> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of The Fool
...
> people have the moral sense to hold their own wills as slight things > compared to those of God and His minister, the state � with the partial > exception of judges.
I'm starting to wonder if a history of the Reformation should be required reading for all Christians. Do people who talk like this not know what happened when the state and church were essentially one? Or do they think that in the last 500 years, people have become immune to the temptations of power?
The folks who talk about Christian roots of democracy arose need to keep in mind one of the main reasons that such ideas arose: the corruption that resulted from concentration of power in the church-state! And if they know the history, perhaps they need to stop imagining that it would be different next time.
There's a very important theological error at work in that thinking, in any event. Believing that God chooses who is in authority does not reveal God's purpose in doing so. Anybody who has much familiarity with the major stories of the Bible should realize that there is such a thing as a bad leader.
You don't have to dislike religion to find these comments scary.
Nick
<whistle> Foul! Selective quoting to make a point not supported in the text. The full paragraph:
This might imply that the death penalty would have little deterrent effect for the faithful. It might also imply that devout Christians have fewer moral scruples about disregarding the Old Testament's injunction against killing. ("For the nonbeliever, on the other hand, to deprive a man of his life is to end his existence," Mr. Scalia said sarcastically. "What a horrible act!") But that is not quite Mr. Scalia's point. He wants us to know that Catholics and perhaps other religiously minded people have the moral sense to hold their own wills as slight things compared to those of God and His minister, the state � with the partial exception of judges.
The editorial writer is injecting his thoughts of what Justice Scalia* said, not what was actually said. This happens more than a few times in the opinion piece.
I will mess this up, but I agree with what Scalia is saying if I'm reading his statements correctly. And I think I'm reading it more correctly than Sean Wilentz. I'm going to make a small point. Before December 6, 1865, slavery was legal in some of the United States. Yes it was abhorrent and everything else. But up to that point there was no law specifically outlawing it. (There may have been hundreds of laws, as I said I will make mistakes, try and follow the big picture). So if some court case came before a judge and the issue completely boiled down to 'Is slavery legal?' the judge should have ruled yes, no matter how he felt. No matter how he personally felt. In our country it isn't the judges making law, they have to interpret the law made by Congress. In the 1857 Dred Scott case, the Court had opined that African Americans were "beings of an inferior order and altogether unfit to associate with the white race," and "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." Who wants judges to have more power? Andrew? Let's hear it for judges who can make law from the bench?
(I was going to make two more points, but have better things to do.) If Scalia says he's a constitutionalist then he should be applauded. If abortion should be outlawed, let the Congress make the law, not the judges. (and I am 100% pro-choice, pro-death, however you want to label it.) No matter their moral feelings, the judges should follow the law, not the other way.
Kevin T. - VRWC
Sorry, this is a poor post. I was upset about how Nick had quoted, but couldn't pull a decent reply together.
*He's referred to as Mr. Scalia eighteen times, Justice Scalia four times. While this opinion piece was not about a specific court function, do you think if the subject had a Ph D., and it was related to his job, he would be referred to as Mr. Jones? (Saying a Physicist that writes poetry maybe they'll call him Mr., but if it's even remotely related to physics, they will always say Dr.)
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