The controversy over the Ten Commandments is causing evangelical Christians to split over whether the American government is a legitimate sovereign power which should be obeyed or whether it is becoming an outlaw government - in which case at least some of its orders can be ignored and defied. Those who take the latter view are, predictably, those who are Judge Roy Moore's biggest supporters.

Baptist News explains:

"We're at a turning point, a pivotal point in the history of this country," said [James] Dobson, who discussed the issue with Moore, former presidential candidate Alan Keyes and Focus on the Family President Don Hodel. "This is just not another issue.... There are times when you have to respond to a higher law." ... Dobson said he is concerned that the assault by judges on the Ten Commandments monument is "part of a larger plan to eliminate every vestige of faith or religion or reverence for God from the public square. And that's where this is headed."

"Do evangelical Christians really want to say that this United States government is no longer a legitimate government and that we are no longer obligated to obey its courts when we disagree with their rulings?" [Richard] Land wrote. "If so, let us understand it for what it is. It is insurrection. I want to reform this government, not rebel against it as an illegitimate government beyond repair."

Yes, I suppose that it does qualify as insurrection and rebellion in a way. After all, the Christians in question don't recognize the validity of any government which is not founded upon and works through the laws they believe that their god has dictated. So long as they believe that the American government represents the will of their god, they will follow it. Now that they are being told that the American government is one of men and one which gives no preference to any religion, even their own, they are starting to realize that they aren't actually living in a Christian theocracy. Rebellion, then, might appear to them to be a logical option.

Read More:

• Religious Right
• Christian Extremism
• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry
• Separation of Church and State 101
• Ten Commandments