Is Secrets-Leaker Snowden Jeremiah or Judas?

Whatever else we can say about Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old government contractor who just leaked classified documents that revealed the scope of the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program, he has great confidence in his own judgment. He has said that he independently decided that the NSA's program was counter to our nation's principles and thus should be revealed.
Specifically, Snowden, a former technical assistant for the CIA and employee of NSA defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton at the time of the leak (he's since been fired), has identified himself as the source of the unauthorized revelation that the NSA's massive surveillance program collected vast amounts of information about millions of Americans' telephone calls and emails. Snowden has admitted giving the information to both the British newspaper the Guardian and the Washington Post.
The concern is not only that the metadata collected violates privacy, but that it can be used by those with access to the data against personal or political enemies.  (See What's the Matter With Megadata? The New Yorker.)
Speaking to the Guardian, Snowden said that he considers himself different from Bradley Manning, who is accused of passing classified information to Wikileaks, in that, unlike Manning, he "carefully evaluated every single document" he leaked to "ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest."
For his efforts, Snowden has been called a hero by some, including such odd bedfellows as left-leaning Michael Moore and right-leaning Glenn Beck. New Yorker staff writer John Cassidy said that Snowden "has performed a great public service that more than outweighs any breach of trust he may have committed."
Others, however, have branded Snowden a traitor to the nation. Jeffrey Toobin, also a staff writer for The New Yorker, labeled Snowden "a grandiose narcissist who deserves to be in prison."
Many ordinary Americans have lined up on both sides of the dispute. Several Facebook pages supporting Snowden have sprung up, as have some against him. There have been more that 2 million mentions of Snowden on Twitter, and a social media aggregator says that the words "hero" and "traitor" have both been in play in those tweets but that "hero" has been the more frequent of the two. Reader feedback to Internet articles about Snowden run both for and against him.
While many of Snowden's supporters see him as a champion for issues of personal privacy and governmental transparency, his critics say his actions have weakened America's ability to keep the country safe from terrorist attacks. The debate about Snowden's leaks has been characterized as "personal privacy vs. national security" and "constitutional freedoms vs. public safety."
Snowden himself has been called both "a man of conscience" who answered "a higher calling" and "a defector" who has made the United States "the target of international outrage" and who "answered the call of his own ego."
A Gallup poll released this week showed that 44 percent of Americans believe Snowden did the right thing by releasing details about the classified surveillance programs, while 42 percent said it was wrong and 14 percent said they were unsure.
As of this writing, Snowden, a North Carolina native, is believed to be in hiding in Hong Kong. Several members of Congress have called for his extradition to face charges in the United States, possibly for treason.
More on this story can be found at these links:
NSA Leaker Ignites Global Debate: Hero or Traitor? CNN
Why Edward Snowden Is a Hero. The New Yorker
Edward Snowden Is No Hero. The New Yorker
The Big Questions
1. As far as we know, no one has called Snowden a prophet, but bearing in mind that in their time, the biblical prophets were lone figures going against the stream of their times despite personal risk, how do we tell today when someone is being prophetic? Is it possible to tell immediately who is a prophet? How much time is necessary for one to have the proper perspective?
2. Remembering that the biblical prophets were more about forth-telling God's words than about foretelling the future, where does the prophetic voice come into play in our society today?
3. Why do you think discernment is one of the spiritual gifts?
4. When we feel that our conscience is pushing us to take some drastic action that could impact many other people, how can we check whether our conscience is in tune with the Spirit of God or merely with our own ego?
5. When you have agreed to operate by certain rules (such as to not reveal classified material), what, if anything, excuses you from the agreement you have made?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Deuteronomy 18:15
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. (For context, read 18:15-22.)
This verse is part of Moses' final address to the people of Israel as they are soon to enter the Promised Land. Throughout the 40 years of wilderness wandering, Moses had been not only their leader, but also their prophet, the one who told them what God wanted for them and from them. Now, however, Moses knows he is soon to die, so among the things he tells his people is about prophets -- true and false -- who would come along after him and how to distinguish those who are true prophets from those who are not.
