Lesson 9

Is Human Law Binding?

The question arises: If we reject human government and return to God's government, the reverse of what the Israelites did at the time of Samuel, what becomes of the United States? There will be a transition period, which has already begun, during which more and more people will throw off their indoctrination in statism and democracy in favor of theocracy.

During this period of transition those who still reject God by recognizing the sovereignty of the state can continue to believe themselves governed by the United States. There very likely will be some few who are not able to free their minds of this indoctrination and superstition at all. They may be doomed to spend their entire lives outside of theocracy. For this reason and in order to deal with the strayed and rebellious masses of mankind who have created other nation-states, it may be necessary to maintain the fiction of the United States for the foreseeable future, but on a voluntary, not a compulsory, basis. It may not be necessary. No one really knows the details.

When the United States is viewed as a voluntary association of free men who are ruled by God, there is no longer a conflict between democracy and theocracy. In fact, this was originally the concept. From the preamble of the Constitution of Massachusetts:

The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals; it is a social compact... that all shall be governed by certain laws...

We, therefore, the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the goodness of the great Legislator of the Universe, in affording us, in the course of His providence, an opportunity, deliberately and peaceably, without fraud, violence or surprise, of entering into an original, explicit, and solemn compact with each other;... Preamble, Constitution of Massachusetts.

Here we see that the original idea in America was that government was to be voluntary; no fraud, violence or surprise. No conflict with the idea that God is the sovereign and the great Legislator of the Universe. Not only that, but the laws enacted by democratic processes, which were well known to be incompatible with personal security and the rights of property, were naturally voluntary as well. No conflict with the idea of God as the only law giver. James Wilson, setting on the first supreme court, said as much in a famous decision:

"The only reason, I believe, that a free man is bound by human law, is, that he binds himself. Upon the same principles, upon which he becomes bound by the laws, he becomes amenable to the courts of justice, which are formed and authorized by those laws." Chishom v. Georgia, 2 US(Dall) 419, 455. Find the original idea of government in America. Find James Wilson's position on the spectrum:

Man's Rule (Man's Law)

God's Rule (God's Law)

Girls, this lesson is very important. The laws of the United States are not binding, and no one is amenable to its courts! Is this anarchy? No, this is freedom and equality under God. We really are free if God is our King and Legislator!

What about people who violate God's laws? Some people will do very bad things. But, the existence of wrong-doing is no excuse to flee from God into a world of fantasy ruled by wolf-men and wizards, invisible or otherwise. No matter how dreadful reality may be, it is better to confront it with clear minds than to fall into the superstition and delusions of human government and legislation.

God's law doesn't depend upon consent. The essence of His law is man's relationship with man as found in the revealed law and the law of nature, both of which are referred to in the Declaration as the legal basis for America's independence. The revealed law commands us to love our neighbor as ourself; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Murder is expressly against the Ten Commandments. The first law of nature is self-preservation. If someone endangers your life, liberty or pursuit of happiness, the law of nature, whose source is God, permits you to act in proportion to the threat or injury. The revealed law describes the principle of proportionate response, the essence of justice, very graphically: An eye for and eye, and a tooth for a tooth. The law invented by men in America is grossly disproportionate. For example, if someone forgets to signal a turn at the corner he could be put in jail for six months and fined three hundred dollars. Or a multiple murderer might be put in prison for life. Both of these punishments are unjust.

The victim's relatives or anyone in the community for that matter, in defense against a lawless man, may act proportionately. But won't this lead to anarchy and chaos? No. As shown in Lesson 1, society does not collapse with the abolition of human government. The laws of reason, morality and religion rise up to bind us together. These laws tell us that we must be certain we have the right man before acting against him. He must be brought before a neutral third party who will decide his guilt or innocence. Under theocracy this neutral third party is not elected or appointed by men, he is raised up by God to make just judgements.

It seems strange to grown-ups because of their great faith in the state, but little faith in God, that judges were routinely raised up during the three hundred years of the Old Covenant theocracy and can be again. In theocracy judges are simply men whose belief in God's laws, commitment to right and justice, and wisdom are well known in the community. At this very moment these men exist in every community, their emergence prevented by the demand for human government. They work for free, not as a public service, but as a service to God. Maybe your dad Could be one of these men.

