From Jim O'Brien
March 25, 2017
Hi Friend, One Law The Bible
is a big book so it's easy to read certain passages that have profound
implications without grasping the depth of meaning. For some of us it takes
several readings for the meaning to sink in. For all of us it takes experience. So it was
the first few times I read God's instruction to Israel in chapter twelve of
Exodus. "One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who
dwells among you." (Exodus 12:48) This occurs just after His instruction
for observing Passover only a short while after Israel had escaped from slavery
to the Egyptians. It is reasonable that God knew Israel would have trouble with
self-government so He gave them laws that were superior to those of any other
culture. In their
infancy they were so naïve they had no idea that strangers would come in among
them and change their laws. Furthermore, they knew nothing about making
laws-they lacked experience. So God became their king and made good laws,
which, if kept, would lead to a civilized nation of peaceful inhabitants. But peace
and prosperity depended on ALL citizens submitting to "one" set of
laws. The value of ONE Law for all citizens is one of the great characteristics
of civilized behavior. When
driving on an expressway it is common to see a speed sign for trucks that is
lower than the posted speed for cars. But if the same expressway posted a
different speed for men than for women there would be outrage. We don't
believe there should be one set of laws for people over six feet tall and
another set of laws for those under six feet. It is fundamental to our system
of values that no one is above the law-in other words, politicians are subject
to the same laws as citizens. In fact, the United States was born from the idea
that the King of England was bound by the same laws as his subjects. It's a
concept American citizens learned from the Bible and the Magna Carta-and we
fought a war to preserve the principle. None of
this is to suggest that we don't believe there is a difference between men and
women. Nor does it imply we don't believe in cultural diversity. It means
we are equal UNDER the law but equality means we must be under the same law. When God
made the first humans He created them male and female. God made us with
differences. He created the different races understanding their unique
characteristics. He intended that men and women would think differently and He
intended cultural differences. But it was God who directed Israel to have one
law for the entire nation. Diversity
of thought was expected but oneness of values was demanded. A crisis
is now brewing in England and has also started in the U.S. In January 2014, the
chief inspector of the police forces in England and Wales, Sir Tom Winsor, told
the London Times that "some parts of Britain have their own form of
justice." He added, "There are some communities born under other
skies who will not involve the police at all...there are communities from other
cultures who would prefer to police themselves. There are cities in the
Midlands where the police never go because they are never called." An
undercover documentary, Secrets of Britain's Sharia Courts, was filmed by the
BBC which showed there are 85 Sharia law courts operating in mosques and houses
across Britain. These courts routinely issue rulings according to Sharia law
that are at odds with British law. A new
phrase has cropped up in both England and France. It is "no-go zones"
meaning no one can go there except Muslims. In January 2008, Michael Nazir-Ali,
then one of the Church of England's most senior bishops, warned that Islamic
extremists had created "no-go" areas across Britain where it is too
dangerous for non-Muslims to enter. It has become a country within a country. In 2011
the magazine Standpoint published the first-hand account of a British
clergyman's wife who had just returned to London after living in Birmingham.
She wrote, "For four years, we lived in inner-city Birmingham, in what has
been a police no-go area for 20 years. Many of our inner cities have been
abandoned by our key workers: our doctors and nurses drive in from afar, the police
have shut down their stations and never venture in-they and ambulance crews
have been known to be attacked." The world
seems to be on the verge of the loss of civilization. There is an anti-law
sentiment that is sweeping the world, whether it is in Paris, London, Cologne
or Ferguson. It's a force that hates law. It seeks to impose chaos on all of
us. America
was founded as a nation "under God" meaning we were under His law.
But leaders decided that the Law of God was not necessary. They reasoned that
other laws and other cultures were just as good. Never mind that there is no
empirical evidence to support such a claim. The
Prophet Isaiah dealt with a people very much like ours. His advice to the
leaders was, "Come now, let us reason together." (Isaiah 1:18) In
other words, where is the culture that is superior to that which has been given
to us by our God? Where is there a nation with more justice? Where is the
nation that has been blessed with greater blessings than the nations that recognize
the God of the Holy Bible? Our
challenge to the leaders of nations that once embraced the Christian ethic: before
you abandon the laws of God "come, let us reason together." We will
not shrink from looking at the evidence objectively. Show us an example of a
better world than we have been given. Where is the god that has blessed his
nation more than our God has blessed us? Come, let
us reason together! Until next time,