The Rule of Law Under Attack
Romans 13:1-7 makes it clear that as Christians we are to obey the government God places over us. What if that government is corrupt or evil? The apostle Paul still recognized the Roman rule over him despite Nero's evil regime. Should we do anything less? Is there a time when we should intentionally disobey the laws of the land? We find the answer to this question in Acts 5:27-29. Forbidden by the Sanhedrin to teach in Jesus's name, Peter and the apostles willfully disobeyed. "We must obey God rather than men!," was the response they gave before the authorities. However, even in that instance Peter and John submitted to the punishment of being flogged without protest. In fact they rejoiced that they suffered for obeying God. (Acts 5:40-42)
We live in tumultuous times. As a student of history I cannot think of a more perilous time, other than the Civil War, where we have been teetering on the brink of losing our Republic. Despite what you may think about Donald Trump, his political opponents have weaponized every agency of the federal government including the court system and the "free press," against him. Take off your, "I hate Trump" blinders for a minute and look at the big picture, the resultant chaos and distrust of the government has resulted in lawlessness. Our country has been dragged through the "Russian Collusion" hoax, three groundless impeachments, a kangaroo court of a Senate confirmation hearing for Brett Cavanaugh, the 2020 countrywide George Floyd riots which spawned the defund the police movement and BLM. We are now reaping what we have sown. No bail laws in big cities encourage flash mob robberies, unprecedented shoplifting and inner-city violence, police are nowhere to be found. Business owners large and small are moving out of inner cities or closing their stores. Those that remain are forced to place shelves and displays behind plexiglass barriers padlocked and chained to prevent theft. All of these seemingly disparate situations are linked to one another through the total disregard of the constitution and the rule of law. It started in the highest offices and agencies of our government and has finally trickled down to the grassroots level where it has begun to affect the average citizen.
Here's how this happens. When the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case reached the Supreme Court, most legal scholars predicted that Roe v Wade would likely be overturned. Someone with access to Justice Alito's drafts and communications leaked the draft of his opinion to the press in its entirety, just in time to affect an outcome of midterm elections and to cause a public outcry in order to intimidate the court. Abortion politicians used this opportunity whip the public into a frenzy over women's right to bodily autonomy, knowing full well that abortion was not made illegal or stopped, it was left up to each individual state to decide or regulate instead of the federal government. Activists illegally protested outside of the homes of conservative justices, stalking them to restaurants and basically terrorizing them. It is a federal offense and a felony to strong arm Judges while they are deciding a case. We heard crickets from the DOJ, they did nothing to arrest or curtail this until an assassin was discovered outside of Justice Cavanaugh's home. After the decision was finally announced, widespread vandalism of churches and pregnancy resource centers occurred, again, no arrests. Yet, a swat team arrived in the early hours of a Friday morning to the house of a Philadelphia father of seven. Mark Hauk was arrested in front of his family by 25-30 screaming, jack booted FBI agents, brandishing weapons pointed at the family, threatening all with deadly force and terrorizing Hauks wife and children. His crime? He shoved an abortion escort out of the way while he was accosting his twelve year old son, who was peacefully protesting across the street of an abortion clinic.
Justice is being meted out according to ideological beliefs that are compatible with the power structure running our government. "The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! " (The Law, Frederic Bastiat 1850) Bastiat's 173 year old essay seems almost prophetic to today's time in America. If we continue on this path we will lose our Republic to lawlessness. Proverbs 22:8 says, " Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail."