WHEN IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS DOES CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE BECOME NECESSARY?
In general, civil disobedience becomes necessary when the civil law stands in the way of a moral obligation. For Christians (I can write only from a Christian point of view, for my heart belongs to Jesus), moral obligations come ultimately from God. Thus, civil disobedience is necessary when there is a conflict between the law of God and the laws of human beings. There are many examples of this in the Bible (it is illuminating to study in this connection Exod. 1:15-20; Josh. 2; Dan. 3, 6; Acts 4:18-20; 5:27-32,40-42). In most cases, to be sure, Scripture urges Christians to be good citizens, obedient to the ruling authorities (Matt. 22:15-22; Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17), but in cases of conflict “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Now, the Bible also calls us to “rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter” (Prov. 24:11-12). We have, then, a moral obligation to rescue those who are being unjustly deprived of life. Consider what a diffe
