It Takes a Church to Protest

Why civil disobedience runs in our blood.

W hy this cover story at this time? We are not advocating a particular action for a particular cause. But the title is meant to suggest that we live in a time when there will be particular causes that very well may require Christians’ civil disobedience.

Is that because we now live in a post-Christian society? Not necessarily, Christians were ferrying black slaves on the Underground Railroad in a country powerfully shaped by the Second Great Awakening. And Christians led the civil rights movement at a time when the public square was dominated by, as sociologist Will Herberg’s classic put it, Protestant-Catholic-Jew.

Luther’s “Here I stand, I can do no other” in the face of papal authorities is in many ways our watchword. Protestants are protesters. Civil disobedience runs in our blood.

Protestants are protesters. Civil disobedience runs
in our blood.

Of course, we must choose our moments; we are called to “obey the governing authorities” (Rom. 13) and should first exhaust other means. Not every injustice requires a protest. Most of the time, working the system can work wonders.

But there are times when it doesn’t, and those in power need to be startled into paying attention to injustice. “Nonviolent direct action,” wrote Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.” Christians are called to be peacemakers, yes, but sometimes the path to peace is strewn with crises and tensions that we peacemakers create.

But not all of us. There are times and seasons. Those responsible for the financial and emotional welfare of spouses and young children may not be able to risk even a night in jail. And this illuminates why civil disobedience is a churchly act, something the Christian community does together. We tend to think of it as brave individualism. But if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a church to effectively protest injustice. Some will suffer jail time or onerous fines, while others offer childcare, prepare meals, or help pay fines. Nearly every 1960s civil rights activist sitting in jail was surrounded by a supportive and praying church.

Prayer, of course, is not an afterthought, merely a technique to comfort those jailed. Christian civil disobedience is nothing but anarchy if not done in obedience to the real Sovereign. It’s not an angry reflex or only a community act, but an act of faith discerned through prayer. And it is performed as obedience worked out in love—love of God and even for the institutions and people who thwart justice.

If civil disobedience is in our blood, the love of God is the heart that pumps justice through our veins.

Mark Galli is editor of Christianity Today.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Is It Time for American Christians to Disobey the Government?

Pregnant and on Mission in Zika Territory: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The Data Don’t Lie: Couples That Pray Together Actually Do Stay Together

News

How Pakistani Christians Fleeing Persecution Get Tied Up in Thailand

News

What Arab Christians Think of Muslims' Marrakesh Pledge to Protect Them

News

Gleanings: April 2016

Reply All

Testimony

When Altar Calls Don't Work

When the Abortion Doctor I Protested Was Killed by a Sniper

Why Jesus’ Skin Color Matters

'Finally': What the Pope and the Patriarch's Cuba Meeting Meant

Why I’m Not Hoping For Heaven

What an Obscure Old Testament Figure Reveals about Us Gentiles

Editorial

What Reconciliation Sounds Like

Why We Shouldn’t Remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance

Review

Why We Still Need Kierkegaard

Review

How John Piper Knows the Bible Is True

New & Noteworthy Books

Excerpt

Christian Parents: Your Children Need More Than a Bomb Shelter

Defining Evangelicals in an Election Year

View issue

Our Latest

Review

New & Noteworthy Books

Chosen by Matt Reynolds, CT senior books editor.

News

Recovery Ministries Help Portland Get Clean

After an attempt to decriminalize drugs made the addiction crisis in Oregon even worse, local Christians are pleading with the sick—and the state—to let them help.

News

When a Stanford Bible Study Led to an AI Startup

Two young Christians made a college counseling tool, saying AI should serve those on the margins—not just the rich and powerful.

A Solution for Seasonal Overwhelm

Focusing on the few in front of us makes a tangible difference in our local communities.

News

Finding Sobriety—and Jesus—in Vietnam’s Christian Drug Rehabs

The country’s church-run addiction centers are so effective that communist officials are taking notice.

Review

The Black Church Has Five Theological Anchors

Walter Strickland’s sweeping narrative of African American Christianity portrays a big God who is strong to deliver.

Review

Tending and Keeping the Christian Past in an ‘Ahistoric Age’

Why the work of historical stewardship isn’t just for historians.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube