Christianity is a life of protest

This is one of two articles I wrote some months ago on protest and policing. I thought that I would post them here:

The new wave of global protest

We have all been electrified watching Arabs and Persians across the Middle East protesting against their tyrannical leaders and re-drawing the political map of the region. We have also watched in horror as Islamists in Afghanistan hacked to death UN workers in protest against Koran burning by a Florida pastor. His own irresponsible action was itself a protest against people of the Muslim faith. At home, our coalition government is experiencing large scale protests of its own as it commits to a massive reduction in public spending. Ugly clashes between police and protesters have again soured the public image of our “thin blue line.” Anger and protests are on the rise, and we are all effected.

There is much in the world to be angry about and protest offers people, particularly those who suffer, the hope of improving an unjust situation. Because Christians are required by God to care deeply about justice, many of us can be found within these grass roots movements. As a Christian police officer I have managed protests where Christians were involved. I admit to sometimes finding this very challenging. I have occasionally been forced to intervene when their conduct has become unlawful, and I have been saddened by followers of Jesus who have treated me as an enemy because of this. But I have also been a protester myself. In 2008 I was one of 25,000 officers peacefully marching in London to protest against cuts to our pay. These experiences have forced me to think deeply about how Christians should protest. My journey has lead in a direction I did not expect. Today I believe that protest is a vital and yet underrated part of our Christian witness. Our Lord Himself was a protester and He has provided His Kingdom with the tools to follow in His steps. But His way of protest is not the way that the world protests.

A religion of protest

From the beginning Judaism and Christianity were religions that rejected injustice. The ancient Hebrews were elected by God to bare witness to the nations around them His justice and peace. When they lost site of this responsibility, God sent prophets who protested against the injustice within their own land. It was into both of these contexts that 1^st century Israel received Jesus' message of salvation. He publicly criticised the religious leaders for excluding from God's presence the prostitutes, the criminals, the tax collectors, and the terrorists (the Zealots). Whilst God's plan was to draw outcasts closer to Himself through healing and forgiveness, the religious leaders felt spiritually contaminated by their unholy lives. But Jesus was critical of Rome too. It was a pagan empire oppressing the people of God. His claim to be a divine king was in direct conflict with the rule of Caesar Augustus and appeared so subversive that they crucified him.

Throughout its history, the church has at many times protested against injustice. Indeed those of us who are Protestants take our name from the word “protester” so called because of the 16^th century Reformers rejection of Roman Catholic authority. Today Christian protest remains influential such as the recent Make Poverty History campaign.

Jesus protesting in the temple.

I have often wondered if I would have arrested Jesus when He was turning tables and whipping the money changers in the temple. Clearly He was causing criminal damage, creating public disorder, carrying an offensive weapon, and assaulting members of the public. If He were any other man He would be coming with me. Some Christian protesters today are using Jesus' actions in the temple to legitimise unlawful forms of protest. They argue that our nations laws are so unjust, and that economic forces are so dis-empowering, that they can only force change through public disruption. Recent examples of this can be seen during the “March for the Alternative” demonstration in London. Whilst most protesters behaved well, some decided to block roads, whilst others stormed a department store en masse. There was a sense of self-righteousness amongst the protesters when the police arrested them. They claimed that they were “political prisoners” or “prisoners of conscience.” They were “non-violent,” so what had they done wrong? For the Christians amongst them, if Jesus was prepared to break the law over issues of financial injustice, then so were they.

I was not there, but I am not sure their actions have the theological legitimacy they claim. In the temple Jesus was neither critiquing commercialisation, nor was he establishing a new way to protest against unjust social systems. The temple system of sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins had become redundant by the corruption within it. His words and actions spoke clearly to the religious leaders that He considered the temple itself to be under divine judgement. Scandalously Jesus was to adopt the role of the temple Himself. His actions were unique and obvious to the people in His day, and they were never replicated by his disciples

Lawful & unlawful Christian protest

Not only do they lack biblical legitimacy, but I believe Christian protesters who behave unlawfully have forgotten how seriously the early church took good citizenship. The Apostle Peter instructs Christians to remain good citizens of the state (1 Peter 2:11-17). Paul is clear that Christians in Rome were to remain subject to the governing authorities and were not to rebel (Romans 13:1). Of course both men knew that good citizenship did not mean compromising their devotion to the authority of God. Indeed, like Jesus, they were finally martyred as political subversives. But the early church continued their commitment. Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165) for example challenged the Romans to investigate rumours of Christian subversion. He was clear that when the facts were established, Christians would be found to be “moral, upright, and law-abiding citizens who are the empires best allies in securing good order.”

Christians refused to cheat in business, steel, or brawl, and they were honest in paying their taxes. But more importantly to the Roman rulers, they refused to rebel. The Roman empire was a far more unjust system than we live under today and it experienced many rebellions. Yet a unique feature of the people of God was that, whilst they met the needs of those whom the empire oppressed, and they were clear that Jesus was their king, not Caesar, they also refused any form of disorderly conduct. They certainly never blocked Roman roads, flash-mobbed financial institutions, or deliberately incited the Praetorian Guard.

The kingdom and the powers

I believe that the early church has a lot to teach us about how to protest as Christians. They show us how we can live with the permanent tension of being good citizens of the state whilst remaining good, and uncompromising, citizens of God's kingdom. They never justified provocative acts of civil disobedience, yet they understood that His Kingdom is to manifest God's peace and justice to the world around it. I agree that lawful marching or picketing can be helpful and we are not wrong to join in. But God's opposition to injustice is never communicated by chaining oneself to permanent objects in the street, or setting fire to business you don't agree with. God's protest is a curious mix of meeting the needs of victims of injustice, whilst at the same time genuinely loving its perpetrators. This protest is as counter-intuitive as it is contradictory, and results in a potent confusion in the minds of those we protest against. Protest then must beam through the everyday lives of God's people, and through the daily witness of our churches. It is a far more powerful, radical, and challenging way to protest than any unlawful method of protest can ever achieve. To be a Christian, then, is to be a Holy protester, not a worldly one. It is a responsibility that began when God first called a people to Himself, and it will continue until the day that His Son returns and recreates a world filled with perfect justice and peace.