Are you planning on sitting out this election? You might want to think again about what the Bible says about communities, individuals, and how it speaks to the question, “Does God distinguish between the community and the individual?”  And while we’re at it, “How big should government be? How far should its reach extend? Where does the Church’s role end and the government’s role begin?”  No one serves two masters.

As we continue our series Comparing the Political Platforms, today we circle back to cover the IRS in relation to the overall concept of the size and scope of government.

The Bible says nothing about the size and scope of government in the US. It does say much about community and about the individual’s role in it.

Consider this: Joshua and Caleb wandered in the wilderness along with the faithless ones who would die there and never see the Promised Land. They would be judged as a community and as individuals, with God distinguishing between the faithful (Joshua and Caleb), the innocent (the children), and the faithless within the community.

Numbers 14: 20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times– 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.” 26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29 In this desert your bodies will fall– every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But you– your bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. 34 For forty years– one year for each of the forty days you explored the land– you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die.” 36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it– 37 these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. 39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.

The government, the shepherds, and the leaders will be called to account in an especially profound way because of leadership. But each one is treated as an individual within that group when the real government spoken about in Isaiah 9:6-7 arrives in the very last day.

Ezekiel 34:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. …7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock … 17 “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats …20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.

Manmade government, though instruments of God, will vanish someday.  Every leader will be held to account as an individual, for the good and the bad.

But there’s more: The community of followers will be judged within and as a whole…both for our individual role as well as the impact we had upon our community.

1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Don’t be deceived: The fate of the disobedient spies displays that in God’s sight, sitting it out is faithless.

Your vote likely counts more in the eyes of God who gave you the candidates, who sees your heart, and who knows your true motives, than your vote actually counts in any election.  Our accountability begins as the family of God, extends inward to the individual heart, and outward to the nations.

Will God not know or care that we were dissatisfied with God’s choices for us?  Will it matter to Him that we refused to pray, responding with faith in action knowing His ways are not our ways?  Will God be pleased with our predetermined path of sitting it out?

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America
• Part 6, Abortion
• Part 7, Education
• Part 8, Drugs
• Part 9, Criminal Justice
• Part 10, the Death Penalty  
• Part 11, Guns and The Second Amendment
• Part 12, Taxation
• Part 13, the Environment

Good Christians and good Americans care about the environment. That we can agree on. Less certain is how to show that we care. As we continue our look at the political party platforms to move beyond personalities to ideas, here is what the Democrat, Libertarian, and Republican parties believe about the environment.

As Christians, should we hand over responsibility for the environment to the government?

That’s not what God did.

He handed the environment over to Adam and Eve and blessed their ruling and subduing it.

It seems to me that we’ve gotten so good at giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s (Matthew 22:21) and demanding that our neighbors give “their fair share” to Caesar, that we’ve moved right along to giving to Caesar what is God’s. Look at the all the ways we’ve allowed the unaccountable and ungodly blob of government to infiltrate every blessing that God gave to Adam and Eve as two individuals.  Here’s the blessing:

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground– everything that has the breath of life in it– I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

• The blob of government has inserted mandated insurance coverage for birth control into the “be fruitful”
• abortion into the “increase in number” with special needs babies and minorities considered the most deserving of death-by-mom-and-Uncle-Sam instead of helping to fill the earth.
• The blob of government has inserted regulation upon regulation
• and tax upon tax to tell everyone how to fill, rule, and subdue the earth.
• There is no more ruling over the fish of the seas and birds of the air without having a higher court, an Endangered Species Act, or an EPA telling us what to do and how to do it.
• And then taking us to court and establishing a fine for causing climate change.

Didn’t God give stewardship of the environment to responsible individuals, not to some unaccountable and political bureaucracy?

That’s why I’m still watching the Upper Des Plaines Watershed like a hawk as part of my ongoing ministry. I am an individual caring about our environment…just like my Lord and Savior Jesus did… ever since He created it in the beginning.

About Jesus, we read, Colossians 1: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Maybe the world would be a better place if we all received God’s blessing with the individual responsibility for stewardship attached

… and we received it as individuals held accountable by God for it

… and didn’t just hand it off to the blob to do it for us,

thinking that giving it to Caesar was just good as each man or woman loving the Lord and doing it for God’s glory. 

Maybe we’ve just gotten too good at giving it all to Caesar so we don’t have to be bothered lifting a finger to care about the environment ourselves.

