Abstract:
There is an element present in the early church of the members of “the Way” standing up to oppressive power structures with great boldness and fearlessness. This is not new with the early church, but is an element, which I call “Speak Truth to Power,” that is present in Moses and the Hebrew prophets, embodied in John the Baptist and Jesus, and is fundamental to the call of Christians throughout history. After tracing this element through both Testaments, this paper explores some modern day examples of this discipline as well, including Quakers, Bayard Rustin, and others. It highlights the cost of speaking up and the way the church in the 21st century is called and equipped to do so.
The full paper is attached to this post.
