The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has been at the fore of the news for the past week plus. Why? Because the President and a Republican Senate are in position to tip the balance of the top court of the country toward conservatism needing to fill the position left open by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Some thoughts about courts and judges…
The Declaration of Independence by the thirteen colonies made to the mother country of England on July 4, 1776 speaks of God four times:
- “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights”
- “laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them”
- “to the Supreme Judge of the world”
- “with a firm reliance on the protection by Divine Providence”
There can be no argument that our founders understood there was a God and that God’s doings formed the foundation of our political system.
God’s doings? Per the Declaration:
- God created the world and man.
- God established laws of nature (gravity, seasons, water cycles, etc.) and declared His rules (the Bible).
- God judges men and nations.
- God is able to defend people and nations.
Do you see the three branches of government?
Simplified: God is Creator, Lawgiver, Judge, and King (Commander-in-Chief).
Stated by God: Isaiah 33:22, For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord is our King; He will save us.
Thus, to be true to our founders and our Constitution (Articles I, II, and III address the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches), a jurist should understand that there is a God who is engaged with mankind in three broad areas. The SCOTUS jurist who just died should have agreed with those four areas even as a Jew. And the one now nominated would agree with those areas as a practicing, faithful Catholic (there are many politicians on Capitol Hill who are Catholic who do NOT agree with those four truths – they are not faithful Catholics). A Catholic is not a Christian as I define a Christian, but they do mostly acknowledge the four points of the Declaration.
It was God’s will as expressed through Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, to Moses to establish a system of courts. Consider Exodus 18:25-26, And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
Per God, a jurist should be “from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness” (18:21). The Senate hearings these coming days should focus on those ideas:
“From the people” – a citizen
“Able.”
“Men” – back then, males
“Fearing God” – realizing that they are accountable for their actions and words
“Of truth” – know the laws in great detail and about an accurate application of such
“Hating covetousness” – not about self-promotion or special interests
And those seated on the Supreme Court should be Moses-like: “I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws,” (18:16). That is, the Moses-like jurist must be an astute student of the statutes and laws – the Constitution with her amendments and the subsequent laws – so to correctly apply them to those who are confused or contrary. The SCOTUS jurist must be a Constitutional scholar and great respecter of Law.
a PK Musing 
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