For your consideration.....
Arrested for Disobeying Christ... and they were praying
On July 14th a group of students and their adult chaperons gathered for prayer in front of “the peoples house...” The White House. They were there "to encourage the president to keep his promise and welcome the unborn in life and protect them in law" says, James Conrad of Riverside, CA. They came to pray for the President that he would favor pro-life judicial appointees to fill possibly three potential vacancies in The Supreme Court during his administration. (As you know, last week, the President nominated as his first appointee an avid constitutionalist, highly qualified, gifted attorney and judge, John G. Roberts. He is receiving positive praise from both sides of the aisle with very few exceptions. Should Bush have chosen a "stealth" conservative for his first appointee? We'll see, but that's for another day.)
No problem so far. Citizens... Christians gathered in front of the White House in a lawful place to pray for our nation and the President. Sounds noble, good, right and true... But here's what followed.
When they first started praying they were across the street from the White House. But they soon moved directly in front of the White House to continue their prayer vigil. "We'll pray here," Brandi Swindell, of Generation Life told the group. "Then after that we will go across the street and kneel in prayer, and there are some members of our group that are willing to peacefully risk arrest." Ex-squeeze me? How did all of a sudden praying for our President turn into "operation arrest"? Is it against the law to pray in public? No. Is it against the law to pray in public in front of the White House? No. Is it against the law to pray in a group publicly in front of the White House? No. Is it against the law for teenagers to pray in a group publicly in front of the White House? No. Is it against the law for teenagers to pray in a group publicly in front of the White House if you're from southern California? No. So what's going on?
Here's where the problem starts to unfold. Due to events these past few years security has tightened extremely around the country. That’s not a shock to anyone on the entire planet is it? No greater place for that security to be enforced than directly in front of the White House! Makes sense. The area closer to the White House is officially a restricted zone. The public is allowed to walk through the zone, but not stop for long. That is reasonable, lawful, and honorable standard in the times in which we live.
As this group of students (and the adults) continued to pray, the U.S. Park Police moved in and roped off the area. Apparently, the officers warned them three times to move on, but they would not. At one point, Lt. Pat Smith of the U.S. Park Police announced to the group over a bull horn: "You must leave the enclosed portion of the White House sidewalk now. All persons remaining in the enclosed portion of the White House sidewalk will be arrested." You can guess what took place next: eight of them were hand-cuffed, arrested, and charged with "stationary demonstrating in a restricted area."; and in this blogentator’s mind… rightly so. Though they said they were there, "standing for life and for the nomination of the right kind of justices that would uphold the rights of [the] unborn," they were wrong to not honor the officers instructions and this ordinance. Let’s be clear: they were not arrested for praying as some have seemingly reported. They were arrested for breaking the law, resisting government authority, and ultimately for disobeying Christ. You heard me right. They were arrested for disobeying the Lord.
These dear teenagers and adults desperately need a mulligan today on Mulligan Monday; and we’re going to give it to them.
This is a classic illustration on how not to engage the culture. Keep in mind, this was not religious persecution; they were not arrested for being Christians (1 Peter 4:12-16). They were arrested for being insubordinate and stupid. They refused to move from a lawfully recognized restricted zone that applies to all the citizenry. In that restricted zone they could have been do anything: eating hot dogs; reviewing Cub stats for Phil Johnson :-); dancing to some great "Old School" R&B; taking photographs; or discussing evangelical co-belligerence from a Reformed perspective. But again, it was their failure to honor "the walk through, stop for not long" policy of that zone and the complete disregard for the lawfully appointed Park Officials repeated instruction to move from the zone that caused their arrest. (In fact, if you think about it, these Park Officials were acting in a manner more honorable to God than these kids and adults from Riverside were.) Could it be anymore clear? They were not there to pray; they were there to get arrested. Prayer was just the excuse. This in short, ladies and gentlemen, was an unbiblical stunt, not honoring to Christ. Here’s why:
1. Their actions violate Romans 13:1-7. The “Park Officials”, in this scenario, are part of the "authorities" mentioned in this text. They are under God's sovereign appointment that He has set up in power to restrain evil and keep order in society. These Park Officials and the police do honorable and valuable work in our communities; and they do not need to have their authority needlessly challenged by believers in Christ who are using prayer, it seems, to get arrested and garner some media attention. When we fail to honor "a just and reasonable law" under the enforcement of duly recognized authorities, we are in fact by disobeying them, Paul says, we are “disobeying God.”
