For many years we lived in a culture that was deeply guided in its legal prudence by the biblical revelation of God. In 1890 the Supreme Court of the United States defined religion as “one’s views of one’s relation to his Creator, to the obligations they impose of reverence for his being and character and obedience to his will.” There was no other definition of God but that of a personal Creator. That definition restrained evil, even in the highest courts of law. But not any more.
Last week two legal decisions indicated where our culture is and where it is going.
The Supreme Court last week gave a massive boost to the legalization of same sex marriage. Judge Kennedy cast the deciding vote because of his clearly subjective belief that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 was essentially motivated by “animus [hate] against homosexuals.” Essentially Justice Kennedy, with unbelievable hubris, accused of being motivated by hate: the 342 House members and 85 Senators and President Bill Clinton who voted for DOMA, plus anyone today and the millions in past history who defend heterosexual monogamy. Among other things, this ruling places the highest legal institution in the land in the same dubious category as the angry left wing Southern Poverty Law Center, which has illegitimately posted many conservative groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council on its list of “hate groups.” So much for the legitimacy and objectivity of the judicial branch of government.
A few days later, in San Diego, an equally discouraging ruling was made by the presiding judge in a case brought against the Encinitas Union School District arguing that yoga taught in its elementary schools was religious. Att. Dean Broyles for the prosecution showed that this was one of the most egregious examples of “entanglement” of “church and state” in recent jurisprudence, since the program was
1. financed by a half a million dollar grant from the very religiously-Hindu Jois Foundation, which clearly states the religious character of its yoga, and
2. taught by people preselected and certified by Jois, some of whom were trained at the Jois Foundation in Mysore, India! Nevertheless, the yoga-practicing judge ruled that the program was nothing more than non-religious physical exercise.
How far we have come since 1890! The god of gay marriage and yoga is not the transcendent personal Creator of Scripture, but the divine self within, who creates its own reality and the laws to go with it. So, losing the God of Scripture is not merely a religious event. It means we lose the objective source of law. Thus the US legal system, for so long the admiration of the rest of the world, is more and more a legal fiction, no longer to be trusted to bring justice to the land. It is now capable of leading the world into untold levels of unrighteousness.
“the US legal system, for so long the admiration of the rest of the world”? Would that be the same legal system that included numerous state and federal laws protecting slavery, tolerated and condoned the mistreatment and attempted genocide of native Americans, and prohibited women and blacks from voting for most of its history? Would that be the same legal system that incarcerates and executes an inordinate number of black Americans? Would that be the same legal system that refuses to investigate bank executives responsible for perpetrating gigantic financial fraud? And would that be the same legal system that up until 2003 made homosexual acts illegal? I’m afraid you have far too high an opinion of America, Sir!
If you can find utopia anywhere else in the world please let me know. If your crass and jaded characterization of the US were true it fails to explain why so many have flocked to the US from so many places. In principle what Dr. Jones said is true, but certainly in practice there have been abuses and circumvention of the law and constitution. But as one who has lived overseas for 20 years I can assure you many where I live in South Africa would sell their soul for an opportunity to live in the US. As for the inordinate number of blacks imprisoned, your statement begs the question, were they found guilty of crimes? You also omitted atrocities like abortion where 1.5 million innocents are slaughtered each and every year. Of those abortions, 1100 African-American innocents are slaughtered each and every day.As for the financial fraud you mention, you conveniently omit that it was the federal government (under the Clinton administration) that created the apparatus–via Freddie and Fannie–for that to take place. So if we are going to exercise justice here than many former and present politicians should be indicted as well. But your selective reasoning easily glosses over such details. What you seem to be looking for doesn’t exist on earth, only in heaven.
Good remarks but hasn’t the US lost the God of Scripture when it legalized other things like abortion, etc?
This sounds like another ‘TRUTH PROJECT’. Given God’s prophetic timeline regarding Israel’s regathering in it’s land to finish the last commas in Dan 9:24, I doubt that we need another ‘ Think Tank ‘ over thinking the Gospel. While there may be another revival for America, it will be likely very brief & superficial like Josiah’s.
Quite frankly, I find ‘Reformed’ theology very weak on eschatology. As far as this group being, ” the only one” doing this type of work, try Answers in Genesis and ICR. They have as sound an apologetics curriculum as can be found anywhere. The compromise of the biblical timeline in Genesis with evolution’s pagan theology is one of the most destructive trends in the church today, and some of the worst offenders are from the seminaries.
Here’s a novel idea, try using the plain understanding of the text and let the Holy Spirit do His job.