A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


February 22, 2016

A Nation's Quandary: The Future of the Supreme Court & the Constitution

     This past weekend the nation's political attention was on the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and how his replacement could re-focus the direction of this country and the authority of the Constitution.  If you step back for a moment, it is almost bizarre to think that the future of this nation rests on the shoulders of one man.
     Yet, that is what Justice Scalia's son, the Reverend Paul Scalia spoke at his father's funeral mass:  “We are gathered here because of one man, a man known personally to many of us, known only by reputation to many more; a man loved by many, scorned by others; a man known for great controversy and for great compassion.”   The one man that the Rev. Scalia was speaking about?  Not his father ... “That man, of course, is Jesus of Nazareth.”
     Bravo, Reverend Scalia!  I'm sure that your father would have been proud!  Because the understanding of true Justice, after all, comes from knowing that God authorizes those who will become ministers of His justice over us.  And in writing the Constitution, and establishing the Supreme Court, I believe that the Founding Fathers understood that as well.  Consider this statement: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" (John Adams).
     Now follow that statement with this thought:  An important aspect of our system of government is that it is based on the Rule of Law. This concept is a direct descendant of Hebrew law and the Ten Commandments. Together with the concept of unalienable rights from God, these concepts helped ensure a way of life that respected the dignity of every individual. The combination of these biblical concepts is a foundation of our government that helps subjugate political power of potential tyrants. One only has to notice how every tyrant has a practice of changing the country's constitution to suit himself (or to butter the bread of those who put him in power (Courtesy of FaithFacts.org).
     So how far off track has the highest Court in the land come from these founding ideals?  Let's see ... they have removed the Bible from the public square and our schools, thereby removing the moral absolutes that the Word of God established, and allowing anyone to set his own standards.  They have consented to the murder of 57 million innocent lives since 1973 (Roe v. Wade).  They have endorsed same-sex marriage while legislating against American businesses who oppose it on a Biblical basis.  And our liberties in regards to free speech, the right to bear arms, States' rights, and our rights to be secure in our persons and privacy are coming under increasing attack.
     If we, as Americans, truly understood the enumerated powers given to the Supreme Court under the direction of the Constitution, we would be screaming Judicial Tyranny!  It would be blatantly apparent that the Court has overstepped its bounds and is acting above the Law of the land.  Case in point .... Did you know that “Judicial Power” refers to a court’s power to hear and decide cases. Art. III §2, U.S. Constitution, lists the cases which federal courts are permitted to hear. They may hear only cases:  
a) Arising under the Constitution, or the Laws of the United States, or Treaties made under the Authority of the United States [“federal question” jurisdiction];
b) Affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers & Consuls; cases of admiralty & maritime Jurisdiction; or cases in which the U.S. is a Party [“status of the parties” jurisdiction];
c) Between two or more States; between a State & Citizens of another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States; or between a State (or Citizens thereof) & foreign States, Citizens or Subjects; [“diversity” jurisdiction].
    Anything else, is outside the powers given to them by the Constitution!  As Alexander Hamilton, one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, who helped draft the document wrote: …the judicial authority of the federal judicatures is declared by the Constitution to comprehend certain cases particularly specified. The expression of those cases marks the precise limits beyond which the federal courts cannot extend their jurisdiction...
     What I'm trying to tell you is that the Supreme Court has no legal jurisdiction to hear the cases on abortion, same-sex marriage, Obamacare, gun rights ... let alone declare them law!  Let me say that again ... Constitutionally, their rulings are not law.  Judges are appointed to discover and apply the Law, not to re-write or to re-interpret it.  Yet, we the people of this nation, have been lax in holding the branches of government accountable to the Constitution.  We have been conditioned to relax our vigilance and to accept their overreach of power.
     President Andrew Jackson said it best:  “If the Supreme Court is to be the final arbiter (to decide differences) of what the Constitution says, then (the American people) we have ceased to be our own rulers (under God), and the Supreme Court is our ruler.”   It may seem trite to refer to them as "activist judges", yet that is what they are --- legislating from the Supreme Court bench to suit their own prejudices and those who put them in power.
     So, you can see how important the next appointment to the Supreme Court really is, and why the other two branches of government are going to fight for the authority to name him or her.  Have we gone too far in allowing the Court to overstep their authority?  Have we gone so far that the Constitution has lost its power to restrict the limits by which they influence the law?  And finally, I wonder if it will be impossible to find a Judge who not only understands that it is his responsibility to respect and abide by the Constitution, but that the Law of God is at the foundation of the establishment of this nation's laws.
     As was stated by the Supreme Court Decision in Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1892: “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian…This is a Christian nation.”  We have strayed from this principle and the condition of our nation and the gutting of the Constitution is ample proof of our failure to uphold this doctrine.   The selection for the next Supreme Court Justice may very well determine the future of our country and the Constitution.  Pray for mercy and wisdom!

Thank you to Barbwire.com and FaithFacts.org for valuable information for this post.

2 Chronicles 19:6    He told them, "Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict."

2 comments:

  1. I'm so concerned about this issue! It weighs so heavy on my heart because it is extremely important to the future of our country. I know the only answer is prayer because God is the only one who can help us now.
    Dianna

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    1. I know that God has a purpose and a plan for this nation and those of us who follow Him. But He also had the same for Judah and they had to suffer captivity in Babylon for 70 years before God's mercy returned the remnant home. I feel like I am already a captive in Babylon, so I continue to pray for release and God to restore us to the nation He wants us to be. Keep praying and repenting!

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