Abbie Hoffman: What Can Christians Take from His Life?

Abbie Hoffman was a character of the 1960s who stirred up controversy beyond what most dream of. You could say he did just to do it. Some of Hoffman’s actions had no true purpose behind them, primarily what he did as a youth. What can Christians learn from Hoffman though?

Hoffman understood the need to be active within society to bring change. He was not just another person who made shallow promises without attempt to follow through. Rather, he carried out his plans in a large scale format, usually opposing the U.S. Government including the CIA, New York Stock Exchange, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

He stood for what he believed to be the right thing to do and he acted on it. Coming out of the Civil Rights movement, Hoffman did not see an end in sight for battling against what he believed to be social ills.

Some may even know him from his raiding the stage during The Who’s performance at Woodstock while on an LSD trip. He was pushed off stage via Pete Townshend’s guitar to the back of his head.

However, Christians can take a lesson. We are losing our influence on society and sometimes it is necessary to work outside of the system.

Before I get very far into what we can learn, I should note that Hoffman is not a good role model for Christianity. We cannot, as Christians, completely mimic his actions. Hoffman incited violence, he was vulgar, abused drugs, committed suicide, and held beliefs inconsistent with the Christian faith. Hoffman was very controversial and sometimes for the sake of being controversial.

At the same time, he understood the necessity to protest. I firmly believe protest is a useful tool for accomplishing things though it ought to always be the last resort.

Hoffman was bold. We ought to be bold. He did not stop at just stating the problem and what “ought” to be the solution. Rather, he worked towards the solution. For example, some Christians have bombed abortion clinics in their protest. This is not how we are to be. Rather, we write columns, letters to the editor, and give public speeches defending the sanctity of life. We cannot stop at birth either. We must fight for the lives of the oppressed, the enslaved, the sick, and the poor. We can do this through other means as well, by giving and going.

In the end, Hoffman really is not a good role model for Christian action in society, but his boldness and eagerness to act is something we can learn from his life. Rather, someone like Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a good role model for the Christian though his involvement was often invisible in public life due to the Nazi Party in Germany. 


Hoffman is an interesting character and this is why I wanted to post this video for all to watch. I do want to warn you first that there is some strong language so if you have convictions not to hear such words, do not watch this video.