A biblical mandate to speak out for justice and defend the poor

 

 “How do we preserve our First Amendment rights to free speech and a free press?” The First United Methodist Church of Pasadena is sponsoring this timely talk on this topic on Sunday, October 26, from 11:30-12:30 am in the Church Lounge, 500 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA. Speaker will be Stephen Rohde, nationally known lawyer/author/activist/podcaster and past chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California; past national chair of Bend the Arc, a Jewish Partnership for Justice; and founder and chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace

Freedom of speech is an important part of our Christian faith, as these powerful words from Methodists for Social Action make clear:

Around the world, we are seeing rising threats to basic freedoms, including freedom of speech, even in supposedly democratic societies. Christians have a responsibility to defend our freedom to speak the truth about injustice wherever we see it. We also must protect the right to act on our values and address systems of injustice with nonviolent methods such as boycotts and divestment. We know that speaking truth to power will incur repercussions, including misinformation, defamation, and intimidation. We must employ wisdom to discern when important concerns about racism are manipulated to silence opposition to injustice.

Our Methodist commitment to speak out on behalf of the poor and marginalized is rooted in  Proverbs 31:8-9

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Speak up for poor and helpless, see that they get justice.”

The followers of Jesus were willing to speak their truth even when those in power wanted to silence them. For example, in Acts 5:28 -29, Peter and the apostles were preaching about the death and resurrection of Jesus and the high priest told them to cool it.

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“We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

That’s the biblical basis for us to speak truth to those in power and to advocate for those who are oppressed. Join us next Sunday to learn how we can fulfill this biblical mandate