IN THE light of current events – the government handling of the COVID-19 pandemic; signing of the new anti-terrorism law; systemic attacks on ABS-CBN, Rappler, and media as a whole; killings in the name of law and order; the overall ineptitude of those appointed as leaders; etc – we are starting to feel the need to stand up and speak out our concerns and have that urge to answer that call to action.

It has been over two decades since this call to activism was last felt across the broader sectors of Philippine society. It may be slowly brewing – as it was in our centuries of history with colonizers or in the 1970s to the 80s – yet the advent of the internet and social media has had its way of amplifying and accelerating the rants and discontent of the people as well as the counter propaganda and fake news peddling of the corrupt. Who knows what lies ahead in this new day of activism?

Whenever activism is discussed, the conversation often turns to how words turn into action. It swings from the highly pacifist where action is kept at getting the message across and standing down even if the opposing side displays aggression – passive resistance. On the other extreme there are those who believe that to get that message across you have to take drastic measures, sometimes pushing violence, even bordering on terrorism.

Often used – and abused – in these discussions is the story of Jesus Christ and what he did in the temple. Here, it is argued, the “Prince of Peace” had his fit, employing violent behavior with a whip in his hand and overturning the merchant’s tables and wares:

John 2:15 (NIV) “So he made a whip out of cords, and drove from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle, he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.”

Perhaps the image of violence was aided by hundreds of years of artists’ interpretation of events with paintings and frescos showing the avenging angel imagery of an angry Jesus. But remember, there is a great disconnect between the Biblical truth and the propaganda of man through these artworks. After all, these are the same works that depicted the Christ as Caucasian sometimes even with blue eyes and light brunette hair.

The scene simply depicted Jesus having to drive out the merchandise – doves, cattle and sheep – from the temple grounds and show the object of his action – the Pharisees, Sadducees and other Jewish leaders – the wickedness of their ways. It was not the merchants he was beating, but by scattering the coins of the moneychangers and overturning their tables Jesus was showing the Jewish leaders that they had abused their authority by commercializing and even corrupting the temple court and disrespected the Father.

Biblical scholars have written that the cattle and sheep were being sold by the temple as an easy way to provide the blood sacrifice to God rather than these being the fruit of true labor. The doves were a particular sticky point in this practice as they were being sold as a cheap sacrifice medium specifically targeting the poorest of the poor such as widows. The profits of all these were going to the pockets of the religious leaders.

The same with the money changers who were profiting from the unfair exchange rates converting Roman and other currencies into those accepted by Jewish leaders. The scholars also said a lot of the money was financed by the corrupt rich so that the poorer people would borrow to fulfill their religious obligations with their land and meager assets as collateral. And all the while the religious leaders were partners in this corruption.

In the end all these fed the corruption of the establishment. Thus, not only were the temple grounds commercialized, but it was turned by the Jewish leaders into a corrupt system of making the poor people believe their religious obligation was to be fulfilled by buying into what was being done by the merchants.

Jesus’ “Cleansing of the Temple” is not seen by scholars as a violent act but as prophecy of his suffering, death and resurrection which would actually occur a week from that event. The temple guards and Roman legionnaires did not stop Jesus at all, prompting the belief that the Jewish leaders allowed it and even pushed Him towards it to be the trigger of the charges which they would use against Him.

So no, Christ was not condoning the act of violence in his ministry. After all, he did suffer and die horrendously despite His innocence.

But if we want to find something simple and instructive in Biblical tenets when it comes to activism, one of the best is a narrative of events much earlier, in the Book of Daniel.

At the time of King Nebuchadnezzar, the Jews Daniel and apprentices Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were serving the royal court. And in true Machiavellian sense there were non-Jews in court who despised the King’s favor over Daniel and his crew. The king had a golden image of himself erected on the square and decreed that at an appointed signal all would bow before it as worship to his self-proclaimed divinity or face death by burning in a furnace. The three young Jews refused to comply, after all they only bow to the one true God.

Here is the relevant passage of the story in Daniel 3: 14-18:

“Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So, these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?

“Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’”

The first thing one has to have in following the principles of Biblical activism is to have an unwavering trust in God. More often than not we want to effect change or social reform through our own means and not seeking guidance for our actions from Him first. We must always put forward His will, not ours, especially in the face of injustice.

Secondly, we must be deeply committed to our convictions. There is no room for half-hearted methods and actions in our advocacy. Study all aspects of our positions if we must, and understand all aspects of it: legal, moral, social.

Thirdly, be prepared to defend it openly, but in a calm and assertive manner. Yes, speak truth to power, but speak without breaking the nature of your true convictions, with the form and language that reflects that of the wise. No room for useless cursing or hurtful acid. Take to the streets, show your numbers, but do so as standard bearers of what is true and righteous.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego showed that these three points of activism are not mutually exclusive. Trust in God and his will does not mean we sit idly by as He works his wonders. We must ably stand up with our convictions, competently and honestly. And just as the three did, we must be ready to go through the wringer for these convictions, knowing full well that God’s will and purpose comes first.

To continue, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego marched confidently into the furnace after their declaration, and despite the furnace being heated up more than normal, they emerged without signs of being singed.

Verses 29-30: “Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.’”

Perhaps people will discard these as old wives’ tales or argue that things aren’t as simple as these stories in the Good Book. But activism in the face of injustice, oppression, and corruption is an ongoing battle. From a strategic viewpoint it is an ongoing battle against the world behest to materialism and greed feeding the corrupt powers – the trappings of the temporal world – of which the struggle is continuing no matter how many tyrants we kick out.

Yet it has to be done if we are to live up to God’s will, for ourselves and for our people.

It points to being an activist towards a higher good although may not come during our lifetime. It is being an activist in fulfillment of God’s will and where the end game is stated in Jesus Christ’s parable of the talents where a master entrusted three slaves with some amount of gold. Long story short, the slave who buried the gold for safekeeping was berated for laziness while the other two who, despite possible risk of loss, made the money grow for their master were rewarded.

Matthew 25:23 – “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’