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The Moral Responsibility to Disobey Unjust Laws

Martin Rafanan

Bio: I am the son of immigrant parents. My father arrived in the United States from the Philippine Islands in 1927, and my mother came in 1949 as a German Holocaust survivor and displaced person. As a multi-racial, multi-ethnic immigrant family, we experienced discrimination and racism in this country. Yet my family believed deeply in the core values of American democracy, and I was taught that those values must be made real—applied intentionally—to advance equity and dignity for all people.

The legacy of my parents, joined with my commitment to God, compels my advocacy and public engagement. My faith is not abstract or private; it is lived out through participation in the Beloved Community, working to make justice and peace tangible realities in the world.

That faith led me into pastoral ministry within the African American community in St. Louis. There, the people of God challenged me to “have eyes to see and ears to hear.” They lived daily within systems of racism and structural oppression, and they patiently taught me how those systems shaped their lives and threatened the futures of their children. Through their embrace, loving solidarity, and spiritual wisdom, I began to understand injustice as it operates on the ground—and to learn how communities survive and resist through deep connection to what they called “Jesus on the Mainline.”

My Black parishioners taught me that speaking about justice was not enough; they expected me to walk the talk. They invited me into the struggle—in banks and real estate offices, in supermarkets and schools, on street corners and in public hearings. They challenged me to confront drug dealers who endangered their children and to name the complicity of those who drove in from the suburbs to sustain that trade. They called me to help elect responsible school board members, build housing for people experiencing homelessness, and create after-school programs for young people. They urged me to stand up and speak out in city council chambers, state legislatures, and the offices of members of Congress. They insisted that faithful pastoral leadership included active political engagement.

In short, they taught me how to be a pastor who is a partner and co-laborer in the struggle for liberation. That struggle continues, and it always includes political advocacy as a faithful expression of commitment to God.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so clearly named:

*“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”

Topics: Guest Speaker