What do Christians think of Police Officers?

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I was reading an email from a “Christian” source that talked about the role of police officers in today’s society. The author talked about the militarization of police officers and how before citizens in America use to be able to resist what they felt were unlawful arrests. I honestly don’t remember ever hearing this but if it is true can anyone see why this would have been changed? What percentage of criminals do you think honestly believe they are being arrested lawfully? :nope:

Anyways the whole article ended with the line that the demand for privacy stems from citizens suspicions of Law Enforcement. This from a “Christian” news source. I would love to link the article but the source is rather anti-Catholic (this email included information on how the Jesuits were infiltrating protestant denominations to help make them more Catholic).

But it got me thinking, what do Christians think of Police Officers?

My answer to this “Christian” article:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. Romans 13: 1-5
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Also, do these people forget that police officers are also citizens? With many if not all the same concerns of other citizens? Perhaps this is why some go into law enforcement? Or do they think that Police Officers just go home and turn off until their next shift?

God bless
 
Roman_Catholic said:
I was reading an email from a “Christian” source that talked about the role of police officers in today’s society. The author talked about the militarization of police officers and how before citizens in America use to be able to resist what they felt were unlawful arrests. I honestly don’t remember ever hearing this but if it is true can anyone see why this would have been changed? What percentage of criminals do you think honestly believe they are being arrested lawfully? :nope:

Anyways the whole article ended with the line that the demand for privacy stems from citizens suspicions of Law Enforcement. This from a “Christian” news source. I would love to link the article but the source is rather anti-Catholic (this email included information on how the Jesuits were infiltrating protestant denominations to help make them more Catholic).

But it got me thinking, what do Christians think of Police Officers?

My answer to this “Christian” article:

Also, do these people forget that police officers are also citizens? With many if not all the same concerns of other citizens? Perhaps this is why some go into law enforcement? Or do they think that Police Officers just go home and turn off until their next shift?

God bless
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Police provide a legitimate and morally acceptable service to society. They protect and serve. The function is legitimate, and unfortunately needed.

90+% of policeman are dedicated and loyal. There are some bad apples; I suspect in lower percentages to other professions.

I know a police officer who has a prayer card in his car and everyday he prays that prayer card.
 
Lutherans have the Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. God rules the right hand kingdom of Heaven directly, and the left hand kingdom of earth indirectly through His agents of government and it’s function. Police bears the sword to maintain order and peace. :signofcross:
 
hn160 said:
Lutherans have the Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. God rules the right hand kingdom of Heaven directly, and the left hand kingdom of earth indirectly through His agents of government and it’s function. Police bears the sword to maintain order and peace. :signofcross:
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Interesting. Do you have any readings on this Doctrine of Two Kingdoms?

God bless
 
Christians have mixed feelings about Police, just like any big group of people does. There are some positive thoughts, some negative thoughts, etc, etc. I don’t see anything that would make all Christians think alike on this issue.
hn160 said:
Lutherans have the Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. God rules the right hand kingdom of Heaven directly, and the left hand kingdom of earth indirectly through His agents of government and it’s function. Police bears the sword to maintain order and peace. :signofcross:
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I would find endorsing such a belief to be very difficult, since it would mean that all government is de facto just, which I think history bears testament against. Speaking of “Luther”, Martin Luther King, Jr. for example, could never have had an argument against government since it would be the will of God, and I guess black people would still be segregated from whites in the south of the U.S.
 
My sister is a probation officer. My best friend works for the corrections department. Both “officers of the justice system”.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
Christians have mixed feelings about Police, just like any big group of people does. There are some positive thoughts, some negative thoughts, etc, etc. I don’t see anything that would make all Christians think alike on this issue.

I would find endorsing such a belief to be very difficult, since it would mean that all government is de facto just, which I think history bears testament against. Speaking of “Luther”, Martin Luther King, Jr. for example, could never have had an argument against government since it would be the will of God, and I guess black people would still be segregated from whites in the south of the U.S.
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That is where the doctrine of civil disobedience comes in.
 
