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# Civil Disobedience in a COVID19 World: A Response Unfit for the Church?
- URL: https://matthew-d-burkholder.ghost.io/civil-disobedience-in-a-covid19-world-a-response-unfit-for-the-church/
- Published: 2020-05-11T16:36:20.000Z
- Updated: 2020-05-11T16:36:20.000Z
- Author: Matthew D. Burkholder
- Tags: Politics, Theology, #Migrated-1787946130805, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-28 15:42

As some citizens all over North America express discontent over emergency measures, there is a growing concern that governments will or are overreaching in their authority. Under the banner of freedom and self-determination, certain groups have launched protests and are openly violating State-mandated quarantine orders. Christians are now considering the relationship between the church and State, the intersection of theology and economics, and civil disobedience as a potential response.

**The Relationship Between Church and State**

The church has spent considerable energy reflecting on its relationship with the State. Rome viewed the church as an atheistic novel religion that threatened the empire's stability. The church's response was overwhelmingly nonviolent, and early Christian thinkers went on record to advocate living in peace with the State (Rom 13, 1 Pet 2:13-17). In reflecting on the fall of Rome, Saint Augustine confronted a profound fear that God had abandoned society. His response in *The City of God* was that God is providential over everything. Faithful are citizens of a heavenly dominion, "longing for that security where peace is complete and unassailable" (Book XIX, Chapter 10). For Augustine, God graciously maintains social order through the State. Due to the Fall, Augustine believed the State was necessary to contain the effects of sin and execute divinely ordained punishment. Not surprisingly, Reformers who were heavily influenced by Augustine held similar views. Alternatively, entire religious traditions (Anabaptists) evolved under strict beliefs regarding the separation of church and State. According to The Schleitheim Confession of 1527, Anabaptists, while affirming that the states use of force "is ordained of God," this force remains "outside the perfection of Christ." Generally speaking, Anabaptists see the life of Christ as normative for Christians and at odds with the State. Finally, some Christians have taken an extreme interpretation of the life of Christ and the Gospels and advocate for complete political anarchy. The most prominent proponent of Christian anarchism was the Russian author, Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy's 1894 book, *The Kingdom of God is Within You,* outlines a radical dichotomy between the way of Christ and the way of the world.

In short, there is no robust universal theological understanding of the relationship between Church and State. I have outlined this as the outset (and I hope you've stuck with me!) because various groups will inevitably find itself standing within a tradition that is shaped by its circumstances. We would be wise to reflect on our context and beliefs about the State. Our view of the State will partially influence how we view civil disobedience and the *communicative action* of the church. By communicative action, I mean that in all things the church involves itself in a kind of drama that is a "struggle over how best to perform one's discipleship" (Vanhoozer, *The Drama of Doctrine*, 59). Although diverse, in almost every theological tradition (Tolstoyans being an example of the exception), the church has accepted, at the very least, a limited role of government (*Church, State, and Citizen: Christian Approaches to Political Engagement*, 9). Performing Christian discipleship has involved being honourable citizens and obeying the law. And because human beings are made in the image of God, Christian generally believe that the State has a moral responsibility to protect its citizens. Furthermore, part of the church's performance is to ensure that the State upholds the value and dignity of human life.

**Economic Prosperity: The Gospel of the West**

According to Kevin J. Vanhoozer, "it is easy to follow well-established secular scripts, to exchange greeting-card platitudes, to sway with sound bites. The church today exists, at least in the West, in a post-Christian setting, and it is tempting–all too tempting!–to play to the cultural crowd" (*The Drama of Doctrine*, 59). I believe that the idea of economic prosperity profoundly influences the drama of Western Christianity. Of course, economic prosperity has a great potential to lift people out of poverty and thus serve the kingdom cause. However, the script of our church finds itself at odds with the script of the modern corporation. While corporations are legally mandated to produce profit for the shareholders, the church is morally commanded to exercise charity for those in need. Furthermore, part of our Western cultural dogma results from the nature of our foundation, expansion, and rise to global power. We have only recently (c.1990s) started to deconstruct how the colonial driving force of our history has shaped our theological understanding.

How is this relevant? To begin, the cultural value of profit-making and our Western colonial history may be the context for our view of the State. The State becomes a tool for ensuring economic prosperity and expansion. That it is no longer operating, as usual, is genuinely at odds with our culture. What is shocking about our current situation, [as my pastor recently pointed out](https://jkorkidakis.com/blogs/jon-korkidakis/please-stop-embarrassing-jesus?ref=matthew-d-burkholder.ghost.io), is that the majority of society has decided to value the wellbeing of vulnerable groups over economic wealth. We could point to countless examples where the rights and lives of the "other" have been sacrificed to secure economic growth for the majority. As mentioned before, Western history is a colonial history–it involves unthinkable acts of violence for the sake of economic expansion. Granted, the economic shut down is negatively affecting some more than others, but what is being exposed in individual states is a lack of necessary safety nets to uphold some citizens for this very situation. That our society is now pausing our industrial machine to care for the vulnerable demonstrates an immensely Christian ethic. That this pause has the real potential to harm some financially explains how skewed our society is regarding equality.

**Civil Disobedience: Lessons From MLK**

The theological foundation for practicing Christian civil disobedience (working, holding services, etc.) in this context is shaky at best. We would be wise to examine one of the essential documents outlining the reasons and justification for civil disobedience, Martin Luther King Jr's ["Letter From a Birmingham Jail."](https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles%5FGen/Letter%5FBirmingham.html?ref=matthew-d-burkholder.ghost.io) Drawing from St. Augustine, MLK reminds his readers that there are indeed just and unjust laws: "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." For MLK, the fact that the majority was imposing a law on a minority *that was non-binding on themselves* was a violation of justice. Likewise, a just law is that which the majority compels a minority to follow that they would be willing to obey themselves. In other words, no white person in 1960s America (the majority) would be willing to be forced to sit at the back of a bus. Other than necessary services (i.e. that which keeps us alive), our government has imposed an order not on a minority, *but the majority*. At this moment, churches are barred from holding services of more than five people. However, so are mosques, synagogues, mandirs, social clubs, large and small businesses, and countless other groups. Christians are not being singled out, persecuted or forced to do something that the near whole of society has not agreed too. We are experiencing communal separation and anxiety for the sake of the whole.

For MLK, civil disobedience was also thoroughly a nonviolent campaign and involved a four-step process: "collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action." There is something ominous about those engaged in or considering civil disobedience. Can we conclusively say we have collected the relevant facts, whether it be the economic or health risks involved? I don't believe we have even moved past the first step to even considering civil disobedience. Is negotiation happening? Can we reopen services according to the principles of *nonviolence*? What kind of act is potentially and knowingly making someone ill? Furthermore, in the history of nonviolent civil disobedience, the process of self-purification involved a deep commitment to self-sacrifice for the more significant cause of justice. What will it say about our "sacrifice" if our civil disobedience puts others at risk?

The key dynamic is power. How is the State using its power? Is humanity being uplifted or degraded? The theological justification for direct action against the State involves a judgement of whether the image of God is being uplifted or degraded. Before direct action is to be taken, a clear and harmful imbalance of power between the majority and the minority must be demonstrated. I realize that time may be a more valuable commodity for some more than others. I consider it a great privilege to live in a country with robust safety nets and government assistance to help my family and me through this time. But now is not the time for the church to engage in civil disobedience. Now is the time for the church to challenge the damaging systems that have put people at risk. Now is a time for self-sacrifice and living out the Great Commandment. Maybe then will our scene in God's divine drama be one to remember for years to come.