They say we must keep the Christian God out of the public schools because it’s not fair to families of other faiths to teach just one God. After all, Christians would hate for Allah to be taught in school, right? They tell us to keep all gods out of the public school system and we will be fine. Keep your faith at home and in your church or synagogue or temple or mosque—don’t bring it into the public square, because that’s neutral ground.
That’s what they have been saying for years, and many Christians have bought into it.
But guess what? There is always a god running the system; it’s just a question of which god is running things.
During Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings as she was being vetted for the Supreme Court, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) had this interchange with her:
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana sought to clarify with Jackson when life begins. When the judge admitted she didn’t know, Kennedy asked, “Do you have a belief?”
“I have personal religious beliefs that have nothing to do with the law,” she answered, and when he persisted she answered again, “I have a religious belief that I set aside when I’m ruling on cases.”[1]
This is a politically correct answer nowadays. Judges of our land claim to separate their faith from their judgments and interpretation of the law.
But the only reason we have laws is to protect a moral position. We say something should be, so we make a law to punish those who don’t do it that way.
Almost everyone agrees that murder is always wrong. It’s harder to agree on what should be the just penalty for murderers.
It’s easy to agree that theft is wrong. It’s harder to agree on what the remedy should be. Should there be simple repayment of what was stolen? Should there be an added burden of restitution? Should there be prison time involved? Should there be a whipping? Should we put the thief in stocks to shame him in the town square?
How shall we make these decisions? How shall we decide what is right and wrong, what is just and fair? That is the underlying question behind all law: who is the authority? Are the laws we currently have on the books just? How can we evaluate a law to see if it is a just law?
Laws must have a standard for them to be useful. You might think the law is the standard, but it’s the one who makes the law who is the standard of authority. When a police officer says, “Stop in the name of the law!” he’s not just saying to stop because it’s written down somewhere. He’s saying the civil government has authorized him to stop you. And they have guns.
The question is, for us, who decided murder and theft were wrong? Did some brilliant guy figure that out? Was there a public meeting and someone raised his hand and said, “Hey, I was thinking it would be great if we made it illegal for someone to come into my house and kill me,” and everyone voted?
If you ask an atheist to explain why murder is wrong, you will get an answer. The late Christopher Hitchens claimed that “morality is innate in us” and “we know that we [society] can’t get along if we commit perjury, theft, murder, rape.”[2] His standard, then, is himself. He thinks everyone just knows. But what about killing a fetus in the womb? Is that the same thing as killing a born baby? What about killing a person who is showing no brain activity? What about killing a person because they ask you to, because they are in enormous pain or deep depression? Are those the same as murder? Why or why not? As people discuss more and more the evils or benefits of euthanasia, we are forced to think through these questions and come up with answers. It’s already legal in Oregon[3] to get a physician to kill you. Why is that not considered murder? Should it be?
Without an authority higher than myself, I become my own authority. In my arrogance, I sometimes think that is best—that I decide what my morality is going to be—but how foolish and destructive would that be? As in the days of the judges, “There was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21.25). Mass chaos ensued. The strongest stole what they wanted. Men raped women. Many created their own household idols to worship. Men took judgment into their own hands, and brothers killed one another. Why not, after all? Who is to say what is right and wrong? Who is to judge?
Jesus said, “All authority has been given Me in heaven and on earth.” But most reject Christ’s authority. Does saying to the king, “I will not obey,” relieve you of responsibility? Does wishful thinking avoid the king’s judgment? Men are suppressing the truth of God’s authority, and, as a result, God’s wrath storms above their heads (Romans 1.18).
Who runs our system? Who makes the rules around here? Does our civil government call the shots, or does God? It must be Yahweh God of the Bible. It must be Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. We must obey Him. Our city should keep His commandments. Our state laws should be patterned after His word. Our country’s sense of justice and judgment should come directly from Jesus. Let God tell us what is right and wrong, and let God tell us what the just penalties should be for breaking the law. He has spoken, His word is good, and His commandments are for our good always (Deut. 6.24–25).
If we obey His will, peace will surprise us, and prosperity will overtake us.
If we continue to resist His will and refuse to obey, our country will continue to decline, and the King of kings will break us with His iron rod (Psalm 2.9).
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.
Deuteronomy 7.9–11
[1] https://religionnews.com/2022/03/23/ketanji-brown-jackson-what-is-your-faith-becomes-a-gotcha-question-supreme-court/
[2] https://youtu.be/1yZFkI292CA?si=n1A4HMiP0ISGZT-B
[3] https://www.npr.org/2022/03/30/1089647368/oregon-physician-assisted-death-state-residents