Protest with Hope
As Christians, we have good reason for hope, even in the face of the frightening facts we hear about the state of our home planet. We know God is Creator and Sustainer, and has plans for the future of the whole of creation (Rom 8:21). We know God keeps his promises...we have seen it time and again in the Bible, and in our own lives too. We also know that when we face up to wrong ways of living, turn around and live right, that we are given a fresh start. We are even given the Holy Spirit who helps us make these changes. We have this loving living generous God to share, and we hold out the hope that he gives.
Christians know to love all people equally, and that like God we care for even the sparrows - and every creature. The world needs new values to overcome the self-centredness and greed we have come to accept as normal. We too have accepted these things as normal. As we realise afresh the way our lives impact on the poorest people in creation and on creation itself - both through commercial exploitation and climate change - we will change. Every aspect of our lives will change. As communities of God's people, we are brilliantly placed to begin to live more fully according to His values of justice and love. We can lead the change in society through raising our voices, and through actions which insist on a response from governments and corporations. We can model a society of generous sharing, hospitality and respect for our planet, putting more in than we take out.
Christians have often been at the forefront of challenging unfair structures in society (e.g. abolition of slavery in UK, US civil rights, establishment of trade union movement in UK). Christians have also broken laws where they considered them to be wrong, or as a means of bringing unfairness to light (e.g. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jesus (overturning tables in the temple) and Daniel. The urgency of the problem and the lack of progress so far, means we can no longer sit back and wait. We need to act now.
Our Experience
Nigel
One Monday in October, Nigel sat on the road in Trafalgar Square in defence of a scaffolding tower which Extinction Rebellion members had erected, climbed and then superglued themselves to. The police moved in, and he was arrested.
The protesters were following the example of Greta Thunberg and the school strikes in asking the government to act urgently to save the planet from irreversible climate change.
Far from being one of the “crusties” dismissed by Boris Johnson, Nigel is a scientist and CEO of a company which coordinates recycling. “Frankly, I’m scared, and we do need to take these stands. In David Attenborough’s BBC documentary Climate Change – the Facts from April 2019 he says:
…the scientific evidence is that if we have not taken dramatic action within the next decade, we could face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies. (Societies collapse through food riots, mass migrations etc). In short, this dramatic action means moving very quickly, far faster than we are now, away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources.
“Extinction Rebellion follows the models of the Suffragettes and the American Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King. We use peaceful civil disobedience to disrupt “business as usual” as a way of driving fundamental change. For me, that’s meant personal sacrifice, leading to my arrest. One day I hope to have grandchildren. When they ask me whether I did anything to prevent this crisis, I’ll have some sort of answer for them.”
Kath
I connected with XR St Albans in summer 2019, and joined in the October protests. I also made my banner and supported the school strikes. As regards, lifestyle, I was already on it - vegan for 5 years, cycling to work and church, shopping pre-loved, and recycling as much as I can. But how I live – while it’s important for my integrity and my discipleship – isn’t changing society - or business, or government, or the shocking upward trend in carbon emissions. It’s not stopping the devastation to the natural world which I love so much.
In XR I found people with a passion for the future, for justice and for caring for one another. I found values completely at one with my Christian faith. And I found a company of people with a plan to make the government listen – to get them to acknowledge the urgency and take some very difficult but essential decisions. It’s not perfect – but nor am I, and nor is the church. Unlike Nigel, I seek to avoid arrest due to my job. Even so, being part of XR is not always comfortable - but God never called us to be comfortable! Protesting can be energizing though - it’s one way for my actions to line up with my faith, my passion and my understanding.
You can read more about how churches are making a difference in St Albans here.
The biblical mandate for protest and civil disobedience
Christian Climate Action is the Christian wing of Extinction Rebellion. They have some useful resources on the theology of protest.
There is a video here
A document here: Is Non-violent direct action theologically justified? Written by Rev John Clements and Thalia Carr
And here is a quote from Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who said Christian Climate Action (XR) was responding to the scale of our environmental crisis:
"Christians are called by God to show to the world what the divine image looks like - the image of a divine creator who brought the world to birth, called it good, and summoned human beings to reflect this divine care and delight through their own work in the world, animated by the gift of Christ's Spirit. Christian Climate Action seeks to respond to that summons; in the face of impending environmental crisis, we need to encourage one another to grow more fully into the joyful responsibility we are made for."
Christian Climate Action - The Climate and Ecological Crisis (and what we can do about it).
Hear our inspirational guest speaker Melanie Nazareth (a lawyer and member of Christian Climate Action, the Christian wing of XR) talk about: What are the facts? Is there more I can do than recycle? Is the anti-social and sometimes illegal action of XR really necessary? What about prayer?
Watch the recording here.
Further Resources
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