This week’s discussions ought to be interesting. I thought I’d delve into the Edward case. So, who is he and what did he do? “ worked as a Allen Hamilton

This week’s discussions ought to be interesting.  I thought I’d delve into the Edward case.  So, who is he and what did he do?  “ worked as a Allen Hamilton systems analyst doing contract work for the NSA.” (Courage Foundation)   He had government top security clearance and leaked classified documents that “revealed detailed secret NSA programs and capabilities that have been and continue to be used to collect and store personal communications both within the US and abroad.” (Courage Foundation)  He claimed that he was doing this as a and that he first worked through internal channels.  According to his interview with the Washington Post, “he brought his misgivings to two superiors in the NSA’s Technology Directorate and two more in the NSA Threat Operations Center’s regional base in Hawaii.” ( ) also claimed that he go through more normal channels because as a government contractor, as opposed to being a government employee, he was not protected by the laws, nor would he have been protected against retaliation and legal sanction for revealing classified information. (Kessler)  The Washington Post agrees for the most part that this assertion is correct. So, did he act ethically?  Yes and no.  s intentions, I believe, were ethical.  You could think of his actions as being similar to a white hat hacker discovering a zero day exploit, giving that information to the service owner to fix, and then publicly releasing that information after the vendor has failed to act and the issue. tried to work internally first.  However, as a person that has worked on classified programs for a defense contractor, I have a very hard time condoning him releasing that information.  I have to believe there would have been a better way to get the results he desired without publishing classified documents.  He achieved some good, positive results – investigation, increased transparency, legislative reform, and informed public debate (Courage Foundation), but what unintended consequences also occurred? As I thought about this biblically, I came up with Romans 13:1-7 Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.  So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval.  For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.  Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience.  And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor. Clearly, however, with man’s sin nature, man’s law does not always align with God’s law.  We can see evidence of this in the book of Daniel.  Daniel 14-18 describes how , , and were thrown in the furnace of blazing fire for not bowing down to king Nebuchadnezzar’s gods per his law.  Daniel 6 also describes how Daniel righteously defied the king’s law.  In both instances, God saved these men for putting faith in God and keeping God’s laws above man’s. actions may have been unconstitutional, I don’t think they rise to the same level that Daniel and his friends faced.  For me, I think I would have either tried to work more within the framework or just walked away.  Having given my oath to protect the secrets entrusted with me, I would be hard pressed to come up with a scenario that was so morally wrong where I would break that oath. Sources Free Frequently Asked Questions (2016). The Courage Foundation. Retrieved from B. (2013, December 23). Edward , after months of NSA revelations, says his mission’s accomplished. The Washington Post. Retrieved from Kessler G. (2014, March 12). Edward claim that he had ‘no proper channels’ for protection as a