Writing to the church at the ancient city of Galatia (in modern Turkey), St. Paul the Apostle declared, “For Freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).
St. Paul was addressing the specific issue of whether, and to what extent, aspects of ceremonial Mosaic law are still binding on Christians. It was not political commentary, or a statement about the relationship of the Christian to government. Nonetheless, St. Paul’s admonition can, at least by analogy, teach us something about how Christians should think about political freedom, including the freedom purportedly secured by the Declaration of Independence, the 250th anniversary of which we commemorate this summer.
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