Lawyers in the name of Jesus

[Avalux]

Christian Jursiprudence

Over the past few years I've been worried, but now I am becoming very concerned about the fundamentalist movement to subvert the laws and foundations of this country to fit their own interpretations. Actively working against what the founding fathers laid out in the Constitution (which does not mention the bible or Jesus), they are slowly and systematically infiltrating all branches and levels of government to change this country into a Christian nation ruled by the bible.

I posted this yesterday:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3603454&mesg_id=3603454

So what better way to turn this nation into a Christian Nation? Control the judiciary. On NPR this morning, I heard a disturbing piece about Christian law schools. There are currently four of them: Regent University School of Law, Liberty University School of Law, Ave Maria School of Law, and the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

Regent University School of Law was established in 1986 by televangelist Pat Robertson as a full-time, three-year law program. It gained full accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1996 -- the first religiously conservative law school to do so. Today, 500 students attend the school. Students come from 44 states, over 413 colleges and universities and numerous foreign countries.

Liberty University School of Law was established by televangelist Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Va. in 1971 as a fundamentalist Baptist university. The law school welcomed its first students in the fall of 2004 and is working towards provisional accreditation from the ABA. Currently, 56 students from 22 states and one foreign country (India) attend the school.

Ave Maria School of Law is located in Anne Arbor, Michigan and opened its doors in 2000. The school was founded by devout Catholic Thomas S. Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza. Students from 43 states and 125 universities enrolled for the 2004-2005 school year. On May 2, 2005, the ABA gave a recommendation of full accreditation to Ave Maria School of Law. The school will receive final word from the ABA in August 2005.

University of St. Thomas Law School is based in Minneapolis, Minn. It was founded in 1885 by Archbishop John Ireland. The Great Depression forced the law school to close in 1933, but it reopened in 1999. The School of Law is provisionally accredited by the ABA. It has presented a plan to achieve accreditation within three years.

Here’s the link to the NPR piece, which is decidedly favorable to the fundamentalist movement (in other words - it's a good thing):

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4632072

There are also many Christian organizations for law students and law professionals, such as the Christian Legal Society, which is tied to the Regent University Law School. Here an excerpt from a document they have written entitled “The Biblical Foundations of Procedural Law”:

“These readings are designed for law students and lawyers who desire to examine the law from a biblical perspective. The excerpted articles and scripture passages provide a starting point, and the comments and questions are designed to encourage further reflection or discussion on the basic issues. Use the book for personal study or as raw material for group discussion or bible study to explore the first principles of law and procedure.

Lawyers apply the scriptures to modern legal problems and theories. While God’s Word provides the ultimate standard, specific answers to particular problems are sometimes elusive. This is not an excuse for Christian lawyers to ignore biblical principles; on the contrary, it should spur us on to discuss, debate, and work through solutions, as have the great thinkers of the Church through the centuries. Through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, we must evaluate our legal system, our calling as lawyers, and our role as ministers of justice, according to the Word of the One who has called us. I challenge you to do that as you work through these pages.”

http://www.clsnet.org/lsmPages/ICLS/ebStudy.pdf

I have also found fundamentalists bloggers out there who are downright giddy about the fact that hundreds of Christian lawyers will be graduating every year with aspirations to be politicians and judges. They don’t care about helping the needy and the persecuted (as Jesus would have wanted), they want their hands on the big prize.

So should those of us who live our lives by reason, by the words of our Constitution, be concerned about this insidious movement towards bible-based lawyering? Yes.

This country is careening dangerously toward a culture war. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell know it (have known it for a long time) and are training their troops in the churches and in the schools. The marriage of neocon and fundamentalist may seem mismatched, but they have a common goal. The fate of our country - the survival of our democratic existence - may very well be decided by judges in the courtroom interpreting the bible to comdemn nonbelievers and nonconformists.

I guess the question is - what do we do about it? I wish I had the answer.

[maveric]

1. Jesus doesnt need a lawyer. Robertson and Fallwell do!

[comsymp]

2. Yeah, I heard that piece, too-

Hey, those Activist Federal Judges® have to be stopped, right? :sarcasm:

Gotta have a good breeding ground for their replacements.

[Stephanie]

3. I heard that on NPR too

Very scary.

There's nothing you can do about it. The brainwashing of America continues.

[atreides1]

4. There's Something We can do

Practice!!!!!!

[Freedom_from_Chains]

5. You overthrow governments from the inside

Pericledies knew it, Hitler knew it, and the Christian Nationalist know it.