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America
• Part 6, Abortion
• Part 7, Education
• Part 8, Drugs
• Part 9, Criminal Justice
• Part 10, the Death Penalty  
• Part 11, Guns and The Second Amendment
• Part 12, Taxation

There are 3 things never to discuss in polite company: Money, Politics, and Religion. So today, we’ll go 3 for 3, and violate the entire etiquette trifecta to discuss taxation.

The 16^th Amendment. Few know the history, but everyone who works for a living, or did at one time, knows the consequences of taxation. “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

It was adopted on February 3, 1913, and became a ratified part of The United States Constitution on February 25^th of that year.

Who spends the money at your house? How does it get spent?

Take that and put it on steroids, this is what the power of taxation does for (or against) a country. This power has become increasingly complex and divisive and yes, political. Here are what the party platforms say about taxation:

In this series, we’ve been comparing the political platforms and what the Bible says about each topic because it moves us beyond personalities to ideas.  The bottom line is that it speaks to how a Christian can be in the world but not “of it.”

Using the simplicity of the Libertarian Platform as our structure, we will discuss the IRS under the topic of government, but for now let’s just look at what the Bible says about taxation.

In Genesis 41:33-38, we see the first recorded taxation.  It was designed for national security and the public good so that all might survive the famine.  It involved setting aside a portion of the harvest.

Next we see in Genesis 47:13-26, taxation under the rule of Pharaoh (v 26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh.)

The Bible records also a system of tithe (a tenth) that went for the Lord’s use (Lev 27:30-31) and to support the Levites whose living was made from serving the Lord (Num 18:21-24).

John MacArthur explains it this way: 

“The Israelites paid a tenth for their government, a tenth for their festivals, and another three and a third percent for welfare, or approximately 23 percent a year in taxes. That is not unlike the original tax that was begun in Egypt, which was twenty percent. The three tithes were important. The first one paid for the needs of those who governed the nation. The second one cultivated national life. And the third one took care of the poor, the orphans, and the widows. It was a welfare tithe. Those three tithes were collected off the top of everyone’s blessings and were used to strengthen the nation.”

Everyone’s blessings. Yes, even the poor’s.

It’s like what Jesus says about the poor widow. After talking about the evils of political financial and religious exploitation, Jesus says, Mark 12: 38, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” 41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything– all she had to live on.”

Jesus didn’t stop this poor widow from contributing, but rather commended her actions. Why? Because money wasn’t her priority. Love for God and trusting Him is what motivated her.

So yes, the Bible tells us to pay our taxes. Romans 13:6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

It’s not just what we owe the government, though. When Jesus was asked explicitly about taxation, Matthew 22: 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

If the Church in America hadn’t been doing such a deplorable job of caring for the poor, we wouldn’t need Uncle Sam—the world’s worst replacement father and provider—to take far more than he needs to give far less than he could to actually helping the poor. Fifty years after the “war on poverty” was declared, the history confirms there are still poor among us.  Jesus was right when He said,

Mark 14:7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.

Christians in America must move beyond simply writing a check to the IRS and believing an increasing obligation there is good enough.  We must “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America
• Part 6, Abortion
• Part 7, Education
• Part 8, Drugs
• Part 9, Criminal Justice
• Part 10, the Death Penalty  
• Part 11, Guns and The Second Amendment

If there is a controversial issue the Bible says nothing specifically about, it is the issue of guns and The Second Amendment, which reads, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

It is an issue that people long accustomed to being free cannot appreciate in the same way as those who have been oppressed by others and had to fight to achieve the very freedom we take for granted today.

The political platforms have much to say about guns.

Since guns did not exist when Jesus walked the earth, this issue resides solely in the political realm. Our Biblical look will simply state a few universal truths.

