The styles of their two communities, Godspeak Calvary Chapel and Grace Community Church, are quite different. I somewhat prefer Grace Church, which has a choir, organ, and orchestra and is a little closer to the main line environment I grew up in. However, both pastors are educated, intelligent, sophisticated, and carefully-spoken men. They are being advised by capable counsel, but beyond that, both men have pretty clearly read Dr King's Letter From Birmingham Jail. This is, I think, not a good sign for the civil authorities.
It's also not a good sign for the "blue" political establishment that unlike the 1960s, clergy are absent from public political demonstrations, which back then were at least arguably for natural rights and opposed to racial discrimination or the abuse of the state's conscription power. Back then, clergy, including Catholic priests, were often in the front lines as they marched with Dr King himself.
Now, those clergy who are practicing civil disobedience are doing it in their chapel naves and demonstrating for a different natural right, the ability to worship as they see fit.
Back when I was a graduate assistant teaching rhetoric, I had an officemate who was a great admirer of the Letter From Birmingham Jail as rhetoric, that is, an example of the art of persuasion. This sent me back to it in the present context. King's purpose in the Letter is to address clergy who have objected to his presence in Birmingham. By the way, this is 1963, quite late in the civil rights movement, which had been going on since before Brown v Board of Education was decided in 1954. Rhetorically, it's addressing a controversy that's already been largely resolved, much like Milton's Tenure of Kings and Magistrates. It adds to the effectiveness of both that recent history is on their side.
Dr King's first major rhetorical move is to shift the context of his readers' objections:
You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. . . . It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.He then goes on to outline the city's essentially bad-faith responses to the demonstrators' concerns:
Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation. . . . certain promises were made by the merchants--for example, to remove the stores' humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise. A few signs, briefly removed, returned; the others remained. As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us.Dr King's outline of the circumstances is similar to statements by Pastor MacArthur following Los Angeles County's appeal of the settlement negotiated in superior court last Friday:
“This was stipulated as a more reasonable action than that of the county’s rush to shut down church services. The judge agreed and set the full hearing for Sept. 4, ordering the church to have congregants wear masks and social distance between family groups indoors,” according to the statement shared with The Christian Post.Pastor McCoy has made statements that parallel King's Letter in other ways, in YouTube presentations that I've linked here. He's arguedMacArthur told the attendees Sunday, “We agreed … look, we’ll comply for a few weeks. They asked that for three weeks. We’re not wanting to be defiant. We will do what is reasonable. That was not enough for the city. They went to the appellate court Saturday late, and had that order removed.”
- Ventura County authorities refuse to acknowledge the full scope of essential religious activity, including the need to worship in a corporate body in person, in a convenient place
- The county authorities are refusing to address the full range of conditions resulting from the lockdown, including mental and spiritual health, unemployment, and increased domestic abuse
- The authorities are enforcing emergency health measures selectively against churches while exempting political demonstrations
- A park is not an acceptable worship substitute for thousands of people in hot weather
- County officials exaggerate and misrepresent the health risks of normal worship activities.
The Letter From Birmingham Jail seems to be accepted as a defense and moral framework for non-violent civil disobedience. It outlines circumstances in which this is justified. It appears to me that Pastors McCoy and MacArthur have seriously studied this document and prayed over it. They clearly understand the circumstances in which they may be placing themselves and those in their churches who may choose to follow them.
The problem will be what happens when the municipal authorities elect to enforce their orders, which they will almost certainly be compelled to do. From their point of view, it won't be enough for them simply to cite or fine the pastors or certain elders. They'll need to act visibly to stop the indoor worship. They will almost certainly have to do this on thousands of people, with media present. There will immediately arise the problem of why they dispatched law enforcement to cite or arrest churchgoers who violate "health" regulations, when they took no such action against BLM protests.
I don't see a good outcome for the civil authorities here.
By the same token, given the balance of issues Dr King addresses in his letter, for the California pastors to engage in civil disobedience is as justified as King's own activity in the 1960s.