Roman_Catholic said:
I was reading an email from a “Christian” source that talked about the role of police officers in today’s society. The author talked about the militarization of police officers and how before citizens in America use to be able to resist what they felt were unlawful arrests. I honestly don’t remember ever hearing this but if it is true can anyone see why this would have been changed? What percentage of criminals do you think honestly believe they are being arrested lawfully? :nope:

{Snip}.

God bless
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It used to be the law that you could resist an unlawful arrest, because “authority of law” was (and still is) a defense to the charge of assault or battery, just like self-defense. So, in essence, the police officer would attempt to arrest you; you (knowing that it was an unlawful arrest) would defend yourself, and the law would uphold you.

Then society got big.

The courts eventually realized that society is better off if anyone facing an arrest but believing it to be unlawful submits quietly, then sues the officer afterward. That way we get (A) fewer police officers being beat up when a citizen erroneously believes that he is being arrested unlawfully; (B) fewer citizens getting beat up when a police officer erroneously believes that he is arresting lawfully (or when the citizen erroneously believes the arrest is unlawful but it isn’t); and (C) fewer bystanders getting injured when the officer attempts an arrest and the arrestee resists.

We don’t want people asserting their rights through force (that’s why duels are illegal; just go to court instead). Moreover, even though citizens are presumed to know the law, the simple fact of the matter is that many people are wrong when they assert their rights. We’d rather have police departments saying “Sorry we arrested you unlawfully; here’s the money the court ordered us to pay you as compensation” than courts saying “I understand that you thought the arrest was unlawful, but you were wrong. Now go to jail for resisting arrest and for killing the officer; and pay lots of money to his/her family for wrongful death.”
 
Catholics will have a different view than a US-only protestant denomination. Not every country has the same laws or history of how their current police force came into being. In general, I’d say that a Catholic would understand the need for some kind of order in society and would work within the current government structure (as much as possible) to correct any injustice occurring.
 
Roman_Catholic said:
Interesting. Do you have any readings on this Doctrine of Two Kingdoms?

God bless
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Luther distinguishes between spiritual and civil government and authority, which we commonly refer to as the doctrine of the two kingdoms. God takes care of us in the Church through the ministry of Word and Sacraments, the means of grace. In our homes He cares for us through our parents. In the world, he cares for us by means of civil government. God gives to the civil government the authority to punish criminals and, when necessary, to execute them. The spiritual meaning of this commandment is that we are not to “kill” our neighbor in our hearts, with our thoughts, with our words, or with our hands. No one has the right, on his or her own authority, to murder another person. Only God may take a human life, and He entrusts this authority to civil rulers. So Christians can in good conscience wage war and punish and execute criminals under rightful government authority. Luther goes on to explain that we break the Fifth Commandment not only by acting against it, but also when we fail to protect our neighbor. To explain this commandment, Luther relies on the Sermon on the Mount, particularly Matthew 5:46–47.
:signofcross:
 
Some police officers are officious jerks. But in general, I think highly of them; both because most are dedicated to protecting people and because they are all that stand between us and the Huns out there in society.

Never will I forget a line I read in John Gardener’s “Sunshine Dialogues” long ago. It’s about police officers and it goes like this:

“The policeman stands lightly in the present moment; at the same time both committed and detached, like a true Christian or a philosopher of old, who knows this world to be no home, but a wilderness.”

I REALLY like that and, for most, I think it truly sums it up.
 
I would think a Christian’s opinion of police officers would largely depend on where they’re from:

Do you live in a free, democratic country with rule of law and little official corruption? Than you’re likely to have a fairly high opinion of the police.

OTOH, if you live in a tyrannical society where the police are instruments of oppression, including perhaps the persecution of Christians, you might not think so highly of them. Cf. Fiddler on the Roof, in which the residents of Anatevka, though they were honest people who loved God, had a very uneasy relationship with the Czar’s police. And Czarist Russia wasn’t bad at all compared to some, except of course for an unfortunate habit of persecuting Jews from time to time, which continued under the Soviets. Tevya did the right thing for his family in bringing them to America.

Or if you live under a corrupt and mostly incompetent government, you might not have a high opinion of the police either, thinking them mostly crooked and relatively useless.
 
I like a man in uniform…😃 Oh yeah!

J/K don’t freak out people just wanted to get a reaction out of you.
 
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