1. God values human life and deplores the taking of it because of His Image present in every man. Genesis 9: 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
2. Life is more important than property. Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes
3. One of the Ten Commandments reads, Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
4. Defending life and property are different. Killing for protecting property is not the same as when one perceives his life is threatened. Exodus 22: 2 “If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; 3 but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed.
5. Fighting evil happens both in the spiritual and physical realms Luke 22: 31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” 35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. 36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” 38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That is enough,” he replied.” Jesus wasn’t doing a weapon count to see how well they’d be able to be freedom fighters. Rather, the principle is that defending against evil takes place in both the spiritual and physical realms and preparation in both areas is the key to not being overtaken by evil.
6. God does not confuse life in Him through obedience to Him … with the world’s definition of “life.” Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess … 19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
7. When Jesus went to the Cross, He entered the spiritual battlefield. He was not a doormat nor was He surrendering to the evil around Him. He was conquering it with spiritual weapons in the spiritual realm. Jesus could not shed any blood but His own or He could not have been our Savior. We are not in the same category because we are not God. So here’s the deal: On one hand we are called to first pursue the spiritual battle against evil. 2 Corinthians 10:3 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” On the other hand, there is a physical realm in which some battles will occur. If every God-fearer never engaged in self-defense, we’d all be slaughtered and there would be none left alive for a rapture that many Christians are counting on for getting them out of an evil world.  And, if every God-fearer refused to serve in the military or in the government as God’s agent of justice (Romans 13:4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer), then justice wouldn’t be by God’s standard, but rather by the world’s, yes?  Christians take a stand against evil, both in the spiritual realm as well as in the physical realm.
8. And finally, weapons don’t equal death. Just because we possess a weapon that could end a life (such as a gun, a knife, a box cutter, a crowbar, or a fist) doesn’t mean that using it will automatically involve a death. Sometimes, it’s just a threat of injury to put space between our families and the criminal, enough space and time to flee. And life has been preserved all around.

Guns are a touchy subject, easily turned on emotion, and lethal force is always, rightfully questioned. In the end, any weapon (including our own bodies) can be used to kill. Evil people will do evil things. Christians seek peace but prepare for defense.

Peace is never achieved, nor is defense against evil ever gained, by treating the law-abiding as if they are the evildoers. Law breakers, by definition, will break whatever laws are designed to restrain them.

Christians, The Second Amendment, and guns aren’t inconsistent when we consider that deterrence of evil is always preferable to lethal force against evil. And God’s Word offers principles to guide the good hearted and the law-abiding toward that end.

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America
• Part 6, Abortion
• Part 7, Education
• Part 8, Drugs
• Part 9, Criminal Justice
• Part 10, the Death Penalty

For those of you finding this series (Comparing the Political Platforms) longwinded even if an important corrective to focusing on personalities, today’s installment will be a refreshing wind on an old dispute: The Death Penalty. Each political platform has a concise statement on it.

The Fifth Amendment is probably best known for someone “pleading the fifth” but the whole text reads: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

***

So, due process must happen, but deprivation of life is constitutional.

The flip side, however, is that just because it’s constitutional doesn’t mean that it’s preferable.

The Democrat Platform explicitly identifies exonerations as evidence that the death penalty should be abolished. To them, it is arbitrary, unjust, and cruel and unusual. Libertarians also point to it as a failed policy—adding to it their objection to expansion of power for government–and therefore, they reject the death penalty by adherence to their Libertarian ideal.

What does the Bible say about the death penalty?

The Bible actually commands the death penalty in the Old Testament and accepts it as a given in the New Testament.  And all God’s people said, “Ouch.”

God’s Word does not give us the detailed outline of when it ought to occur today, on our side of the Cross. But the fact is, if someone is dead, the opportunity to commit further crimes has just been eliminated in the death of the criminal. But the fact also remains that the death penalty is the taking of a human life.

In Exodus 21:12, we read, “Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.” In fact, so much of Exodus 21 deals with who must be put to death that it seems like no man would be left standing. Same thing with Leviticus 20. It’s really pretty frightening, if the Christian is honest.

But the point of these commands was deterrence.

It was designed to set consequences.  This was not for budgeting purposes to see how far one was willing to go rogue.  Rather, its goal was deterrence in order to alert and convince people to honor God in all things so that these consequences could be avoided.

Is the death penalty still a deterrent?

The Democrat and Libertarian Platforms would argue that it’s insufficient to merit its practice ever again. The Republican Platform argues its constitutionality and to leave it up to the states, which is the limited government view as a Republican core principle.  Remove any and all possibility of deterrence by abolishing part of the Constitution and it opens up a whole can of worms best left alone.

The Christian in me sees a priority of life over death, truth over lies, deterrence over punishment, and reality over wishful thinking. Disobedience to the law is a given. People will die, even be murdered. Suffering does happen. So what do we do as Christians in the real world?

