Civil Disobedience “The Bible Way”
Part 2 of 2 – Paul, Citizen-Evangelist
Catholic Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone has called on the City of San Francisco to end its excessive restrictions on worship.
I never expected that the most basic religious freedom, the right to worship — protected so robustly in our Constitution’s First Amendment — would be unjustly repressed by an American government.
But that is exactly what is happening in San Francisco. For months now, the city has limited worship services to just 12 people outdoors. Worship inside our own churches is banned. The city recently announced it will now allow 50 for outdoor worship, with a goal of permitting indoor services up to a maximum of 25 people by Oct. 1 — less than 1 percent of the capacity of San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral.
This is not nearly enough to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of Catholics in San Francisco. In imposing these restrictions, the city is turning a great many faithful away from their houses of prayer. [Washington Post, September 16, 2020]
Being able to gather for worship in Protestant churches or to receive the Holy Eucharist at a Catholic mass are among the most sacred activities that Christians can do. They constitute worshipful obedience to God.
Only a compelling state reason should justify limitations on church gatherings. The limitations should be the least necessary to accomplish the justifiable reason. Religious gatherings should not be bound by stronger restrictions than other gatherings face (implications of the 1stand 14thAmendments).
If efforts to gain more freedom to worship fail, has the time come for San Francisco churches en masseto engage in civil disobedience?
Last month I talked about examples and principles of civil disobedience from the Bible’s “Book of Daniel.” I set forth the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Civil disobedience may be justified if the state forbids us from exercising what our faith commands or forces us to do what our faith forbids. In either situation, it is fitting to strive first for a “win/win” accommodation.
Civil disobedience demands we are willing to accept the penalty that a law imposes, and by this we show respect for law.
What do we learn about Paul, the Evangelist and Roman Citizen?
First we consider a lesson taught by the Apostle Peter and the other apostles. This came from a situation that happened before Saul of Tarsus (who became Paul the Apostle) was even a believer.
The apostles were arrested for teaching about Jesus in the court of the Temple. They told the chief priest, who had given them strict orders not to teach about Jesus, “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29).
To be accurate, we note that the order violated was a religious order, not a governmental one. Still, it seems to me that Peter’s word must be applied to secular laws that bring believers into conflict with the edicts of their faith.
Now, second, we examine the words and actions of the Apostle Paul during three of his life experiences. We bear in mind that he was a Roman citizen by birth—a status to be cherished (a Roman military commander told Paul, “I had to pay a high price for my citizenship” – Acts 22:28). Citizenship provided many privileges and protections. But, of course, not the right to vote.
The first experience of Paul we must notice happened a couple of years earlier in the City of Philippi. He and his co-evangelist Silas were jailed because they had exorcised a demon from a fortunetelling slave girl, much to her owners’ chagrin (Acts 16:21). This would not be the last time Christianity is opposed because its values clash with exploitive monetary gain!
Paul and Silas were stripped and severely beaten by Roman soldiers by order of the magistrate and then jailed with their feet in stocks (Acts 16:22-24).
The next day the magistrates ordered the release of Paul and Silas. They were told, in essence, to leave town quickly and quietly. Paul would have none of it! “They beat us publicly and without a trial even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison,” Paul told the officers. “And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No, Let them come themselves and escort us out!”
At this moment Paul engaged in civil disobedience! “No, we will not leave town quietly!” He demanded a public parade! When the officers reported this to the magistrates they were full of fear, for they had beaten and jailed Roman citizens unlawfully. “They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison.” Read the entire interesting story as recorded in Acts 16:16-40.
The second experience was when Roman soldiers rescued Paul from a mob. More interested in quelling strife than in understanding religious questions, the Roman commander rescued Paul and bound him in chains. Paul gained the commander’s consent allowing him to address the crowd, which only induced more bedlam. Frustrated to the nth degree, the commander ordered Paul to be taken to the barracks, flogged and questioned.
At that point, Paul asserted his rights as a Roman citizen: “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” Result: “The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.” Read the whole story: Acts 21:27 – 22:29.
Third and finally, Paul would assert his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to Caesar (Acts 25:10-12).
Here are two practical points from what we learn:
First, we should follow Paul’s example and exercise our rights as citizens of the United States. Exercise them as boldly and extensively as the need requires. Exercise them not only for religious freedom and the right to worship and serve God, but to secure your own honor and safety as a citizen.
Second, we again see that civil disobedience is appropriate when we are forbidden to practice our faith(such as the right to preach the gospel or our right to assemble in worship). It is also appropriate as a way to force attention to an unjust government order(“quiet release” from prison).
We should now see the relevance of civil disobedience to unfair restrictions against church gatherings. Is it time for churches to bind together and resist a state or county restriction that regards religious activities as “non-essential” and restricts them more than other activities (like gambling or shopping or dining)? It seems we are almost at that point.
Note: Another example of Civil Disobedience in the New Testament is the response of the Magi to King Herod’s order, “When you have found him [baby Jesus], report to me, so that I too may go and worship him” (Matthew 2:8). But the Magi, warned by an angel, disobeyed Herod’s order and, after they had worshipped Jesus, they returned home a different way (Matthew 2:11,12).
Here an order from a lower ruler (Herod) should be disobeyed because it violated the will of a higher order (God’s word through the angel).