Basis of Human Law Part 1

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Law has been referred to in various forms, including such ignominious references as “The Law is an Ass!” Yet, for all its vagaries and flaws, human law exists as a reality we all must navigate. The purpose of this investigation is to clarify the foundation of Human Law, so that those who encounter it or must deal with it have a basis on which to work through their engagement with it and their response to it. It might also be possible to see where human law has digressed from its authorised place and that might even enable some people to be protected from its abuses.

In the Beginning

The most authoritative law book in the world is the Holy Bible. In fact, in Australian courts, the Holy Bible is a recognised legal document. In Australia’s highest court, the High Court, the Holy Bible, King James Version, is a highly respected document.

So allow me to start looking for the ‘basis’ of human law in that most ancient and honoured text.

In the very first verse of the Bible we are introduced to the first principle of human law – ‘existence’.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

This very first text in God’s revelation to man speaks of ‘existence’. Existence is a primary principle of law and of human experience. The philosophical discussions about the definition of life itself reflect the importance of this simple point. “I am because I think”. “I am because I exist”. sum quia sum – I am because I am.

I Am

This principle of existence has profound implications and extensions. Once a person ceases to exist, as when they die, they change their state and value significantly. Note the Biblical comparison between a lion and a dog. Being ‘dead’ makes a great deal of difference!

“He that is joined to all the living has hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know nothing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:4-6

Once you are dead you have lost all practical engagement with human existence on earth. So you will find greater value in a living dog (a menial animal) than a dead lion (the king of all beasts). In the same way, you will find greater value in a live servant, than in a dead king.

That is why the Jews celebrate life with such vigour. Whatever their circumstances, they are inclined to say, “But I am alive!” It is better to be alive, in all your challenges, than to be dead. So the Jewish celebrate life with their toast, “l’chaim”, “To Life!”

There is more to say about existence, but that can be looked at later.

Supremacy and Jurisdiction

The next principle worthy of notice in the Holy Bible is that of supremacy. Another way of looking at the same idea is as ‘jurisdiction’. The Bible reveals that God occupies a place of unique supremacy. He already existed “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). He had the amazing power to create every material thing that exists (Genesis 1:1). His Spirit hovered over all of creation (Genesis 1:2). And God could speak things into existence (Genesis 1:3).

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3

Jurisdiction defines the realm over which a person can speak with authority. (I have defined Jurisdiction elsewhere – see the ChrisFieldBlog.com articles).

God’s jurisdiction extends to all places where light can exist, since He spoke light into existence into the realm over which He has authority.

Similarly, authorities have realms over which they can speak. We will see more on that point later.

Man Exists

The Holy Bible starts by introducing God to us and revealing His pre-eminence, supremacy, power and jurisdiction. Then we see the creation of mankind.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:26,27

The existence of mankind is given several important definitions in this short passage. Man does not exist because he exists, as humanist philosophers like to believe. Man exists because of the conscious choice of the supreme being who created all things. Man is a created being. Therefore man is a product, not a cause. Man is accountable, not a law unto himself.

Man is made to a specific deign description – that being “the image of God” – Imago Dei. So man cannot be who he wants to be. Man is not a ‘self made’ creature. Man does not create himself by his own consciousness. Man’s consciousness is a consequence, not a cause. Man is conscious because God made him. Man has a moral responsibility to live life as a reflection of the one man was made to represent. God is holy, loving, responsible, creative, accountable and just, among many other attributes. Humans are to also be holy, loving, responsible, creative, accountable and just.

Divine Law or Natural Law

Students of law will know of Natural Law and may be aware of Divine Law. Natural Law is the assertion that living beings have power and right to certain actions, based on their very existence. If a living being needs air, then it has a natural law right to air.

Here is the definition of Natural Law given in West’s Encyclopaedia:

“A law or body of laws that derives from nature and is believed to be binding upon human actions apart from or in conjunction with laws established by human authority.”

The important revelation given in the Holy Bible is that Natural Law is not the ultimate law upon which human life is based. For those who deny the existence of God, Natural Law is their final court of appeal. Choosing to believe in evolution, rather than divine creation, they see that the supremacy of the more powerful is a natural right. Survival of the fittest, indulging animal instincts, dog eat dog, winner takes all, and similar notions hinge on the idea that Natural Law is the final court of appeal. If someone has the power to dominate you, and you do not have the power to resist, then, by Natural Law, they have the opportunity to dominate you.

