A Christian Response to Laws That Require Immoral Acts

Abstract

A Christian Response to Laws That Require Immoral Acts John Makdisi Introduction In the parable of the rich young man (Matt 19:16–23),1 the young man asks Jesus what good he must do to gain eternal life, and Christ tells him to keep the commandments.2 The young man is not satisfied and tells Jesus that he has observed them, but still wants to know what he lacks. Jesus answers, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matt 19:20–21). When this passage is read in light Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7),3 it becomes clear that Christ calls each one of us to God [End Page 1147] by a conversion of heart through the grace of the Holy Spirit.4 Those who listen attentively to Christ’s word open themselves to becoming the blessed of the beatitudes, beginning with those blessed as the poor in spirit and proceeding with those who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, who are clean of heart, who are peacemakers, and finishing with those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness and for Christ.5 It is not easy to open our hearts to God when we enjoy worldly wealth, power and pleasures. The rich young man who observed the commandments went away sad after hearing Christ’s words, “for he had many possessions” (Matt 19:22). Yet, Christ calls each of us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48). The challenge is particularly acute when laws in our nation require us to act immorally. Not only must we refuse to do the law’s bidding, but, as Christians, we are called to go beyond the “shalt not” of the commandments and strive for the “shall do” of the beatitudes. We face a twofold sacrifice—the pain inflicted on us by a law that we cannot obey in good conscience6 and the pain suffered by us [End Page 1148] in our efforts to bring love where there is hate.7 Christ calls us to this task when he says that if someone strikes us on the cheek we should turn the other one to him as well (Matt 5:39).8 We should be willing to suffer not only the blow of an immoral law but also the sacrifice of self to make the situation right. This article examines five cases which involve laws in our nation that presently require immoral action and then concludes with a sixth case in which the U.S. Supreme Court recently invalidated the application of such a law to a particular contract but left open a way still to use the law to impose immoral action. In each of the six cases, the article explains the evil of the law as a transgression of one of the commandments, which, if one is to remain moral, requires civil disobedience. It then explains how the person who follows the commandment and suffers the negative fallout from the consequences of civil disobedience nevertheless is called by Christ to go beyond and be perfect by following the beatitudes. Although more than one beatitude may be relevant in each case, this article examines only one, and a different one at that, for each case. The purpose of the article is to illustrate by these six examples how the beatitudes operate on a practical basis in the concrete circumstances of everyday life to satisfy Christ’s call to perfection.9 [End Page 1149] Before starting in, it is important to set the context of humility within which Christ calls us to live a Christian life. The first beatitude lays a foundation for all the others in this respect, as we can see when Christ calls the rich young man to give up his possessions and come follow him. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Before we can hope to follow Christ we must shed our undue attachment to possessions, power, and pleasures, which give rise to the pride of Adam.10...