Posted on 05/15/2008 10:08:00 PM PDT by LikeLight
May 18, 2008 on WGVU-TV West Michigan:
#820 Christians in the Courtroom
Witnesses place their hand on the Bible before they testify: how would principles from that Bible play out if it were actually opened up and applied? Would prosecutors be arguing for forgiveness? Stephen Bloom, attorney with Irwin & McKnight law firm in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and author of The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues, wonders with host Karen Saupe how empty courtrooms might become.
Inner Compass is a television interview show that explores how people make their decisions about ethical, religious, and social justice issues. Guests include authors, activists, religious leaders, and engaging thinkers from around the world.
Inner Compass airs on PBS station WGVU-TV throughout southwest Michigan Sundays at 1 p.m.
Grand Rapids: channel 35 or cable channel 6 Kalamazoo: channel 52 Calvin College: campus cable channel 12
I’m up way too late, so I’ll see ya in the a.m., but I thought you might want to check this out!
It’s great to be out there engaging the culture for Christ!
FYI, I’m getting lots of really positive feedback on the book from the first wave of readers!
Thanks for the ping LikeLight.
Would prosecutors argue for forgiveness?
Yes and no. Yes, because we should forgive. No, if it means the criminal doesn’t have to face any consequences.
Biblical forgiveness does not mean all the negative consequences just ‘disappear’. Part of the reason people are able to forgive others and move on in their lives is because justice (temporal, eternal) is meted out accordingly. This is why so many people today can’t get past things, partly because they know in their hearts they didn’t get justice in the now. God allows for both temporal and eternal consequences for sin.
The very fact that Christians have lawsuits among themselves means they have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, they themselves cheat and do wrong, and they do this to their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sure - thanks for dropping by!
Totally agreed. In my book, one of my main points is that all of us should take responsibility for our own actions. Especially those of us who claim to be Christians. We need to stop clogging up the courts defending ourselves from the consequences of crimes we really did commit - even the "small" stuff, like speeding tickets, etc.
Based on the Apostle Paul's approach in the Book of Acts, we need not accept punishment for false charges, and we may certainly assert our rights to a fair proceeding ("I appeal to Caesar"), but we must admit to the things we have done and face the consequences.
Romans 12:19 - Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Our human administration of justice will always be flawed, especially as we try to cut off the Judeo-Christian roots of our legal system.
But as individuals, as our faith deepens, we can concern ourselves less with whether we "got justice" in this world, and trust more that God's eternal justice will prevail. And, when we apply this concept honestly to ourselves, we can also see the urgent need to plead the only valid defense we have in the eternal court: The shed blood of Jesus Christ.
You will love my chapter on litigation - seriously - I build on this excellent passage and many other powerful scriptures to show whe God so strongly discourages civil litigation.
whe = why
Congratulations, LikeLight! It really is a beautiful book. I hope and pray it does well.
BTW -- "break a leg" re: your forthcoming television debut!
The general reaction I'm getting to the book from readers is something like "I expected it to be a dull legal book, but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down - and some of the stories brought tears to my eyes." I keep getting variations of this sort of heartfelt comment. Very humbling and exciting stuff.
That is one of the great strengths of your book, LikeLight: You put "real people" into "real situations" in a way that the reader can readily identify and sympathize with. You put finely-drawn characters into compelling plots, telling their stories in ways that inform us about possibilities that we might ourselves personally face one day.
Today, at so many points in our lives, it seems we get embroiled in "legal contexts" whether we are the active or passive party in such disputes. Your book cautions for restraint in the bringing of actions at law, and counsels all parties to all disputes brought notwithstanding in the principles of justice.
It is justice — a gift of God to mankind — that alone legitimizes positive law. The Framers of the U.S. Constitution knew that. And their revolutionary design that established the United States of America was premised in that understanding.
But these days it seems oh so easy to forget that "law" and "justice" are not synonymous, readily interchangeable terms. We ought to remember the wisdom of the American tradition, which is firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian understanding: "Law" must conform to the ends of "Justice" — the divine Gift — in order to be legitimate.
We live in a litigious age. It seems anybody will sue anybody over the drop of a hat anymore, and "money is the compulsive cause." The plaintiff's bar encourages and makes a fortune out of the misfortunes of other people who haven't got the good sense to avoid such controversies in the first place.
Anyhoot, your book definitely provides much needed guidance on such issues — and so much more.
For instance, anyone planning for the financial well-being of elderly relatives, or looking forward to their own estate planning, should read your book.
You make the charlatans making money off this natural human concern easy to spot. That right there ought to save a whole lot of people (i.e., the people who read your book) a whole lot of future heartache...not to mention wasted money.
As I mentioned earlier, yours is truly a beautiful book, LikeLight! It is suffused with the Christian understanding of Justice on earth as God's great gift to humanity; and how this great gift continues to raise up the human heart and spirit now and always, to the standard of divine Justice, our saving Grace.
Dear LikeLight: Kudos and "Well done!"
Thank you, betty boop, for that amazing and insightful review/commentary!
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