Season 3 Podcast 25 Manmade Law and Liberty

Man Made Law and Liberty

No free society can rise above the collective moral behavior of the majority of its citizens. In a dictatorship, when the majority defy the state, it is in the power of the tyrant to order his forces to execute the law and impose a punishment on the lot.  Only civil war can overthrow a tyrant.  In a democratic republic, however, it is in the power of the people to change the law.  Therefore, in a democracy, when the majority choose evil, the laws will change to accommodate their desires.  It is peculiar to freedom that freedom is not based on permissiveness.  That is mere licentiousness, and licentiousness is such that though one is free to sin, he is not free from the consequences of sin.  Through liberty one may drink to excess, but he cannot avoid the consequences of drunkenness.  In the same way if a society is free to lie, to cheat, to steal, to defraud, to commit adultery, to murder, to gamble, to sell drugs, to make alcohol, to promote prostitution, etc. though members of society may be free to commit heinous acts against their neighbor, society is not free from the consequences which will  inevitably result such as fear, civil unrest, riot, vigilantism, collusion, lawlessness, chaos, murder, rape, robbery, tribalism, insurrections, revenge, etc. Therein lies the dilemma of democracy.  Excessive freedom always leads to captivity.  And that is what is happening in America today. The voice of the people wanted alcohol, so we lifted prohibition.  The voice of the people wanted gambling, so we lifted the laws against gambling.  The voice of the people wanted marijuana, so many states lifted the laws against marijuana.  The voice of the people wanted abortion, so we lifted the laws against abortion.  The voice of the people wanted to remove Christianity from our land; therefore, prayers, crosses, Christmas celebrations, Bibles, and other icons and ceremonies became  prohibited in schools, government property, etc. 

One by one the old virtues are falling to the will of the people. The Ten Commandments are being removed from our courthouses. The Christians virtues are being replaced with political correctness.  The values that have protected this nation for over two hundred years are being replaced with the values of the new world order.

In society, we must obey three sets of laws: temporal laws, spiritual laws, and manmade laws. Liberty requires a perfect balance between freedom and agency.  That creates a paradox.  On the one hand, unlimited freedom unchecked by absolute values will ultimately consume itself.  On the other hand, liberty cannot exist where manmade laws govern everything.  A simple truth is this:  All laws of God increase freedom; all laws of man restrict freedom. Judge for yourself by examining the consequences.  Imagine living in a world where everyone obeyed the laws of God. You would never have anything to fear.  The laws of man are arbitrary and proliferate, generally after a crime has been committed.

Manmade laws are unevenly distributed.  A free government or a government that wants to guarantee liberty, though it must guarantee the safety of its citizens, must not only align itself with the temporal laws of nature, but it must also have the wisdom of discerning between good and evil.  It must allow freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of belief, and the freedom to preach, teach, and practice one’s own principles.  The majority must be allowed to rule what behavior is acceptable and what is unacceptable, but those decisions must be based on tolerance.