He gives the people three standards for distinguishing prophets: First, prophets should be from among their own people -- fellow Israelites. Second, prophets should be like Moses himself -- in other words, their teaching should be in line with what Moses taught. And third, not only should they speak in the name of the Lord, but what they say should also prove true.
Admittedly, this third standard, while reasonable, wasn't very helpful, because it was an after-the-fact test, coming when it is too late to change how you responded or failed to respond to the individual claiming prophetic powers, but there you are.
We could try to translate this threefold test into some kind of measuring stick for determining who is and who is not a prophet today, but a better use of this passage for us is to hear Moses' assertion that there would be prophets coming along after him who would preach the true word of God. The prophets were often sent by God to preach during national crises in Israel or Judah, and they generally had messages about specific judgments related to the events of the times, but their larger message was always the same and was always timeless: Our wrongdoings will have consequences, but God will not desert us. God will never be unfaithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to him. God can be relied upon, and is ultimately in charge of all things. Of these truths the prophets were confident.
Many of the biblical prophets were not particularly successful, just faithful to God. A "successful" prophet is one who prevents rather than predicts the future. If the biblical prophets had been more successful, no one would have gone into exile!
Questions: What do you make of the after-the-fact test of who is a prophet? Are there any ways in which that can be helpful today? Why do we tend to hear challenges to societal practices as prophetic but sometimes fail to recognize assurances of God's faithfulness as equally prophetic? Why do we sometimes tend to hear challenges to societal practices -- especially those practices we disagree with -- as prophetic? Who do you see as faithful but not successful prophets today?
Psalm 55:12-14
It is not enemies who taunt me -- I could bear that; it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me -- I could hide from them. But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend, with whom I kept pleasant company ... (For context, read 55:12-15.)
The whole of Psalm 55 is a complaint about a friend's treachery, and the verses above get at the heart of how the betrayed person feels.
Questions: Can an action that betrays trust ever be the right thing? Why or why not?
Proverbs 11:13
A gossip goes about telling secrets, but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence. (For context, read 11:8-31)
This proverb is in a section contrasting how the righteous person acts with how an unrighteous person acts. Being trustworthy and able to keep secrets is seen as a mark of righteousness, while revealing the "dirty laundry" of another is despised. A "gossip" in this context would include someone telling secrets about another in order to seem superior to or to develop a joint sense of superiority over the other person.
Question: Compare and contrast the morality of revealing secrets and keeping secrets.
Jeremiah 38:4-6
Then the officials said to the king, "This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm." King Zedekiah said, "Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you." So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah ... (For context, read 38:1-18.)
In Jeremiah's time, the Babylonians were oppressing Judah, and Jeremiah, hearing God's word, advised Judah's King Zedekiah to submit to Babylon; he gave the same unpopular message to the people. For his efforts, Jeremiah ended up imprisoned in a cistern. He was later released, but he remained an unpopular figure with many because of his advice. Jeremiah wasn't exactly a whistleblower, but he wasn't a voice most people wanted to hear. Nonetheless, he was a bearer of God's word.
Questions: Are there any ways in which Jeremiah can be a model for what is needed to keep a democratic society healthy? If one chooses, as Jeremiah did, to speak the unpopular word to one's culture, what kind of reception and consequence should one expect? Why?
Amos 7:14-15
I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, "Go, prophesy to my people Israel." (For context, read 7:10-17.)
Here Amos, a man from the southern Hebrew kingdom, Judah, explains how he felt compelled to go to the northern Hebrew kingdom, Israel, and speak on behalf of God there. He makes the point that prophesying was not something he had a yen to do. He probably never aspired to be more than a farmer who tended animals and crops. He didn't go looking for someplace where he could "serve." But the Lord had other plans, and Amos felt compelled to go "blow the whistle" on wrongdoing in the northern kingdom, where his message was not well received. In fact, the priest of Bethel told him to go home and prophesy there (v. 12). Nonetheless, Amos faithfully did what God called him to do.
Questions: How do you distinguish between a personal opinion you hold passionately and a larger message you feel called to deliver? Can they ever be one and the same?
