The pursuit of “justice” is a constant, inescapable, quest of humankind. We naturally fear consequences of injustice for ourselves and others. We insist life must be “fair”! Ensuring justice is the cornerstone purpose for any authentic government exercising authority over humans. The thing is, logically, justice cannot exist without a Divine standard to judge by. The quality of “justice” delivered by government is directly proportional to the quality of the standards (laws) used! The Ten Commandments of the Bible, and the “law written on men’s hearts”, (the “Natural Law” of the Declaration) are ultimately the basis for the “gold standard” for American justice authority. There is an undeniable, amazing correlation between Biblical concepts and the Principles of Liberty established by the Founders (freedom, prosperity, and peace). According to the Pew Research Center, every state constitution references God or the Divine. I don’t think anybody would argue; People suffer when government “justice” is based on bad laws. It stands to reason; if government intends to be the source of justice, it has a vested interest in finding, understanding, and maintaining perfect laws. Government “justice” deteriorates when those with the authority to write, execute, and interpret laws (the three branches) lose their focus, or intentionally undermine, the “gold standard”.
I challenge you to try to defend any authoritative alternative or standard to justify any government court sanction you can think of – without using Biblical principles! All of history confirms existence of “laws of nature and nature’s God” referenced in the Declaration of Independence. On what basis could you, for example, demand sentencing for murder without the standard “Thou shalt not Kill”? Or, violation of property rights without the standard “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not covet your neighbor’s house…”? Or, punishing anyone who is not complying with a contract without “Thou shalt not bear false witness? The entire Bill of Rights springs from God’s laws/ values we inherited in our Judeo- Christian heritage. Our founders anticipated our nation’s laws would be written by legislators who would be elected and re-elected by an electorate that embraces the “gold standard”. They believed a truly free, educated, people would give preference to God’s perfect law. History had clearly demonstrated to them how laws based on any given monarch’s human intellect/ or wisdom, as opposed to the Divine standard, leads to oppression and injustice. It is all spelled out in the Declaration of Independence including grievances against the king. We may be about to find out if the founders were correct or naïve’ to trust a free electorate depending on how individual Americans sort out our response to the current dramatic challenges (rioting, unwise Covid response, media lying and manipulation, campaign and political cheating …).
The “rule of law” is a great way to govern… assuming the laws are “gold standard” laws. Unfortunately, we seem to have fallen for a twisted perspective, a lie. Government endorsement of our Judeo-Christian heritage is NOT prohibited, is not oppressive, nor is it the establishment of religion! Removal of the Ten Commandments from our schools, court rooms and other public buildings is a declaration of the intent of some to deny the Source of moral absolutes with some vague value given to naïve’ tolerance. It is truly anyone’s right to reject the ancient standard, ironically because of the very standard being rejected. Religious freedom (including freedom to reject) is inherent to humanity, and the founding fathers’ governmental blueprint when creating America. To reject the ancient standard is to reject freedom. What is the United States of America without freedom?
Beyond ensuring our governing representatives have a valid perspective on the source of authority to ensure justice, there is little we can do except get into humble self-examination and reaffirm our own submission to God’s sovereignty. “Repentance” for the pride and selfishness that may reveal itself is absolutely appropriate. There is an open question whether this will happen on a wide enough scale. The source of justice in American government must emanate (originate from) a free, moral, and religious electorate. If the majority of Americans will not, (cannot) comply, the future is truly dark indeed!
This was also submitted as an article to The People’s Paper.