We know that in Arab countries statism is only now gaining a toe-hold. There, justice has been administered without the state idea for hundreds of years. In some cases an educated man is asked to judge. Sometimes elders from two families meet and reach an agreement. In a recent case among the Bedouins of Jordan, a man was killed by electrocution accidentally. After a family negotiation his father was offered a settlement of $45,000. The amount was accepted, then given back in an act of forgiveness. Both justice and mercy are taught by their religion. If Moslems are capable of such fairness and moral rightness without the state, we as followers of Christ must have that ability too. America's judicial system in concerned about the sovereignty of the state, not with the justice of God. Any attorney will tell you this.

Back to the case of murder. At least two witnesses are required. The sentence is carried out the day after the trial by the witnesses themselves. This acts as a check against injustice, because if the witnesses are not certain beyond a reasonable doubt they would be reluctant to kill the accused. Also, any extenuating circumstances which tend to mitigate guilt and the natural reluctance to shed blood of another would weigh heavily on their conscience, if not on the judge's, staying their hand in doubtful cases.

To grown-ups this sounds like what they call taking the law into your own hands. They think the state must handle the punishment of crimes. They forget the state is only a fantasy and that is really men who have the law in their hands, anyway. Their belief in the state is very strong, indeed. Such people could use the courts of the United States if it makes them feel better. The services rendered by judges and so forth would have to be paid for somehow since wizards do not act in service to God.

In the case of theft or damage to property the offender must make restitution. If not financially able to do so, he may be allowed to work it off. If he refuses to make restitution as decided by the judge, the penalty is death. But mercy and the laws of religion tell us to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies. More violence will solve nothing. Besides, which of us is without sin? It might be prudent to warn others by printing his name and picture in the paper, for example.

Sure, it takes faith to believe God rules the world, but it takes even more faith to believe that nation-states rule the world. In order for the United States to rule people, they must first pledge true faith and allegiance as you learned in Lesson 3.

Every nation-state can be traced to its origin. In each case we find that it was men who fashioned with their imaginations an invisible, immortal, all-powerful being and set it to rule over them. It is a tremendous example of raw faith to believe that a creature can rule its creator especially when its creator conjured it out of thin air. If millions can have faith in an invisible, sovereign state, faith in the invisible, sovereign King of the World should be no trouble at all.

Christians already profess to have just this belief. Tens of thousands of missionaries are spreading the good news of God's Kingdom on earth, the Lordship of Christ, all over the world. If these missionaries will tell their converts the whole truth and help them stop living in a fantasy world filled with wizards who conjure up invisible, immortal entities, then they will be able to see the New Covenant theocracy as it really is and live under it.

Grown-ups like to divide life into two areas. The spiritual realm in which God rules; and the temporal realm in which man rules. The idea of two realms comes from the ancient Greeks who believed that Demos rules on earth and Zeus rules in heaven. But the Bible teaches that the Messiah , to whom all power was committed in heaven and earth, rules all areas of life through the hearts and minds of individual men. His law is written on each heart and mind. Now, girls, here is something important:

Government, divine or human, can be established nowhere, but the hearts and minds of men.

If we had a lever to pull causing everyone to forget about the United States it would be completely gone because it exists only in the thoughts of men and women. This is true for any human government. But God's government is different. It does not depend on imagination, memory, and ability to read and write. God's government is part of our natural being. It is as natural as our sense of right and wrong. (Remember the Golden Rule?) Since grown-ups have filled their hearts and minds with human government there is almost no room for God's government in them. Christians are taught that God's government is inside them while man's government is outside. This is a strong delusion. All governments exist inside the hearts and minds of people. All governments are spiritual; some are the wrong spirit.

The first rule under theocracy is love and duty toward God. The second rule is love and duty toward man. This is called the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This government has always been in full force and effect. Much of the time it has been ignored and obscured by human government. Even so men have relied heavily on it to maintain their shadowy institutions. If men had no conscience and were determined to do evil to one another, no human government could cope with the crime wave. Not only would the general population be uncontrollable but the officials, who are only human themselves, would add their crimes to the mayhem. Without the natural sense of right and wrong given to almost all men by God, we really would see anarchy and chaos!

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