[adiaireton8]

Literalism is a bad idea here. Paul isn't saying that the authority should be obeyed no matter what. Otherwise, there would have been no Christian martyrs; they would have renounced their faith when ordered to do so by the Roman authorities. Otherwise, Daniel would not have ended up in the lion's den. Paul is saying that when the governing authority does not command us to do something contrary to the higher law, then we should comply.

-A8

[goldstategop]

Yes, exactly. As long as the government does not break God's laws and treats all people as His Children, we are commanded to obey it. This has been the Christian understanding of the relationship between state and religion. We owe legally constituted authorities a certain cooperation necessary for the functioning of society but it is not a license to command our unconditional obedience. Our response depends on what a governing authority does to act in keeping with the Higher Law to which all people are now subject to.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)