In Hebrews 11, the Bible talks of the great cloud of witnesses who were put to death in various gruesome ways for no crime greater than obeying God.  Or these days, preaching Christ. In 2 Timothy 2:7-9 Paul talks about being in chains for the Gospel. In Revelation 2:10 Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

For the Christian, a prison is not a prison, but a place to be a witness for Christ. And the Christian—by virtue of faith in our Savior—knows that death does not have the final say. There will be a resurrection at the end of it.

Whether or not a death penalty remains a possibility for punishment… reserved only for the most heinous of crimes…people DO respect death, especially their own.  For most of us, it’s a deterrent.  It’s why no one wants to be captured by ISIS.

People will continue to die in horrific ways, some at the hands of criminals, some in wartime activity, and others as a consequence of their own actions. Each of us must consider deterrence as the best of all options since it preserves life the best. And to hold the punishment called the death penalty in the sober awareness that—before God as our witness– it is a human life we’re talking about taking which is every bit made in the image of God as the fetus a pro-lifer protects, the child we shield from abuse, the girl we rescue from sex trafficking, the woman we harbor far away from domestic assault, and the aged man for whom we stand and proclaim he has value to this world so long as he lives.

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America
• Part 6, Abortion
• Part 7, Education
• Part 8, Drugs
• Part 9, Criminal Justice

Yesterday’s headline read “702 shootings by city’s cops, not one federal prosecution.” It’s a typical day in Chicagoland with the FBI investigating the cops. Our whole criminal justice system is a mess. “Community activists and family members of those shot by police have urged federal officials to take a more active role in investigation the incidents, hoping they will be more aggressive than local authorities” (Chicago Tribune August 9, 2016).

It’s no wonder that law and order (i.e. criminal justice) is a hot topic for the 2016 elections and that justice means different things to different people.  Again, using the Libertarian Platform as our organizing structure for our series–Comparing Political Platforms–the various parties have much to say about criminal justice.

Criminal Justice is justice achieved …  for the victims of crime … by way of punishment of / consequences for … the perpetrators of crime.

What is justice, anyway? Well, it depends on who you ask.

There is a legal definition and a biblical definition.

Legal: “The proper administration of the law; the fair and equitable treatment of all individuals under the law. Aside from the fairness issue, it also means ‘a scheme or system of law in which every person receives his/her/its due from the system, including all rights, both natural and legal. One problem is that attorneys, judges, and legislatures often get caught up more in procedure than in achieving justice for all.’” (source Legal Dictionary)

In other words, our legal system has developed several flaws:

• First, it is set up to reward people who achieve a conviction whether or not it’s merited…and equally rewards those who get people off the hook for the crimes they have, in fact, committed. The legal fees one can charge is grounded less in truth-seeking and is tied more to the effective achievement of your side’s goals.
• We have juries of our peers irrespective of education level, who can be swayed by all kinds of emotion, political, and racial motivations
• And we have judges whose political aspirations may flavor their judgments in a calculated career move.

We have a process and a criminal justice system but actual justice runs through on stilts.

Why?

Because they’ve forgotten (or maybe they never knew in today’s secular litigious climate) the origin of justice.

It’s supposed to be grounded in Truth.

Consider the Biblical definition:

Biblical:  “Biblical justice involves making individuals, communities, and the cosmos whole, by upholding both goodness and impartiality… As true and good, God seeks to make the object of his holy love whole. This is what motivates God throughout the Old and New Testaments in his judgments on sin and injustice. These judgments are both individual and corporate in scope. “

God’s justice is always truth-seeking and redemptive…or we’d all fry in the fires of hell.  That’s the truth and why redemption is so important.

God’s criminal justice punishes for several purposes:

• First, for restoring that goodness which was lost in the crime,
•  in order to awaken the soul of the criminal to experience remorse,
• to redeem the repentant sinner,
• and in whatever way possible, to repay what was taken from the one wronged, the one trusting in God’s fairness.
• And it’s all for the purpose of wholeness (integrity) and holiness (inward and outward manifestation of truth).

What does the Bible say about God’s brand of criminal justice?  It must be stated that crime against God is called sin.  The criminal is called a sinner.  And justice was done in the body of Jesus Christ on the Cross so our sins would not count against us.

It’s all about reconciliation:  2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

It’s all about truth.  Revelation 19:1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments”

Of course, God has a significant advantage in knowing everything, being all powerful, and having unerring judgment. He’s always right.  And we’re not.