Amos makes it clear that he is not in the prophecy business for profit. Does that make a difference in considering whether someone is a hero or a traitor?
Imagine you are a citizen of Israel hearing this man Amos tell you of your wrongdoings (for example, read what Amos said to the people of Israel in Amos 2:6-8). How do you think you would react? Why?
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (For context, read 4:1-6.)
John is here talking about the importance of spiritual discernment, necessary to determine whether those who claim to speak for God actually do so.
Discernment is necessary in society as well.
A TWW team member comments, "[This news story] calls to mind the New Testament passages in the epistles about the need for multiple gifts; along with the prophet we need the person with the gift of discernment. One may be more flamboyant or riveting, but the other is no less important for being, perhaps, expressed more quietly."
Question: Is spiritual discernment better done by individual Christians alone or together in the community of faith? How about discernment regarding things in the culture? Are we better to test our reactions against the views of those who generally agree with us? Why or why not?
How many people are necessary, in your opinion, to properly discern who is a prophet? How important is individual revelation? Do you include individuals who do not automatically agree with your viewpoint as part of the discernment process? How important is it to come to a decision quickly? Can some decisions wait? In your own denomination's life and practice, how do you discern what Scripture and the Holy Spirit are saying to you today?
For Further Discussion
1. Respond to this, from a TWW team member: "One way I discern whether one is speaking prophetically is the extent to which that person makes me feel uncomfortable. (Snowden does not make me feel uncomfortable. I tend to agree with Jeffrey Toobin most of the time, and in this case he is spot on [in his article Edward Snowden Is No Hero. The New Yorker). My friend David Radcliff, the head of the New Community Project, has a talent for making people think hard about their Christian commitment. He focuses on environmental issues. I have watched him tell 4,000 teens that every person in Africa could be provided with clean water and a healthier life for a fraction of what they spend on cosmetics -- and he tells them the precise percentage."
2. Comment on this, from a TWW team member: "I remember a colleague who served with me on the governing board of an organization who had the gift of discernment about a situation but didn't say anything at the time. Later on, her instincts were borne out, and she always regretted that she hadn't expressed earlier what the Spirit laid on her heart. She felt if she had, the organization might have been spared some painful experiences we went through because we had not heard any cautionary voices when we really needed them."
Another TWW team member recollects how, after he and his wife attended a set of classes on discerning spiritual gifts, she concluded that her own spiritual gift was discernment -- or as she more earthily put it, "B.S. detection" -- and she has shown this gift in a number of contexts.
3. Respond to this, from a TWW team member: "In the entire biblical narrative, the prophetic one is one of the most difficult to engage. It is hard for most people (including me) to understand all of what they were saying and where they were coming from. In regard to this story [about Snowden], good questions surround the idea of a prophet, what is the prophetic voice and where that comes into play in our society."
4. Whistleblowers are often employees of companies or agencies who become aware of practices they consider wrong within the workplace -- practices that may harm others. And thus, despite personal risk, they expose it. One reporter, in a newspaper story on whistleblowers, stated that such persons "often feel it's their responsibility to speak up for those who can't." Yet often, whistleblowers find themselves threatened and treated with hostility even by some whom the whistleblower believes benefit from having the wrong exposed and corrected. Why might this be so?
5. How can you tell a whistleblower from a turncoat? What is the essential difference? How can you tell a prophet from a traitor? What is the essential difference?
Responding to the News
Is there a quandary in your life or the life of your congregation for which you need discernment right now? Consider discussing it with several mature Christians you trust, lifting the matter in prayer and consulting any Scripture passages that might relate. If possible, give the matter time and see where God leads.
Think about situations from your own circumstances that might either require revealing wrongdoing or avoiding gossip or tale-bearing.
Closing Prayer

Help us, O Lord, as we struggle with matters of conscience, to listen for your voice, either confirming what our conscience seems to be saying or warning us away from mistaken conclusions. And grant us the gift of discernment, that we may think clearly when we are evaluating the claims of others. In Jesus' name. Amen.