2. Their actions violate Matthew 6:5-6. If they were serious about praying for our President and these Supreme Court appointees, they could have stayed in California and prayed. We can pray anywhere… even when we’re in Colorado Springs. Doesn't the Lord hear prayers in Southern Cal? Of course He does (unless you're at the Crystal Cathedral). Did these people think that physically getting closer to the White House itself meant that their prayers were going to be more effective? The Lord warns about going on the street corners to pray in order to be seen by others. Listen to these words of our Lord: “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Pray in secret, receive an reward; pray on street corners, forfeit blessing (and in this case) get arrested.
3. Their actions violate 1 Peter 2:12-17. Though well-meaning, their unfortunate attempt at “civil-disobedience” for religious reasons (prayer) doesn’t hold water and damages a testimony for the Lord. By not honoring the authorities and the lawful ordinance in that situation they are not being godly nor a faithful witness of the gospel of grace.
Listen to the standard that Peter commands and how it relates to this situation: ”Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.” (1 Peter 2:13-15).
If the government had issued a law that all Christians caught praying, privately or publicly are to be arrested, we would then honor the Lord, disobey man rather than God, and keep praying (Acts 5:29). That is entirely different than what occurred in this situation. We don't know if any of the Park Officials or onlookers were Christians, if any. But we do know, this was just another regrettable charade by some Christian pro-lifers (of which I am one) that diminishes another opportunity in making important head way on this critical issue from a biblical world-view. Their arrest is justified and they should be fined.
Biblical Cultural Engagement
This is timely, isn’t it? We have been in the throws of a vibrant discussion about co-belligerent tactics by evangelicals lately on this blog (an understatement). This small demonstration of misplaced intent gives another reason why a Christian's civil disobedience in a free society, though permissible, must be rooted from the biblical, not the political. Again, the example of Peter is profound. When he and others were confronted about "not speaking any longer in the name of Jesus", he refused to honor their request and rightly so. But still he honored the “proper authorities” by saying, "but you decide what our punishment should be.”
Point is, Christians can biblically disobey “the governing authorities” in any society regardless of the mode of government established, when the government prohibits us from doing what God commands (sharing the gospel as in Peter's case); or commanding us to do what Scritpure prohibits (i.e., if our governement commanded every mother with three or more children already to get an abortion for population control). But otherwise, our voices on a myriad of political/social issues can be expressed through legal means (voting, writing our legislators, neighborhood discussion groups, and lawful assembly) trusting the Lord and His sovereign rule over the heads of state.
It’s time for the church to be the church and stop looking to our elected officials to produce the moral tone or family-values climate for our nation. The latest polls suggest that there are 40-50 million evangelicals curently in our nation (very debatable, but for sake of example). Question: if there is that much “light” why are things becoming increasingly “dark?” As the church goes, so goes the world. We need to stop blaming judges, politicians, political parties, etc. for the moral and spiritual decline in our country and look to what the church corporately and we as individual Christians need to repent of in our lives so that we can effectively be “salt and light” in this fallen world to the glory of God. “Judgment begins with the house of God…” We need revival (repenting of our sin); we need renewal (back to the authority of God’s Word); we need restoration (back to the church being the church once again); and we need Reformation (back to the gospel).
Mulligan for Riverside
So, in Christian charity and grace, we do extend a much deserved mulligan to our friends in Riverside, CA. And as part of that mulligan, here’s some encouraging words: next time folks, if you really want to pray for our President, the pro-life cause, Supreme Court appointees, etc. please, stay at home, pray in secret and see how the Father richly rewards you openly. In response to what happened in this situation, I would encourage each of you to write a letter to those Park Officials and the presiding judge asking for forgiveness for your actions. It would demonstrate great humility in Christ and real evidence of your regeneration in Him.
Tip of the day: slow down the back swing next time before trying to hit the ball. You will find it will go farther and straighter. And it’s always good to be hitting from "the carpet" rather than from a courtroom.
