Civil disobedience

As I refrain from offering personal opinions and speculation in these responses, I will direct my remarks to the general subject matter that is referenced in your second question.

In the Bible God tells us to submit to his representatives in government (Romans 13). We are to give them honor and respect and obedience. There can be exceptional behavior on our part if we face conflicting directives from God and the government. In cases like that, we obey God (Acts 5:29).

That passage from Acts guides our actions if the government compels us to go against God’s word, but what if the government enacts laws that are unjust but do not force sinful actions on our part? There are peaceful options available to us. First of all, we pray. We pray that God would bless his representatives in government with wisdom and love, to rule with justice and impartiality (1 Timothy 2:1-4). If we disagree with legislation, we are able to contact our legislators and relay our disagreement to those people who represent us.

Is there a place for civil disobedience? An answer you will hear in our circles is that, within limits and reason, there might be occasion for passive civil disobedience. That disobedience does not consist of violent resistance but peaceful inaction. The motive for that course of (in)action would be important. A noble motive could be one that seeks to protect other people from suffering injustice.

While Scripture is our guide in matters like this, we can benefit from God’s people who explain and apply Scripture, and so you might be interested in reading Martin Luther’s thoughts on civil disobedience in his work: “Can Soldiers Too Be Saved?”

Living as members of God’s kingdom and citizens of an earthly kingdom definitely presents challenges to us. While we have our eyes on God’s fourth commandment, honoring his representatives in all areas of life, we have our sights even higher—on God’s first commandment, loving him more than anyone or anything else. And as Christians, our greatest motive for doing that is to thank him for his forgiving love in Christ.