He was almost dismissive of its presumed authority. Sure, He asked, “Whose face is this on this coin…” and it was Caesar’s and He said give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s but some people miss the powerful intent of the statement. The coin has Caesar’s face on it so we give the coin to Caesar but everything is God’s including Caesar and the coin, and everything else, so give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s. The idea that Jesus was affirming Caesar’s independent authority and relegating the authority of God to the “spiritual’ backwaters of the universe is a horrible misreading of the text.
Jesus, the Apostles, Daniel, Jeremiah and whomever else you might have going were always innocent (morally) of any crime but guilty under the laws of men. They broke them willingly and without regard to conscience because they were doing the right thing. A great deal of the biblical message is about disobedience to civil authority when it is wrong.
So Kim Davis must do what she is doing. She has no other Christian choice. In any case, every matter should be decided according to principal and not pressure.
