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Justice and Rights
Introduction
Justice and rights are two concepts that help to create and establish the frameworks of both legal and religious foundations. Both are prevalent throughout the law and legal system and
help to create the centerpiece of jurisprudence. While both concepts are meant to reinforce and nourish a society, there are several times when both concepts are disregarded and ignored. It is important to understand the concepts of justice and rights and be able to recognize and be aware of the religious aspects of each. Justice
Justice is defined as the concept that everyone is to be treated impartially, fairly, and reasonably by the law and by those who create and execute the law. Justice is the result of the fair and proper administration of law. It is imperative that the laws created must not cause or inflict harm or malice for justice to work properly.
1
It is also the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness, religion and/or equity.
2
From a biblical perspective, justice involves making individuals and communities complete by upholding both goodness and impartiality. It is said that justice flows from the heart and character of God and is what stands at the center of true religion. This can be seen in Psalm 11:7, which states “For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”
3
Justice also refers
to abiding by faithful and righteous behavior. This is referred to in the story of Job and his search
1
Justice
, Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster (Last accessed 29 Sep. 2022),
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice. Accessed 29 Sep. 2022.
2
Justice Law and Legal Definition
, US Legal (Last accessed October 1, 2022), https://definitions.uslegal.com/j/justice/. 3
Psalm
11:7 (ESV).
for the meaning of justice. Job’s story explores the nature of man's knowledge of God and divine justice. Job challenged and questioned God's justice and demanded an explanation from God. In return, God asks Job for his trust in his wisdom and character and to not be presumptuous in his demands. God asks for trust, not understanding, and states the cosmos is founded on his wisdom, not his justice and Job responds with humility and repentance.
4
At the conclusion of the story, Job speaks not as an innocent hero who rejects divine justice but as a humble and enlightened man who accepts an all-powerful God. This acceptance is based on a full understanding that integrates the ideas of human jurisprudence and divine sovereignty. 5
The Bible also includes an element that teaches that those who are disobedient and errant
will be punished for their actions. As stated in Proverbs, “The righteous care about justice for the
poor, but the wicked have no such concern.”
6
Also in Deuteronomy, there is the scripture on the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. The Blessings for Obedience state, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” 7
On the other hand the Curses for Disobedience command, “ However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:”
8
The Bible also presents with a retributive conception of corrective justice. When this concept is linked with the word justice though, it starts to imply a more measured delivery of punishment as due recompense for wrongdoing. The premise is that those guilty persons should receive a punishment that is proportionate or deserved by their actions and the seriousness of the 4
Tim Mackey, God’s Response to Job’s Questions About Suffering, Bible Project (Sept 2017) https://bibleproject.com/blog/gods-gives-job-tour-wise-world/. 5
Sylvia Huberman Scholnick, The Meaning of mishpat in the Book of Job
, 101 JBL Vol. 521-529, 1982.
6
Proverbs
29:7 (NIV).
7
Deuteronomy 28:1 (NIV).
8
Deuteronomy
28:15 (NIV).
crime. In these circumstances, the infliction of punishment is not only appropriate, it is morally necessary in order to satisfy the objective standards of justice. Some view retributive justice as a moral alternative to revenge and as a check against arbitrary or excessive punishment. The unmeasured use of retributive justice alone might cause abuse in the application of the religious, criminal or civil law and elicit the idea of revenge or payback.
9
When retribution is paired with justice, it implies a measured delivery of punishment as due recompense for wrongdoing.
10
As Romans states, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay”, says the Lord. 11
Rights Rights are defined as a priveledge to something, whether to the ideas of justice and due process or to the ownership of properties. These rights can include: various freedoms; protection against interference with enjoyment of life and property; civil rights enjoyed by citizens such as voting and access to the courts; natural rights accepted by civilized societies; human rights to protect people throughout the world from terror, torture, barbaric practices and deprivation of civil rights and profit from their labor; and such U.S. constitutional guarantees as the right to freedoms of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition.
12
Rights help to structure how governments are formed and help to establish what power the public will hold as a result of the laws created. 9
Guillermo Flores, A Biblical Perspective on Justice: Implications for Today’s Church, Light and Life Magazine August 2019 https://lightandlifemagazine.com/implications-for-todays-church/. 10
Chris Marshall, Divine Justice as Restorative Justice
, Center for Christian Ethics 2012 https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/163072.pdf. 11
Romans 12:19 (NIV). 12
Gerald Hill, Rights
, Law Dictionary.com (Last accessed September 29, 2022), https://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1857.