There you go, our problem defined: How do we achieve criminal justice in a legal sense when we reject the Truth and are prone to err ourselves?

We aim for perfect justice and accept that we will always fall short of that goal. The Bible says,

On hearings and appeals, Moses said, Deuteronomy 1: 16 And I charged your judges at that time: Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly, whether the case is between brother Israelites or between one of them and an alien. 17 Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.

In the reign of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles 19:5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6 He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

Maybe the reason people feel like they have no justice in our criminal justice system is that they feel there has been partiality, bribery, and that judgments are lacking truth.  Truth resident in a healthy fear of God. As our judiciary increasingly becomes the home of secular thought, it’s no wonder that we find judging done … by man … for man … a problematic idea.

There is no fear of God upon our judges.  How can we possibly get justice?

• Some people want law enforcement convicted and criminals to go free.
• Some people want law enforcement that’s gone bad to escape justice and just give the victims’ families a big pay out as restitution for their 15 minutes of fame on social media and their lifetime of sorrow.
• Some people think there should be racial quotas that match demographic makeup.
• Some people think that victimless crimes are not crimes at all because they only harm themselves.
• And some people think money should be the determining factor (the rich should use their money to get off even as the poor get convicted OR the retribution idea that the rich should be punished and the poor should get a pass, irrespective of crime).

This is not justice.

They’ve deluded themselves into believing the same lie that everyone else in government has. There is no God and they will never be held accountable for their judgments by a Higher Power.

To that lie, God says to us through revelation to the Apostle John, Revelation 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”…5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; 6 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” 7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”

The bottom line is that God wants all of us to fear Him, and

Zechariah 8:16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD.

Do you want true justice in our criminal justice system?  Here’s the Bible’s instruction: Romans 13: 3b Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

We need fear of God upon our judges and upon our people.  Without the Truth, how can our criminal justice system possibly administer true justice? 

Any reform measures must address the real problem. 

There is no fear of God.

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America
• Part 6, Abortion
• Part 7, Education
• Part 8, Drugs

What does the Bible say about recreational drug use? Absolutely nothing…explicitly. But if there’s one reason the Libertarian party is on the map, it’s because of their position on legalization of drugs. So, let’s pluck recreational drug use and “victimless crimes” out of the Libertarian Platform’s discussion of Crime and Justice and address it first. Separate treatment is merited because it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of Crime and Justice which will be covered next. Crime, Justice, and law enforcement are of great concern to many Americans and that topic deserves to be a standalone. So let’s continue comparing party platforms regarding their positions on drugs in America. (The full series of topics, including links to the documents, are included below.)

So, if the Bible really doesn’t have anything to say explicitly about recreational drug use, why even cover this?

There are actually several good reasons:

First, drug use in America remains controversial. It’s a thorny issue because it’s not mentioned in the Constitution and not explicitly in the Bible, but there are some who would argue that medicinal uses are legitimate, while others who see it only as a pathway to outright legalization.

I don’t believe we should avoid discussing controversial things.

So a second reason is that a robust, fact-filled debate gets us beyond the emotion and helps us to see that the party platforms couldn’t be farther apart than on this issue, though for different reasons.

* * *

Drug use can be argued (as the Libertarians do)…to be a victimless crime.

There is ample evidence that marijuana can help in certain medical situations.  I’m not a doctor so I don’t know if there are other prescriptions to do the same thing.  Beyond that, to people buying cannabis in Colorado, for example, and smoking it in Nebraska in their own home and bothering no one, it can be argued as a victimless crime and clogging up our court systems with unnecessary cases. They have a point.

But there is plenty of evidence to the contrary as well.  Drugs may have hidden victims that a casual observer or a short-range consumer of news might not notice.

For those considering it a crime with plenty of victims, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, an “emerging drug trend being encountered throughout the state is the mixture of tobacco or marijuana cigarettes and “blunts” that have been soaked in embalming fluid, then dried. The main users appear to be teenagers and adolescents in their 20s… According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, it is common for marijuana to be laced with PCP and/or embalming fluid, both of which produce a hallucinogenic effect. Cigarettes soaked with embalming fluid trend to burn slower, thereby increasing the chance for a prolonged high.”  For a description of “wet,” “fry,” and “illy” read this summary article by BBC news.

