In Theory: Should religious leaders be willing to face jail time for their political activism?

A number of religious leaders protesting Republican attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act were arrested in July by Capitol Hill Police on suspicion of “crowding, obstructing or incommoding.”

In a commentary published on the Religious News Service website, the Rev. Jennifer Butler wrote “people of faith have to be willing to lay their bodies on the line.” She cites historical and Biblical figures in her call to action against what fellow protester the Rev. William Barber II called “immoral” moves by members of Congress.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that 32 million people would have lost their health insurance if one of the latest attempts to repeal the ACA had passed the Senate.

“Now is a time to be like Isaiah and Nehemiah and Jeremiah — say bold things, take bold actions,” Butler says. “Our senators will not change course through quiet meetings alone; they need to face public moral pressure. Let’s bring it on.”

Q. Were these faith-based protesters fighting an “immoral” bill? Should religious leaders take to the streets and face arrest for their political activism?

Let’s look to Scripture for guidance regarding this question. Jesus did not engage in confrontational public demonstrations. Isaiah 42:2 is a prophecy about him that explains this: “He will not cry out or raise his voice, nor make his voice heard in the street.” The only recorded time Jesus was arrested was on the basis of false charges. Even Pilate had to confess: “I find no guilt in this man” (Luke 23:4). So there’s an argument for obeying the law of man until it clearly violates God’s law. When the apostles were commanded to stop publicly preaching the gospel they rightly objected: “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29).

Still, God does call us to make sacrifices for his sake. Jesus said, “I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15). He laid his life down to purchase salvation for every person to this day who will place their faith in him. Peter told Jesus, “I will lay down my life for you.” The night he said that he actually didn’t, but later on in his life he did. In 1 John 3:16, the Bible says: “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” I suppose we all must decide which hills we’re willing to die on, which causes we’re willing to sacrificially support. I’m not convinced the proposed healthcare reform is “immoral.” And it’s not an issue for which I would risk arrest. But it’s not my place to say that others shouldn’t. As Romans 14:4 asks: “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

Pastor Jon Barta

Burbank

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If you believe that preserving healthcare in America is a matter of life and death as I do, then for us Jews it falls under the rubric of P’Kuah Nefesh, saving lives. Judaism teaches that to save a life, you are permitted to violate 610 of the 613 commandments a Jew is supposed to follow. The only commandment you are not allowed to violate to save a life is murder (you can’t take a life to save a life), religious perversion (self-explanatory) and sexual perversion (ditto).

It is not my manner to send people into places where they could be in danger. However, in this case, by protesting this immoral bill, not only would they be acting at the highest level of P’kuach Nefesh, but they would be upholding the prohibition against religious perversion where only the wealthy deserve healthcare and the sexual perversion that only men should have control over their ability to create life.

Rabbi Mark Sobel

Temple Beth Emet
Burbank

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It’s a triumph of gaslighting — among the injustices committed in the interest of appeasing the people who really run the country is the attempt to convince poor people that they don’t deserve a fair shot at education, healthcare and financial security. Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty has become a War on the Poor, with the basic services offered to previous generations relabeled as “entitlements” and excoriated as such.

But as much as consumer culture and aspirational social networking vie to make us complacent, it’s encouraging to see resistance. And it’s right to see religious leaders among the protesters.

Yes, there is the thorny issue of churches being tax exempt and therefore, in their way, complicit in an establishment that is oppressive, but is American excellence in creating slick, hourlong basic cable dramas so exceptional that it justifies an unhealthy number of people in danger of going bankrupt over medical bills? The majesty of Mt. Rushmore doesn’t offset criminally high deductibles.

So of course, a vote aimed at depriving 32 million Americans of something enjoyed by citizens of most other industrialized nations is immoral and should be resisted. The resistance is morally sound because what it is up against isn’t. Our religious leaders, our teachers, our cops and our doctors should all protest cuts to (or the attempted sabotaging of) the actual things that make America great.

Marty Barrett, Vice President

Unitarian Universalist Community of the Verdugo Hills (UUVerdugo)

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As a pastor, I don’t have a lot of money in which to roll around, so when the new Obamcare program came into existence I thought maybe this would help things, though I found it ridiculous that it was passed before anyone read it. Who does that? “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Imagine if you were buying a car and asked the salesman if there was anything wrong with it, and his answer comes, “You have to buy it so you can find out.” Smart people would turn around and leave, but Americans passed the bill.

In the beginning, I found my own insurance became very affordable. Then there was some bureaucratic glitch, and it got canceled so I couldn’t be insured until the next “window” of registration. After a long time I did try getting back in but the cost had skyrocketed from some unread miscalculations. Currently I am receiving no benefit from ACA, and I would like to see it repealed and replaced with something doable and something that won’t bankrupt the system.

There may be many people who will lose their insurance under the old program, but what were they doing before the old program? And if the repealed insurance can be replaced with a better, less onerous program, then let’s get it done. As is, the system will likely collapse, and we’ll all be out anyway, so let’s get rid of what we didn’t read and start learning to read.

As for religious folk jumping into the fray, may I say that we are all people of differing opinion, and we need to be careful that what good we think we are defending is really the white hat in the story. Too often emotions and political loyalties will color faith, and conscientious people can end up on the wrong side of an issue. I’m reminded of the Apostle Paul before his conversion; he went about killing Christians thinking he was doing God a favor.

We must be adamant about biblical matters, but we have to carefully choose our social battles when they aren’t really moral issues. That people need medical care is certain, but which system best fits our economy to make that happen is hardly something over which to lay on the ground kicking and screaming.

The Rev. Bryan A. Griem

Tujunga

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Calamity was averted last week when the U.S. Senate failed yet again to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and we should be grateful to everyone who opposed the GOP’s immoral efforts. The Trump administration’s overreach, laziness and sheer incompetence played a big part too.

I believe each of us is bound to follow our conscience and act accordingly, but political activism isn’t for everyone, and certainly not up to the point of arrest. I agree with Rev. Butler that public pressure is key, but strong demands can come out of quiet meetings as well.

If anything positive at all can be found in the current political situation it is the visible activism arising from many quarters, in many cases by individuals and groups not previously politically engaged very much or at all. We will need every bit of it if we are to thwart the reactionary and irrational forces that continue to threaten the small steps toward decent, affordable healthcare for all that we have achieved so far.

Roberta Medford

Atheist

Montrose