Hitting from the rough,
Steve
Arrested for Disobeying Christ... and they were praying
On July 14th a group of students and their adult chaperons gathered for prayer in front of “the peoples house...” The White House. They were there "to encourage the president to keep his promise and welcome the unborn in life and protect them in law" says, James Conrad of Riverside, CA. They came to pray for the President that he would favor pro-life judicial appointees to fill possibly three potential vacancies in The Supreme Court during his administration. (As you know, last week, the President nominated as his first appointee an avid constitutionalist, highly qualified, gifted attorney and judge, John G. Roberts. He is receiving positive praise from both sides of the aisle with very few exceptions. Should Bush have chosen a "stealth" conservative for his first appointee? We'll see, but that's for another day.)
No problem so far. Citizens... Christians gathered in front of the White House in a lawful place to pray for our nation and the President. Sounds noble, good, right and true... But here's what followed.
When they first started praying they were across the street from the White House. But they soon moved directly in front of the White House to continue their prayer vigil. "We'll pray here," Brandi Swindell, of Generation Life told the group. "Then after that we will go across the street and kneel in prayer, and there are some members of our group that are willing to peacefully risk arrest." Ex-squeeze me? How did all of a sudden praying for our President turn into "operation arrest"? Is it against the law to pray in public? No. Is it against the law to pray in public in front of the White House? No. Is it against the law to pray in a group publicly in front of the White House? No. Is it against the law for teenagers to pray in a group publicly in front of the White House? No. Is it against the law for teenagers to pray in a group publicly in front of the White House if you're from southern California? No. So what's going on?
Here's where the problem starts to unfold. Due to events these past few years security has tightened extremely around the country. That’s not a shock to anyone on the entire planet is it? No greater place for that security to be enforced than directly in front of the White House! Makes sense. The area closer to the White House is officially a restricted zone. The public is allowed to walk through the zone, but not stop for long. That is reasonable, lawful, and honorable standard in the times in which we live.
As this group of students (and the adults) continued to pray, the U.S. Park Police moved in and roped off the area. Apparently, the officers warned them three times to move on, but they would not. At one point, Lt. Pat Smith of the U.S. Park Police announced to the group over a bull horn: "You must leave the enclosed portion of the White House sidewalk now. All persons remaining in the enclosed portion of the White House sidewalk will be arrested." You can guess what took place next: eight of them were hand-cuffed, arrested, and charged with "stationary demonstrating in a restricted area."; and in this blogentator’s mind… rightly so. Though they said they were there, "standing for life and for the nomination of the right kind of justices that would uphold the rights of [the] unborn," they were wrong to not honor the officers instructions and this ordinance. Let’s be clear: they were not arrested for praying as some have seemingly reported. They were arrested for breaking the law, resisting government authority, and ultimately for disobeying Christ. You heard me right. They were arrested for disobeying the Lord.
These dear teenagers and adults desperately need a mulligan today on Mulligan Monday; and we’re going to give it to them.
This is a classic illustration on how not to engage the culture. Keep in mind, this was not religious persecution; they were not arrested for being Christians (1 Peter 4:12-16). They were arrested for being insubordinate and stupid. They refused to move from a lawfully recognized restricted zone that applies to all the citizenry. In that restricted zone they could have been do anything: eating hot dogs; reviewing Cub stats for Phil Johnson :-); dancing to some great "Old School" R&B; taking photographs; or discussing evangelical co-belligerence from a Reformed perspective. But again, it was their failure to honor "the walk through, stop for not long" policy of that zone and the complete disregard for the lawfully appointed Park Officials repeated instruction to move from the zone that caused their arrest. (In fact, if you think about it, these Park Officials were acting in a manner more honorable to God than these kids and adults from Riverside were.) Could it be anymore clear? They were not there to pray; they were there to get arrested. Prayer was just the excuse. This in short, ladies and gentlemen, was an unbiblical stunt, not honoring to Christ. Here’s why:
1. Their actions violate Romans 13:1-7. The “Park Officials”, in this scenario, are part of the "authorities" mentioned in this text. They are under God's sovereign appointment that He has set up in power to restrain evil and keep order in society. These Park Officials and the police do honorable and valuable work in our communities; and they do not need to have their authority needlessly challenged by believers in Christ who are using prayer, it seems, to get arrested and garner some media attention. When we fail to honor "a just and reasonable law" under the enforcement of duly recognized authorities, we are in fact by disobeying them, Paul says, we are “disobeying God.”