[Avalux]

6. Yes

oldest playbook around. But for those of us who are aware of it - what to do? I just feel helpless right now.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

7. Well no doubt we are in trouble

The time to start dealing with these people was 20 years, now we are at a real disadvantage. The best that I can see, for myself anyway, is learn how to factually counter their arguments with the centrist, and do so often and frequently. Don't bother to argue with fundamentalist as they are not swayed with tools of reason, logic and rational debate. They are a lost cause.


On Edit:

You might also find this article useful.

http://www.frederickclarkson.com/2004/12/theocracy-vs-democracy-in-america.html

[kanrok]

8. There are many "Christian" Law schools

i.e., Marquette (Catholic), Notre Dame (Catholic), Valpariaso (Lutheran), and on and on. I see nothing wrong with the concept. There is nothing intrinsically devious or wrong about attending a law school with an emphasis on religion. It doesn't mean that these schools are training students to toe the line. The fact of the matter is that, in order to be accredited by the ABA, law schools have to teach core classes that have little, if anything, to do with religious dogma. Sure, they may offer elective courses with a religious bent, but so what? Does this mean the end of our culture? Remember, the common law in the United States is founded on Judeo-Christian ideals. What do we do about this? My guess is nothing.

[Avalux]

10. "the common law in the United States is founded on Judeo-Christian ideals"

Nope - you're wrong.

[kanrok]

12. Ummm...nope, you're wrong.

[Avalux]

13. Last I looked -

the Constitution does not mention the bible or Jesus, or any specific "god". Our founding fathers were Deists and ascribed to no religion.

[Worst Username Ever]

14. You are correct. Some were athiests, as well. See one of the quotes in my

sigline.

[Avalux]

18. Some WERE atheists

and the idea that morality can only come from the bible is rediculous.

Thanks for the backup. :hi:

[kanrok]

19. If you stop at the Constitution, you would be correct

But the common law, the law which forms the basis of our criminal and civil laws, is based upon Judeo-Christian principles, i.e, Thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill, thou shall not...well, you get the idea. There is no question that our founding fathers wanted to allow us all the freedom to practice any religion we wanted, or no religion, if it suited our needs, but that does not change the fact that our common law is derived from scripture (in large measure). Some would argue that the common law was originally based upon Roman law and added to over the centuries (see, e.g., http://www.nobeliefs.com/Tripoli.htm, an article that supports your opinion, and argues AGAINST mine). Here is an alternative view: http://www.misterthorne.org/ESSAYS/scalia_v_jefferson.htm

The issue is much more complex than you may believe.

[Worst Username Ever]

9. I was accepted to St. Thomas Law.

That school is not bad at all. My dad got his MBA there, and recently after an Ann Coulter visit, the Dean made and angry statement that her views represent absolutely nothing of the school. I think you'll be hearing more of St. Thomas, they aspire to be something of a midwestern Notre Dame.

Nonetheless, I elected to attend William Mitchell.

[Avalux]

11. The Catholic schools don't worry me as much

They were part of the NPR story though.

Perhaps I should have just used Pat Roberson's and Jerry Falwell's endeavors as examples.

Thanks for the info.

[Worst Username Ever]

15. I'm not catholic, but I did go to catholic school for grades k-12

And looking back, it was extremely progressive. My teachers made a huge deal of the environment, the poor, equal rights, gender equality, and taught the bible as love, not hate and discrimination. I did have an 8th grade teacher who was super pro-life, but at that age I knew nothing of the issue and it didn't really effect me. I can only wish that these fundy schools were about the same type of teachings. I really do not think they are.

On edit, when arguing with a fundy, it is always nice to be able to cite the fact that I have had 45 minutes of bible education EVERY DAY OF SCHOOL for 13 years, in addition to my lutheran confirmation and bible schools. Hahaha. All that, and I am agnostic.

[Avalux]

17. I was raised Catholic

and, same as you, know quite a bit about the bible. I was NEVER taught Catholics were the "chosen" faith; in fact, we studied and respected all other religions. That could be why I am also agnostic now.

What did Jesus say? Oh yea -

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” ;-)

[stanwyck]

16. This is the genius of the right

they dig in their heels and work at every level...from school boards and local zoning boards to forming their own "scientific" think tanks and law schools. They're patient and dogged. Give them that. Until we work as hard making sure that the liberal view is represented as pervasively, these folks will prevail. We've been complacent. We don't turn out to vote in the numbers they do. We haven't matched their anger and determination.
Of course, that may be changing. The worse America gets...and it is deteriorating...the angrier we're becoming.
It's just a matter of how bad things have to get before our sleeping citizens wake up and take back our country.