Some of the crimes being committed which we’ve seen in high profile news stories include the theft of cigarillos to make the blunts on the front end of use… as well as aggressive and erratic behavior we’ve seen in news stories regarding tragic arrests. Police cannot predict the behavior of someone who has smoked such a blunt, nor is the offender sometimes even aware of the behavior he’s exhibiting. It’s dangerous for both the police and the user, especially in domestic violence situations since laced marijuana has been clearly implicated in an increase of these crimes, according to recent studies.

Is the victim of murder by someone unaware of his behavior due to clouded thinking from drugs any less a victim of murder than cases in which the offender was mentally ill… or like with ISIS, completely calculating? Is the victim of theft any different because the offender’s purpose was drug use than if the theft was long-planned for personal acquisition of property that belonged to the victim? There are principles at stake if we only will separate out the drug from the crime.

If the Bible says nothing explicitly about drugs, are there any principles for us to follow? Sure!

• The Bible tells us to be clear thinking. 1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”
• The Bible denounces drunkenness as a problem, not simply the consumption of wine. Ephesians 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” To Timothy, Paul writes, 1 Timothy 5:23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
• The Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should treat our bodies as if God Himself is living there because He does. 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
• And the Bible tells us that authorities are there for a purpose: Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established…4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.”

Many arguments and justifications are simply an excuse to do what we want, whether or not it comes at anyone else’s expense.

To that, the Bible says to love our neighbor, a Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

So at the end of it all, we have a conscience. And the reason we have laws is that some people don’t use theirs for social good. Where does yours stand on this issue?

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America
• Part 6, Abortion
• Part 7, Education

Choices, choices. Jump ahead or skip and go back? No, this is not the latest dance craze. I’m going to jump ahead and group a couple of the Libertarian Platform planks under a single heading so that I can actually do a comparison with the Democrat and Republican Platforms. Thinking of parental rights and education, these platforms are actually talking about choices in education–their focus, their range, their limits, their authority, and their content–and how best to serve the public good and serve the public well.

As you read, kindly think about the roles of government, parents, and the relationship of both authorities to the children being educated. The DNC and RNC Platforms are highly detailed in their views which I have tried to summarize to their core beliefs (in their own words). The DNC Platform spends considerable time discussing free college and universal preschool (pages 30-32) and the RNC Platform uses its document to emphasize local control and parental choice (pp.33-36). Please consult these linked pages for those details I cannot include for the sake of space.

The federal government’s influence over education that we accept as commonplace today began in the 1960s.

Prior to that, schools were “public” even as early as 1635 when the Boston Latin School opened as a public “exam school” for the purpose of educating the sons from Boston’s elite. Latin was one of the subjects most desired in formal education because it opened the world of history and religion. The Puritans emphasized education for their children, beginning in the home, primarily for the purpose of reading the Bible. Why? They believed that spiritual and moral instruction was foundational to the intellectual and moral development of children.

In the earliest years, however, public schools were not funded by tax dollars, but rather by donations, parent-funded teacher salaries, and land rentals.

Dedham, MA is home to the first tax supported public school and was run by Reverend Ralph Wheelock. This school was supported by town taxes (i.e. local control). In 1647, recognizing the value of education, the General Court established that every town of 50 or more families should build a school supported by town taxes.

All this is interesting history on education you might say, but what does the Bible say about teaching children?

• Education teaches culture and instills values, such as this, regarding the Passover, Exodus 12: 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'”
• To keep the Israelites from forgetting the Lord, God commanded education, Deuteronomy 6:1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up…10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you– a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant– then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
• Remembering history was considered a very important function of education. Joshua 4:1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” 8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them.
• Early education establishes a pattern for the child’s whole life Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
• Other verses about education’s content include Deuteronomy 4:9–10; Deuteronomy 11:18–20; Proverbs 1:7-8;  Proverbs 19:27; Ezekiel 44:23; Matthew 5:19; 1 Timothy 6:3–5.
• Hinting or directly identifying the authority conducting education includes verses such as those above as well as Deuteronomy 32:46; Psalm 34:11; Psalm 78:1–7; Isaiah 38:19; Joel 1:3; Luke 6:39–40; Ephesians 6:4.
• The bottom line is that parents and the religious community (e.g the Church, for Christians) teach the ways of God and have the responsibility for transmitting culture and knowledge from one generation to the next.

