Ok so here's an email that I wrote to a couple of profs on campus. Not all of them replied and none of them replied in great detail, but I still found it interesting. Check it out:

Hi,

A friend and I have been talking lately about how our options (as Christians) for ministry and our ideas for hope and change are limited by our rules and assumptions as Americans. In our discussion we started talking about passages in the Bible like those found in Romans 13:1-7. Can statements like, “there is no authority except that which God has established” be applied to our government today? What responsibilities (if any) do we have as citizens to the American government? To what extent are we to let the laws of the land determine our actions (especially when these laws limit ministry opportunities)? Obviously these aren’t easy questions to answer, but I assume you all have had to come to some sort response to these struggles. Hopefully in getting multiple responses, my friend and I will be able to come to some sort of conclusion. Thanks.

Maddie Flaig
Soph. nursing major

Hello Mary. I suppose if it applies to the US, then it must also apply to Iran, North Korea, the former Iraq, and so on.

There is much, much more that can be said about all this -- and I'd be happy to meet with you (and/or your friends), but just can't type all that out right now. Suffice it to say that, as far as I'm concerned, the Church is our most fundamental social / political identity, and it is not subject to human boundaries, borders, languages, etc. I do not believe at all that being a Christian obliges us to be unquestioning supporters of our country -- and that in fact it will always move us toward resistance against collapsing Christianity into national identity / support.

Dr Lodahl

Maddie,

Good to hear from you. Wow. This is a big question (and a really good one!). Of course, much too big to give a quick answer to. Let me at least suggest an important starting point for the scripture texts angle. As a biblical scholar, I would want to put on the table that all of our consideration of biblical passages like the Romans one must begin by thinking about them in context. What was the context of Paul's statements there? Why does he say them? This is important because, as you know, we do not simply take whatever the Bible says and apply it directly to our situation (ex: women covering their heads in church!). So, we should not feel like such passages demand that we give a certainly loyalty to a government, especially when such a government is acting in ways that are clearly out of keeping with the messages of love and forgiveness found in the Gospel.

Does that help any?

Thanks for thinking about this stuff!
Best,
Dr. Kelle

Maddie,
Since I do not know you or the context of your question I can only reply in general terms (but will be happy to be more specific if you want to talk in detail).
Does Romans 13 apply today?--Yes. If it was true for the Roman dictatorship, it is certainly true for the U.S. By the way, when I lived in the USSR in the 1980's Christians there also recognized that it applied to their government.
Of course, there is always the great Acts 4:19-20 qualification--all Christians recognize that the laws of God are superior to the laws of man.
Blessings on you as you wrestle with these issues.
Prof Wood