Thanks, Terry;
The Chirstians in Scotland during the "Killing Times" in the 1600's did exactly the same thing. Civil disobedience. When challenged by the King's soldiers to recant their faith their response was that we must obey God rather than man. They did suffer loss of everything they had, imprisonment, torture, and death for the cause of Christ. There are some accounts of these Covenanters on the internet. For a start...
http://www.covenanter.org.uk/WhoWere/
Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.