There is a fine line between education and indoctrination.

Between inculcation and indoctrination.

That fine line divides along authority: who is doing it.

The word indoctrinate used to mean to teach a doctrine, knowledge, and/or a set of principles which would guide future actions. These days, it takes on a political overtone whereas in the original meaning, it was more like our word inculcate (to educate, stress by persistence and repetition the cultural values and attitudes of virtue from parents to children) but was broadened to include literacy and science.

Why does indoctrination in the modern meaning present such a problem?

Indoctrination is what created Nazi youth. It is what presently trains young jihadists and convinces Chinese children that communism is their best way to economic and personal prosperity. It is indoctrination (e.g. brainwashing, propagandizing) that alters the civilization with a goal of control. Indoctrination makes independent, critical, and rational thought undesirable—with varying degrees of consequence/ punishment for noncompliance to the regime’s desired pattern.

Indoctrination is well known to be one of the most effective ways of strengthening a government’s control which explains why it is widely used in totalitarian regimes. Independent, critical thought is less valued. Each person becoming a conditioned part of community becomes the goal and in the process, individual expression, free speech, and dissent are pushed down in favor of an exalted group thought, a politically correct (or incorrect) way of living and thinking.

Consider all the ways biblical thought is chastised by our culture and Christians are bullied into silence, especially in our public schools. It’s easy to see how far we’ve headed down the road of indoctrination.   The Church, remaining largely silent as this has happened, bears a huge responsibility for the current amoral and immoral attitudes of the United States.

All that said, allow me to state–unequivocally–that educators I know want no part of indoctrination. (Please read it again so you do not misunderstand what I say.)

Educators I know are good people who carry a heavy burden, made heavier

• by the abnegation of parental responsibility,
• the absence of partnership with the home,
• the attitude of resenting authority by today’s youth,
• the abrogation of local control of schools to the federal government’s heavy hand of unfunded mandates, testing requirements, curriculum control, and the ongoing threat of losing funding,
• and a union which represents their interests in contract negotiations but extracts a high price of union dues so that money can fund candidates whose values may be antithetical to the consciences of their own membership.

As you ponder the political platforms, consider how America has slowly transferred authority from parents.  We are now forcing… increasingly nationalized educators… and an increasingly nationalized and militarized police force… to do the job that parents and the Church once did. There are cultural ramifications to placing our babies, our children, our youths, our college students into a national system of learning and thinking.  Each of us whether parents or educators who consider ourselves Christian need to take a step back and gain wisdom on this issue,

For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world” (William Ross Wallace).

You gotta hand it to those Libertarians, they don’t hide behind language, even if their platform is kind of a cop-out. Of course you’ve probably guessed: today’s topic in our series is abortion.

The Democrat Platform substitutes other words: pro-choice, reproductive rights, women’s health care, and justice. In reading through their platform, please substitute the word abortion for any of that. It’s time to call a spade, a spade…and not try to make abortion seem to be more noble than it is.

The Republican Platform substitutes pro-life in one instance for anti-abortion which is merely looking at the pro- side of things, instead of what they oppose (abortion and physician assisted suicide). Fair is fair, so please feel free to substitute anti-abortion for the word pro-life in that occurrence.

Nice try, Libertarians. Government should be kept out of the matter?

It’s already in there.

You know it and we know it.  

Would Libertarians say that murder or theft should be a question to each person for their conscientious consideration and that good-faith views are present on all sides? Doubtful. What this boils down to is that Libertarians haven’t considered a fetus entitled to those God-given inalienable rights that are due the rest of humanity.  Rights that Libertarians often exalt as off-limits to government overreach.

Typically, I try to leave the platforms for you to assess impartially, but I ask only that you consider the following: Just because science today cannot save a fetus that is, say, 12 weeks, doesn’t mean that tomorrow’s technology won’t.

Ultimately one must decide what he believes about when life begins and therefore when the right to life…liberty and the pursuit of happiness applies.

At the time of Roe v. Wade,

“the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made unconstitutional any state laws banning abortion except to save the life of the mother, the court ruled that no restrictions could be placed on abortions before the 28th week of a pregnancy.“

A baby at 28 weeks is just a few days younger than this one (right).  This is a photo of my friend’s baby who is now a 4 year old girl, the light of her mother’s life, and a dream come true. In this photo, she appears as she was… born at 29 weeks, weighing a little more than 2 packages of butter. In 1973, she likely would have died. In 2016, ones younger than her (22 weeks) have been nurtured to maturity (click quote above for documentation link).

