have a moral duty to disobey them. Reason requires that we
follow the Ethical Matrix with the Natural Law Principles of Reciprocity, Utility,
Proportionality, and Equity. Morality requires that our moral values be based upon
The State cannot require us to violate Natural and be unethical and immoral. Instead, as
Thomas Aquainas human law is only to be obeyed when it is in accordance with Natural
Law.