God, Law & Liberty Podcast

Courts do not make laws. The Supremacy Clause does not apply to court judgments and opinions. In addition to these common points of confusion, many feel as though a SCOTUS decision is the final word on a matter and cannot be challenged. But courts change their opinions all the time as does the makeup of the courts themselves. We should never settle for bad judgments, and bad law.

We are discussing the 14th Amendment as it relates to the decisions in Obergefell v. Hodges (same-sex marriage) and Roe v. Wade (abortion). In both of these cases, the Supreme Court was asked to interpret the 14th Amendment. As we previously discussed, these judgments have been treated by the states as law, and not simply a judgment, or an opinion, and that is the problem. Courts don't make laws. But what happens when the issue is how to “fix” a violation of the 14th Amendment caused by a state law? Is corrective action to be taken by the courts? Not according to clause 5 of the 14th Amendment. That power belongs to the Congress...not the courts.

As we address marriage laws in the state of Tennessee and the unconstitutionality of the Obergefell v Hodges decision in its effect to commandeer state officials to do the bidding of the Supreme Court, we also take a look at marriage licensing. Who created the institution of marriage? God? Or, the government? Many erroneously believe that in order to be married in the sight of God, one needs to first secure a government-issued permission slip. But the truth is that laws should not imply the conveyance of a "right" to marry, but instead, should "secure" the obligations of a marriage between a man and a woman, entered into by their own volition and without interference from the state.

This week the Family Action Council of Tennessee sent a letter to all 95 county clerks in the state of Tennessee notifying them that by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the state, they are breaking the law under the Tennessee constitution. That has caused quite a stir, especially in the gay community and obviously there is push back on our assertion. The main argument being put forth on why FACT is dead wrong is, of course, the Supremacy Clause. Well, David is going to explain why that is a bad premise and why the Supremacy Clause does not apply to this issue. In addition, we'll discuss how laws are made and are to be administered by state officials. Unfortunately, our elected officials charged with administering and executing the laws put on the books by the General Assembly (the people) are making up their own laws as they go. And it needs to stop.

There seems to be a misconception out there by conservatives that morals do not belong in legislation. That might be a firm libertarian viewpoint. But make no mistake, conservatism is a worldview by which we uphold God's law and as much as we can, work to mirror positive law (man's laws) with that which God has deemed good and profitable for all mankind. Additionally in this episode, we begin to make the journey into common law. Exactly what is it?

In prior episodes, we have been developing our understanding of conscience and it's impact on law. Here, we begin to connect the dots between conscience, our liberty and how those ideas informed the appearance of common law in culture. Common law is simply the legal enactment of natural law, or laws we interpret from God and nature. And common law is the foundation of our US Constitution and the legal framework from which our Founding Fathers understood law.

Still exploring the liberty of conscience, David talks about his past as an attorney and hard decisions that needed to be made in following God's leading. We discuss a bit of the Chick-fil-A fiasco and apply the notion of being grateful to how we exercise our liberty.

No matter where you may fall on a host of issues in today's culture, one thing is for sure. The laws that we must abide by in our society instructs those who must live under the law as to what is right and wrong, acceptable and discouraged. Laws are instructive. As such, we must do away with this notion that faith does not belong in the public square. It most certainly does. Whether or not the laws under which we raise our children reflect the glory of God, is ultimately up to how people of faith will engage in political discourse.

David introduces the concept of our liberty of conscience which can be found in many historical documents including our Tennessee State Constitution. Most likely, many today would argue that this liberty, and referencing our First Amendment would simply mean that we have the right to think and therefore act however we so desire. But it would be error to disassociate this liberty of conscience from being rooted in the Word of God. Our Framers understood this. And the further we as a society stray from knowing God and seeking to live under His authority, the more we will continue to struggle with how to apply our laws and constitution to modern society.

Outside of authority, we discuss the origin of rights. How do rights play into morality? And if we have a right, then by law, someone must also have a duty to secure or protect that right. Rights carry duties. We also talk about inalienable rights. The truth? We have no inalienable rights if there is an ability to alienate them. We'll let you ponder on that a moment while you dig in to this next episode of God, Law and Liberty.

We talk about the root of authority in law and where it comes from. We take a look into Federalist Paper 10, which talks about "factions" and how to deal with liberty in the midst of a diverse culture. Does authority come from outside of us? Or is law simply to be the dictates of the group, or faction, who happens to be in control at a particular place in time?

David and Gary take a moment to introduce a new podcast of the Family Action Council of Tennessee called, God, Law and Liberty. The official launch of the new podcast series is scheduled for November 2019. Stay tuned.