could anyone explain this in simple english?

Question

Divine Right of Kings
The Divine Right of Kings is a European political and religious doctrine of political absolutism. Such doctrines are largely, though not exclusively, associated with the medieval and ancien régime eras. It states that a monarch owes his rule to the will of God, not to the will of his subjects, parliament, the aristocracy or any other competing authority. This doctrine continued with the claim that any attempt to depose a monarch or to restrict his powers ran contrary to the will of God.

Its symbolism remains in the coronations of the British monarchs, in which they are anointed with Holy oils by the Archbishop of Canterbury, thereby ordaining them to monarchy. It is further evidenced by efforts to trace the genealogy of European monarchs to King David of the Old Testament, in the apparent belief that it legitimizes the rule of the present monarch. The king or queen of the United Kingdom is the last monarch still to undergo such a ceremony, which in other countries has been replaced by an inauguration or other declaration. It is the reason why the British Royal Family's motto is Dieu Et Mon Droit (God and my [birth] Right - i.e. I rule with God's blessing).

It may also include a belief in the right of the monarch to rule due to direct decendency from God, usually tracing genealogy back to a divine being, such as Jesus of Nazareth; hence being the person most likely to be able to correctly acertain the will of God.


The concept
The concept of Divine Right incorporates the broader concept of "royal God-given rights", which simply says that "the right to rule is anointed by God (or gods)" which is found in other cultures. This concept was also found in the Aryan (White Race) and Egyptian traditions. Thomas Aquinas accepted the overthrow of a king and even regicide when the laws of the king are untenably unjust, and towards the end of the Middle Ages many philosophers such as Nicholas of Cusa and Francisco Suarez propounded similar theories. In addition, the concept of Mandate of Heaven required that the emperor properly carry out the proper rituals, consult his ministers, and made it extremely difficult to undo any acts carried out by an ancestor.

Much of the Scriptural basis of the Divine Right of Kings comes from Romans 13:1-2, which state: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." A surface interpretation of these verses appear that since a king is put in power by God, every order given by the king must be obeyed, so as to not disobey God.

thanks for the answer, i think america is best. this king stuff is sucks.

Answer 1

Basically that kings are picked by God. If you have a problem with the king, you have a problem with God. Different from the US, because our leaders are elected by the people, and we have separation of church and state.

Answer 2

uh...wow. ok here goes.

in medieval europe, there was a concept called "the divine right of kings" which meant kings were given their positions by god. that meant that anybody who wanted to go against the king's wishes would also be going against the wishes of god.

today, when there is a coronation of a british monarch (royal), they are symbolically blessed by a church official which ties them to the old tradition of being put into power by god. the UK is the only country that still does this type of coronation - in other places, this ceremony has been replaced by a different kind of "swearing in." the british have tried to trace their royal bloodlines all the way back to king david of the old testament to convince everyone that they really should be in power. their motto is "i rule with god's blessing."

this belief system can also include tracing the ruler's bloodlines all the way back to jesus or god himself, making it even more convincing that the ruler should be in power.

this belief in divine rule was also practiced by others throughout history. some philosophers believed that even if a king was put into power by god, it was ok to overthrow this king if his laws were too cruel and unjust. but it was hard for a king to change a cruel law put into place by his ancestors because he would have to consult his ministers to carry out his rule in a divine way, so even if he wanted to change things he might have a difficult time doing so.

a lot of the concept of divine rule comes from romans 13:1-2 which says something like "everyone is under the rule of a higher pwer. the only power comes from god. anyone who doesn't follow the will of this power is damned." a basic interpretation of the verses says that since a king is put in power by god, everyone has to obey him like they would obey god - otherwise they are going against god.

i hope that helps!

Answer 3

First off, the "Divine Right of Kings" concept, meaning that the ruler is either a god, descended from a god or gods, or appointed by the god(s), is a nearly universal concept in origin, not just European. It is a belief that the ruler is either divine itself or a representative of god(s), and therefore, their actions are above reproof because they are gods or god-approved beings. Basically it means that the ruler can do anything it wants because of the ruler's "divinity". The rest of the gobbledy-goop is explanations of various means of justifying the "Divine Right of Kings" concept.

Answer 4

Divine right was a tool used by kings to reinforce their power. The term divine right means that the absolute power of the king was bestowed on him from God and thus his desires are that of God as well. Going against the King is going against God himself.
Kings would reinforce this symbolism by having religious figures like the pope endorse their power through coronations. Jesus is referred to as the "king of kings" because God is his father and gave him that position. European kings used the same ideas to reinforce their power.

Answer 5

Inertia is the resistance of an object to any change in its motion, including a change in direction. An object will stay still or keep moving at the same velocity (speed) and in a straight line, unless it is acted upon by an outside force.

Answer 6

It essentially means the guy in charge is only inches away from God and should be treated like it, that's why democracy is my fave