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Legal rights are rights which exist under the rules of legal systems and are protected by law. These rights exist under the rules and laws of a particular legal system. To accept a set of rights is to approve a distribution of freedom and authority, and so to endorse a certain view of what may, must, and must not be done.
13
Examples of legal rights in the United States include: right to vote, right to assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and trial by jury. Natural rights refer to the rights given to all humans and are not given by a government or authority. These rights are universal moral principles that can't be taken away or reversed by government laws because they would exist even if the government did not. Modern interpretations of natural rights include the United States Declaration of Independence and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
14
Those who founded this country believed that our rights come from God. As the Declaration of Independence famously states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 15
The Declaration of Independence is an important part of the government of the United States because it separated it from is other countries at the time. At the time of the founding of the United States, other governments believed that the rights of their citizens came from those who were ruling or in charge of the government. Most governments believed that God had bestowed on them a divine right to rule and therefore the rights of their people came from those in charge of the government. The founders of this country believed in the idea that all human beings have rights given to them by God, and that the government’s job is to protect those God given rights. They were stoic in their belief that these God given rights explain and 13
Wenar, Leif, "Rights"
, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Spring 2021 Edition), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/rights. 14
Jennifer Gunner, What Are Natural Rights? The Concept and Key Examples, Your Dictionary (January 2021), https://examples.yourdictionary.com/what-are-natural-rights-concept-key-examples. 15
Declaration of Independence: A Transcription, National Archives (last reviewed June 8, 2022.)
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
.
define how we should be treated by others including by our own government. They believed that when a government places itself above God or no longer holds themselves accountable to God then that government is susceptible to corruption and misrule. The Founders understood this danger, and it is why they formed a constitutional republic, “under God”; this form of government was intended to protect American citizens from a future government that rejected God-ordained rights for its people.
16
From a biblical standpoint, rights are discussed throughout the Bible and their importance
is continually referenced. We are all made in the image of God and this is what makes our worth and our dignity inseparable from who we are. This is regardless of whether governments recognize human rights or not. We are not granted rights because we deserve them or have earned them. We have rights because each of us is made in the image of God and therefore has inherent worth and dignity.
17
Our rights are given to us by God and he gives us the moral direction through the Bible that clarifies the rights we have as human beings. As seen in Genesis, “we have rights because we are made in the image of God, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the
birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” 18
Rights are also expressed in the Bible by the Apostle Paul. This can be seen in the book of Galatians where we are reminded that rights are not earned but are given by God. “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a
]; 16
A Biblical and Historical Perspective on the Concept of Rights, Prepare The Way( May 24, 2020), https://www.preparetheway.us/a-biblical-and-historical-perspective-on-the-concept-of-rights. 17
Lauren Green and Michael Mcafee, The Bible’s Impact on Human Rights
, Christianity Today (J
une 28, 2019), https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/not-what-you-think-michael-lauren-mcafee.html. 18
Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV).
rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you
will be destroyed by each other.”
19
In Corinthians, we see Paul also understands that his freedom
and rights should be used to serve God and others. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—
but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
20
Right to Bear Arms
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
21
The Second Amendment is a current hot button issue that has people on both sides of the issue fiercely defending their stance on the issue. While many in the government are lobbying for more gun control, others are ferociously defending their right to bear arms. The increased attention to the issue has risen due to an increase in the number of mass shootings and gun related violence in recent years. Gun deaths in the United States have been rising for several years, with smaller, steadier increases between 2014 and 2019 and large surges in gun deaths in 2020 and 2021. In fact, the gun death rate increased 15% from 2019 to 2020 and this new data suggests it rose an additional eight percent from 2020 to 2021. Fifteen thousand more Americans
died from gun violence in 2021 compared to 2012, just one decade earlier.
22
Mass shootings have
been on the rise in recent years. In 2021, almost 700 mass shootings occurred, a jump from the 19
Galatians
5:13-15 (NIV).
20
Corinthians
10:23-24 (NIV).
21
Second Amendment
, Legal Information Institute (last updated June 2022) https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment. 22
A Devastating Toll: 2021 CDC Data Shows Record Number of Gun Deaths, Makes Clear the Need for Continued Action to Address Gun Violence in America, Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence (July 14, 2022), https://giffords.org/press-release/2022/07/2021-cdc-data-shows-record-number-of-gun-deaths/.
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611 in 2020 and 417 in 2019. Before that, incidents had not topped 400 annually since the Gun Violence Archive started tracking in 2014.
23
The debate also centers around the legalization of some assault-style weapons and the ban on some styles of these weapons. Some will argue that the debate on the Second Amendment can be traced back to September 13, 1994 when President Clinton signed into law the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. One of the most controversial items in this act was the ban on the manufacture and importation of 19 semiautomatic rifles by name, approximately 175 others that fit the description of an “assault weapon," and pistol magazines with a capacity greater than ten rounds.
24
The controversy over this act started with the interpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Those who are opposed to the ban on assault weapons view it as an attack on their rights and liberties. The relate it to the liberties that they believe the Second Amendment protects. Those in favor of the ban believe it to be a way to reduce violent crime involving firearms and creating a safer America and are usually in favor of repealing the Second Amendment all together.
The argument has become a political one as well, with the majority of those supporting the left wanting gun control and those who support the more conservative right wanting to defend the Second Amendment and support the views that guns are not the problem but a myriad
of social factors. This debate between parties will most likely continue into the future with the current Supreme Court being far more conservative and more accepting of guns rights than those
in the past. This can be confirmed by the 6-3 reversal of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen
which required anyone who wants to carry a concealed handgun outside of their home to show proper cause for the gun license.
The ruling was the Supreme Court’s first 23
Julia Ledur
, There have been over 300 mass shootings so far in 2022, The Washington Post (June 2, 2022), https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/02/mass-shootings-in-2022/. 24
Michael Garica, The Assault Weapons Ban, The Second Amendment, and the Security of a Free State, 6 Regent U. L. Rev. 266 1995.
significant decision on gun rights in over a decade and made clear the Second Amend
ment
’
s guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms protects a broad right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense.
25
From the biblical perspective, Christians are all knowing in that evil exists inside of mankind not within the gun itself. The gun is not the evil for it is simply a tool and can be used for good or evil. This can be seen in Matthew, “
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”
26
and also in the Book of Genesis. Genesis 3:22 states, “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”.
27
It is here in Genesis, that evil is on full display and it is suggested that evil is fundamentally a form of rebellion against a single, good, sovereign God.
28
The Second Amendment grants you the right to bear arms and use self defense if the situation arises and is warranted. The Bible discusses God’s view on self defense in several passages. In Exodus 22:2-3, “
If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He
3
shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.”
29
and in Luke 11:21, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;”
30
It is important to remember that the Bible does not specifically state that self defense should be used in all situations but that we should be able to use God’s wisdom to help us know how to respond to 25
Amy Howe
, In 6-3 ruling, court strikes down New York’s concealed-carry law, SCOTUS Blog (June 23, 2022), https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/in-6-3-ruling-court-strikes-down-new-yorks-concealed-carry-law/. 26
Matthew
15:19 (ESV).
27
Genesis
3:22 (ESV)
. 28
Charles Mathewes, Ph.D., The Nature of Evil in Genesis: Rejecting God’s Goodness
, Wondrium Daily (Mar 24, 2021), https://www.wondriumdaily.com/the-nature-of-evil-in-genesis-rejecting-gods-goodness/. 29
Exodus
22:2-3 (ESV).
30
Luke 11:21 (ESV).
situations that may require us to protect ourselves and our family. “
But I say to you, Do not resist
the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
31
Lastly, it is important to remember that the Second Amendment does not solely represent the right to bear arms. It is a protection for all other liberties and freedoms that we have in America. This includes the rights granted in the First Amendment concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. “
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to
bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you
will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he
does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
32
Conclusion The concepts of justice and rights are essential to the creation and establishment of our legal and religious principles. While it is important to be knowledgeable in the legal definitions of each concept, it is also important to know the biblical perspective as well. The Second Amendment is consistent with the biblical perspective and is consistent with scripture. Christians can confidently defend the Second Amendment in America because the values and morals which lie beneath the right to keep and bear arms are biblical: the value of human life, the right to defend it, and the goodness of protecting our family and freedoms.
33
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the 31
Matthew
5:39 (ESV).
32
Romans
13:3-4 (ESV).
33
William E. Wolfe, God and Guns: A Biblical Worldview Analysis of the Second Amendment and Self-Defense
, Standing for Freedom (July 22, 2022), https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2022/07/god-and-guns-a-biblical-
worldview-analysis-of-the-second-amendment-and-self-defense.
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authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
34
34
Romans
13:1-14 (ESV).