Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Cboldt
Re: mingling of legal principles with faith-principles - I think it makes bad law.

I'm not a Constitutional scholar nor am I a lawyer, but I would have to disagree with you as a Christian. Your way sounds to humanistic. I reject humanistic law that is being taught today. I believe the founders would have too.

The difference between Biblical law and humanistic law is that the Bible does not attempt to save man or usher in a brave new world, or keep the world poverty free or strive for some New Deal society. The purpose of Biblical law is to punish and restrain evil, and to protect life and property, to provide justice for all people. It is not the purpose of the state and it's law to reform man...this is a spiritual matter. Man can only be changed by God's grace and not legislation or edicts by Judges. Humanistic law will never remake man and society. Too much is expected of the law nowadays...it has an impossible burden when its function is no longer to restrain.

Our judges are supposed to be Ministers of Justice with firm beliefs in God. (Romans 13:1-4).

I would argue that the 7th amendment was created for Bible believing Christians. A jury made up of your peers from the community cannot have a lawyer's knowledge of law, but what they can have is Christian's sense of justice and the legal tradition of the community. This amendment is so beautiful because you don't have to have a deep technical understanding of statute law.

226 posted on 10/26/2005 10:23:53 PM PDT by I got the rope
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 199 | View Replies ]


To: I got the rope
I'm not a Constitutional scholar nor am I a lawyer, but I would have to disagree with you as a Christian. Your way sounds to humanistic.

It is, and it isn't. There is no easy way to explain the dividing line, in part because one's faith does inform how one approaches the law. But I think holding firm to Constitutional principles and legal restraint can be expressed without reference to faith.

The underlying behavior, however, needs faith, morality, "something more." Society needs something more than law in order to obtain stability. Law provides dispute resolution structure and criminal remedy; but it cannot create morality of its own force. The law best serves an otherwise moral people. Law cannot create morality, and it is barely able to enforce it.

If you have time, read Blackstone - OF THE NATURE OF LAWS IN GENERAL.

229 posted on 10/26/2005 10:33:21 PM PDT by Cboldt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 226 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson