Since 9/11 Americans have largely accepted the idea that national security requires a trade-off between government power and freedom. However, recent revelations about the extent of government surveillance have raised serious questions about overreach, abuse of power, and the limits of democracy. How should people of faith respond to these revelations? Amid wide-spread public apathy over drone warfare, surveillance, and open-ended wars on “terror,” how can faith leaders provide stronger moral leadership? Do our faith traditions have anything distinctive to say in relation to alleged government overreach, whether by the NSA or the CIA? And how do we assess the ethics of those who expose secret government operations in the name of preventing abuse?
The Patheos Public Square is produced in partnership with Christianity Today and the Progressive Christian Initiative.
Rev. Peter Laarman, Progressive Christians Uniting
For Christians, our Easter faith necessarily de-legitimates and dethrones all false sovereignties; it dismisses Pharaoh, Caesar, and all other imperial power.
We are honor bound to speak out against perceived injustices when we come across them. Óðinn advised us to give our foes no “frið,” which is translated here as peace.
We have learned all too well to keep the secrets and live in the denials that keep us stuck where we are, more or less paralyzed by our protections and our privileges.
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