As you might imagine, the Republican Party Platform goes into a lengthy discourse about this topic under headings of (1) the Fifth Amendment,  (2) healthcare, and (3) in the section regarding our leadership in the world. I have limited their statements for the sake of brevity…and equality with the DNC platform’s statement length.

What does God say about the unborn? Here are but a few:

• Perhaps the 2 most famous: Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
• Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
• During the terrible testing of Job, it is written Job 1:18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
• God gives life to everything living. 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time– God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen

It is for this reason that many of us who are pro-life believe that this issue is one upon which any others are built.

It’s hard to care about finding a job for someone who wasn’t allowed to be born in the first place.  It’s hard to care about education or tuition assistance for a child who was denied the basic right to live to pursue a college degree at all.  It’s hard to care about reproductive health for the baby girl whose mother’s choice was to abort her before she ever came to be of age to make those decisions for herself.

Life.  It’s really pretty basic.

In the eyes of God, is it a matter of good-faith views on all sides, to abort or not to abort?  Seems to me that God is abundantly clear on this one.  I believe that if we don’t agree with God on this most simple of theological planks, our whole theology unravels and our whole Christian witness disintegrates.  Can one claim to be a Christ follower and follow any way other than life?

One of my friends of Facebook inquired why the Democrat Platform is not pro-life (anti-abortion) when they have a reputation for defending the downtrodden.

There is an answer, but I fear many probably don’t want to hear it.  Least of which my Christian friends.

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy
• Part 5, Human Relationships, Sex, and the Law in a Divided America

Here’s another section–human relationship and sex–that the Libertarian Platform addresses head-on and succinctly.  Whether you agree with the content, surely we can agree on its being to the point. It gets unpacked in different ways by the DNC Platform and the RNC Platform and these differences are well worth noting.

Leave people to their own devices and what do you get?

Usually de Vices.

So, to what degree should we have any laws to circumscribe the boundaries of socially beneficial behaviors?

Biology aligns with God’s ideal as laws of nature, but even that becomes a point of conflict when changes–cultural, political and scientific–are pursued in defiance of nature for an individual to receive (by legislation) what nature’s law excludes as helpful for advancing the species. Our main point of disagreement is in the area of one person’s insistence upon “rights” that are not God-given as if they were.  Cut to the chase and this forms the crux of disagreement.

In Christian terms, how can we be a neighbor to our fellow man while holding onto our own integrity? And how can we honor all the blessings given by God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? This blessing in the form of a command was given to individuals for the sake of community so that we would be fruitful and multiply, extending God’s rule over the face of the earth.  How do we love God and love neighbor simultaneously?

The whole book of Leviticus—in our Old Testament Law–is designed for that purpose.

In Exodus, God gave us Ten Commandments which were simple enough. But the entire book of Leviticus unpacks those Commandments, teaching us the boundaries of how to live in a community, and to identify socially beneficial and godly behaviors, suitable for the Christian and the God-fearers of generations before Jesus Christ.

Oh, they’re suitable for the rest of us too, but not everyone is willing to admit that. Political priorities get in the way and result in a nation divided on human relationships and the law. 

So, Christian, which of the party platforms reflects God’s priorities in this area?

Laws in the United States don’t always reflect God’s priorities and we may very well be in a season of judgment for that reason.  It wouldn’t be the first time in human history that God judged a nation for the sins of the people and the sins of its rulers.  The Passover (selectively punishing Egypt to deliver Israel), the wilderness wandering (selectively preserving the innocent but letting the faithless die outside of the Promised Land), and the Exile (preserving a remnant) are but three examples.

Personal relationships and human sexuality are clearly laid bare in Leviticus 18 and the consequences are well defined (for both the native-born and the alien, in and out of the community of faith). Leviticus 18:24 “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.” 25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 “‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things– such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.'”

For those of you who think that your private human relationships don’t matter to God, Leviticus would beg to differ.

* * *

This series contains:

• An overview of each party’s platform http://seminarygal.com/comparing-political-platforms-part-1/
• Part 2 Overarching principles of individual vs. state and rights of self-determination
• Part 3, on Freedoms of Speech, Religion, and Expression
• Part 4, Government Transparency and a Right to Privacy