2. Their actions violate Matthew 6:5-6. If they were serious about praying for our President and these Supreme Court appointees, they could have stayed in California and prayed. We can pray anywhere… even when we’re in Colorado Springs. Doesn't the Lord hear prayers in Southern Cal? Of course He does (unless you're at the Crystal Cathedral). Did these people think that physically getting closer to the White House itself meant that their prayers were going to be more effective? The Lord warns about going on the street corners to pray in order to be seen by others. Listen to these words of our Lord: “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Pray in secret, receive an reward; pray on street corners, forfeit blessing (and in this case) get arrested.
3. Their actions violate 1 Peter 2:12-17. Though well-meaning, their unfortunate attempt at “civil-disobedience” for religious reasons (prayer) doesn’t hold water and damages a testimony for the Lord. By not honoring the authorities and the lawful ordinance in that situation they are not being godly nor a faithful witness of the gospel of grace.
Listen to the standard that Peter commands and how it relates to this situation: ”Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.” (1 Peter 2:13-15).
If the government had issued a law that all Christians caught praying, privately or publicly are to be arrested, we would then honor the Lord, disobey man rather than God, and keep praying (Acts 5:29). That is entirely different than what occurred in this situation. We don't know if any of the Park Officials or onlookers were Christians, if any. But we do know, this was just another regrettable charade by some Christian pro-lifers (of which I am one) that diminishes another opportunity in making important head way on this critical issue from a biblical world-view. Their arrest is justified and they should be fined.
Biblical Cultural Engagement
This is timely, isn’t it? We have been in the throws of a vibrant discussion about co-belligerent tactics by evangelicals lately on this blog (an understatement). This small demonstration of misplaced intent gives another reason why a Christian's civil disobedience in a free society, though permissible, must be rooted from the biblical, not the political. Again, the example of Peter is profound. When he and others were confronted about "not speaking any longer in the name of Jesus", he refused to honor their request and rightly so. But still he honored the “proper authorities” by saying, "but you decide what our punishment should be.”
Point is, Christians can biblically disobey “the governing authorities” in any society regardless of the mode of government established, when the government prohibits us from doing what God commands (sharing the gospel as in Peter's case); or commanding us to do what Scritpure prohibits (i.e., if our governement commanded every mother with three or more children already to get an abortion for population control). But otherwise, our voices on a myriad of political/social issues can be expressed through legal means (voting, writing our legislators, neighborhood discussion groups, and lawful assembly) trusting the Lord and His sovereign rule over the heads of state.
It’s time for the church to be the church and stop looking to our elected officials to produce the moral tone or family-values climate for our nation. The latest polls suggest that there are 40-50 million evangelicals curently in our nation (very debatable, but for sake of example). Question: if there is that much “light” why are things becoming increasingly “dark?” As the church goes, so goes the world. We need to stop blaming judges, politicians, political parties, etc. for the moral and spiritual decline in our country and look to what the church corporately and we as individual Christians need to repent of in our lives so that we can effectively be “salt and light” in this fallen world to the glory of God. “Judgment begins with the house of God…” We need revival (repenting of our sin); we need renewal (back to the authority of God’s Word); we need restoration (back to the church being the church once again); and we need Reformation (back to the gospel).
Mulligan for Riverside
So, in Christian charity and grace, we do extend a much deserved mulligan to our friends in Riverside, CA. And as part of that mulligan, here’s some encouraging words: next time folks, if you really want to pray for our President, the pro-life cause, Supreme Court appointees, etc. please, stay at home, pray in secret and see how the Father richly rewards you openly. In response to what happened in this situation, I would encourage each of you to write a letter to those Park Officials and the presiding judge asking for forgiveness for your actions. It would demonstrate great humility in Christ and real evidence of your regeneration in Him.
Tip of the day: slow down the back swing next time before trying to hit the ball. You will find it will go farther and straighter. And it’s always good to be hitting from "the carpet" rather than from a courtroom.
Hitting from the rough,
Steve
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