Divine Law, on the other hand, speaks morality into the world. It declares that man is not to use his natural prowess for personal supremacy and gain. Man is created to obey divine instruction and live by divine morality. Personal prowess has no intrinsic merit in determining law. Law is a moral issue, not a natural issue. Law is based on requirements imposed by God, not on requirements imposed by one person on another.

Dominion Mandate

A further legal issue which is given to us in the very first chapter of the Holy Bible is that of “dominion”. The ‘dominion mandate’ defined by God is that man has dominion over all other creatures.

“And God blessed them, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28

In this dominion mandate we have further confirmation that all humans are equal. All humans were created equally before God, and all humans share a mandate, given by God, to have dominion over all other creatures.

The dominion mandate does not give humans dominion over each other. In the beginning mankind was created equal and given equal authority.

More to Come

These simple elements have profound implication and application. And the unfolding of human law, as revealed in the Holy Bible reaches much further than this. There will be more to come in future posts on the Basis of Human Law.

No Right To Speak

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How do people speak when they have no right to speak into your life? Would you like to know?

The Bible reveals how people speak when they have no right to speak. Take a look at what I have to show you here, and get insight into the voices that demand your attention but which you should ignore.

I have raked over the topic of The Right To Speak in previous posts, and now I want you to see a well-known Biblical example of what it looks like when someone is speaking who has no right to do so.

A Quick Review

Not all words are equal. Some people have the right to speak while others do not. You are to obey the commands of those who have authority over you but you don’t have to obey the demands of people under your authority, or outside your whole authority structure. Advertisers don’t have authority to demand that you buy their product.

Marketers and manipulators speak to you, even though they don’t have the right to tell you what to do, in the hope they can get you to do their will. Wise people are aware of the rights held by the speaker, so they can know whether to listen or ignore the one speaking.

God has the ultimate right to speak. Those God endorses have the right to speak. Yet many people who speak into our lives do not speak with God’s authority. Some people assert their right to speak when they don’t have that right at all.

How They Speak

When a person does not have the right to speak into your life, but they wish to get you to follow their instructions, they can use several devices. They can lie, cajole, deceive, threaten and so on.

Jesus Christ faced a confrontation with someone who did not have the right to speak into his life. That person was the devil, who tempted Him when He was fasting in the wilderness. What the devil said and how he said it gives us a cameo of how people speak when they do not have the right to speak into your life.

You may recognise some of this in the way others have tried to speak into your life at times.

Jesus and the Devil

In the New Testament book of Matthew we are given an account of the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness. This encounter involves temptation. And the first point to note is that when a person does not have the right to speak they are only able to tempt the person they are trying to influence. That’s what advertisers do. They tempt you to buy their product. They can’t make you do something, but they can tempt you to make your own choice to do it.

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If you be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:1-4

Temptation Number One

The devil’s first temptation was directed at Jesus’ physical needs. Jesus was hungry after fasting for forty days and nights. Jesus had the power to create bread. The devil simply suggested that Jesus do that.

What was wrong with this challenge was that Jesus was not to be about the devil’s business, but His Father’s business (see Luke 2:49). Just because you have ability does not mean you should use it to indulge your personal interests and needs. Jesus took His orders from God, not the devil. That is why Jesus’ reply was that He was to live by the words that God spoke.

We will each be tempted to cater for our desires, such as our comfort, hunger and so on.

Temptation Number Two

“Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, And said to him, If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down: for it is written, He will give his angels charge concerning you: and they will bear you up in their hands, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Matthew 4:5-7

For the second temptation the devil did not play on Jesus’ bodily needs. This time he played to his mental and emotional qualities. The temptation was to make a public display of His special position of protection by God.

Note again that the devil did not have the right to tell Jesus what to do, so he tempted him, with taunts, to prompt Jesus to obey the devil by fulfilling his physical or emotional needs.

Those who do not have the right to speak into our lives will try to press our buttons to get us to react to them and thus come under the power of their words.

Jesus rightly responded that we are not to put God to the test like that.

Temptation Number Three

“Again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And said to him, All these things will I give you, if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Get out of here, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” Matthew 4:8-10

The third temptation was the offer of a deal. Having taunted and suggested things, appealing to Jesus’ physical and personal interests, the devil finally came out with a proposition.

The devil also tries to make deals with us. He offers us fame, success, happiness, and personal gain if we do what he wants us to do. However, the devil’s deals are cheap, deceptive and destructive, as Eve found out when she gave in to temptation in the Garden of Eden.

Look Out

You will face temptations, suggestions, taunts, instructions and deals, from voices that do not have the right to tell you what to do. What ever the issue is, it will be about you giving up your freedom to the demands of those you should remain free from.

Look out for those who come along, throwing their arm over your shoulder, trying to steer you in the path that they want you to take.

God has given you autonomy and a place of freedom under His authority. Those who do not have the right to speak are intent on making you a slave. Their words may sound like honey, but the sting of what they suggest will be bitter and deadly.

If they do not have the right to speak, then do what Jesus did. Reject what they say and stick with what God wants you to do.

No Jurisdiction

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Further to my previous posts on the topic of Jurisdiction I want to alert you to your dangerous practice of letting people speak into your life and over your life when they have no right to speak. I am quite confident that you have probably allowed people to have a say in your life, when they have no right to speak authoritatively over anything about you.

The Clamour of Voices

Have you noticed how many people appeal for your attention every day? There are myriad voices shouting at you for your attention and calling you to respond to them. Most of those voices have no right to speak. They have no jurisdiction over you. You should ignore them completely and live without regard for anything they say. Yet you most likely listen to them and allow them to mess with your life. While they have no real jurisdiction you may foolishly give them jurisdiction over you.

Let me define some of those non-jurisdictional voices which are speaking into your life on a daily basis. They come in various shapes and sizes and speak at different levels. However they can be categorised into a few convenient groupings to allow definition and evaluation.

Marketing Messages

Radio advertisements, billboards, television commercials, signs and a plethora of advertising messages bombard your senses every day. They are all seeking to market some product or service to you. Some are pushing for a sale, while others are promoting a brand, and others seek to mould your behaviour toward their commercial interests.

Many marketing messages are very powerful, charged with emotive subtext and sensual captivation, using million dollar power tools to reach into your life and dictate your choices and behaviour. Those voices speak with compelling and mind-altering power. Yet they have no right to dictate to you your choices.

Consider the case of the American razor blade manufacturers who wanted to penetrate the Japanese market. They had a superior product to the local supply, but no-one needed the sharper American blades. The Japanese bathed at the end of the day and then shaved after their bath, to be clean faced for their wife. The hot bath softened their bristles so the inferior blades worked perfectly well.

The only real chance the American suppliers had to penetrate the market was to get the Japanese to shave in the morning, while their bristles were not softened by the hot bath. So they set about a concerted campaign to shame the Japanese into shaving in the morning. The marketing message was that truly loyal Japanese men would be clean shaven for their boss in the morning.

The social engineering apparently worked, changing the shaving habits and prompting the need for the superior American razor blades. A whole culture was subverted for commercial gain.

Now, tell me you have always been aware of marketers’ attempts to do something similar to you, and that you have intelligently and studiously avoided their every influence. I don’t believe you.

Social Engineering

Apart from those messages which have commercial gain in their sights you are also bombarded with messages from people who wish to change your social attitudes. The irreligious want to subvert your faith. The politically inclined want to win you to their brand of politics. The immoral want to weaken your moral resolve. The rebellious want to loosen the restraints in society. The proud want your adulation.

When easy divorce was made possible the divorce rate went up and most people accepted the new social reality. When pre-marital sex became more prevalent most people accepted that as the new social order. And so it goes.

But don’t think you are always aware of those social engineering processes. Clever and subversive messages and social arrangements are set up to sell you on attitudes, choices and responses that play into the plans of those who seek to change you.

I know from my years in the media that news reports, feature articles, images, movies, music and television are carefully crafted to create impressions which prompt attitude changes which feed into social outcomes. Media services have long been infiltrated by people who have message agendas, who can then interpose their subtle messages into the public forum.

Consider the orchestrated trumpeting of the global warming message, despite all the evidence to the contrary. The topic has become something of a religious dogma and is spoken of as a fait accompli. Similarly evolution is spoken of as if any rational person knows intuitively that it is the only possible scientific reality. This is done despite the enormous body of literature from evolutionists and others pointing out that it is a completely baseless notion.

Now, tell me you have always been aware of the attempts of social engineers to influence you, and that you have intelligently and studiously remained untouched by their every attempt. I don’t believe you.

No Jurisdiction

The reason these voices clamour for your attention is because they have no authority. They are without jurisdiction. The only way they can gain currency is to get you to willingly give up your personal freedom and your right to reject them. If you buy the dogma, message or attitude package that is being pushed on you, then you give that message jurisdiction by the choice of your will.

When a child believes that a bogey man is hiding under his bed that child will lose their peace and careless ease. The message has no real validity, but it gains power over the child by the child’s willingness to accept it.

When a person believes that certain politics, certain social agendas, certain moral compromises or some other such social value is valid they will come under the power of those who promote it. The believer has given over their personal sovereignty to the peddler of that particular value. The message that has no jurisdiction is given the right to speak, only by the listening ear, not by the moral force of the message.

Freedom Given Up

The subject of jurisdiction cuts close to the subject of personal freedom. People who are gloriously and wonderfully free can become slaves to ideas, ideologies, philosophies, moral compromises, social agendas, attitudes, limitations, intimidation, and so on, just by allowing an invalid voice to speak over them.

When you allow someone or something to have the right to speak over you, your life becomes subverted under their power. When the only ones you listen to are God and those He endorses, then your freedom is maintained and kept intact. When you obey the voices of greed, lust, pride, self-assertion, self-indulgence, anger, and so on, you have given over your freedom to voices that should have no jurisdiction over you.

Reclaim Your Freedom

You were created free. By worshipping God and by the saving grace of Jesus Christ you can be made free even when you have become a slave to evil things. So take this whole matter seriously. You were not created to be a slave. You are not supposed to allow anyone and anything to walk all over you. You need to discern the voices that press themselves upon you. You need to reject those that do not have authority, or right to speak. You need to devote yourself to the voices that God has placed on His behalf to guide and bless you.

I exhort you to reclaim your freedom. If the Son of God makes you free, you are truly free. Stand firm in that freedom, to which Christ has made you free and don’t be caught up and entangled again in the chains of slavery.

Logophile on Jurisdiction

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My recent post on the topic of The Right To Speak discussed the word ‘jurisdiction’. I want to explore that word a little more today, making a Logophile posting on this significant term. I pointed out there that the expression “the right to speak” means the same as the word “jurisdiction”.

Morphology of Jurisdiction

I pointed out in my posting on the Right to Speak that “jurisdiction” is the convergence of two powerful thoughts. Juris – comes from the Latin word ‘ius’, which means ‘law’. So we have the juris concept of law in such words as “jurisprudence” and “jury”.

Diction – means “to speak”. It refers to speech, words and commands.

Jurisdiction, then, refers to words that have legal authority. In practice that involves “The authority to apply the law.” But note that the authority is linked to the concepts of words and speech in the morphology of the word jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction means “the right to speak”, “speaking words of authority”, “speaking with legal privilege”, and “making law through the spoken word”.

Decrees and Dictums

Since speech is a key component of rule over a jurisdiction it is only reasonable to expect that many legal and authoritative terms refer to some form of speech or other. So consider the following examples of words relevant to authoritative enactments which refer to something spoken.

A Dictate is a directive or a command which authoritatively prescribes something, issues orders or gives commands.

A Dictator is someone who asserts their authority over others in a unilateral fashion, as an absolute ruler.

A Dictum is an authoritative pronouncement.

An Edict is a decree or proclamation issued by an authority and having the force of law. An edict is also a formal pronouncement or command.

A Pronouncement is something that is ‘pronounced’, ie: spoken.

A Declaration is something spoken out.

A Proclamation is also something that is spoken out.

While a Decree is a judgement it is synonymous in usage with the idea of a spoken announcement. Note that sense of a spoken announcement in the Law Encyclopaedia definition of “decree”: “A judgment of a court that announces the legal consequences of the facts found in a case and orders that the court’s decision be carried out.”

It Is Written

Spoken words end up written down and the written pronouncements of an authority are also important components of their jurisdictional rule. Diction can be in text form.

Therefore we have a range of authoritative terms referring to the written pronouncement. These written documents represent the dictates of the ruler.

A Papal Bull is a written document sealed with the Pope’s seal and expressed in a legal format that authenticates its significance.

An Encyclical was originally a pastoral letter from a bishop of the church, but now refers to a solemn papal letter.

Formal Notice is a legal form of advice from one authority to another within a prescribed format and carrying legal significance.

The word Prescribe has the word ‘scribe’ built into it, referring to the written nature of the legal document.

Every Idle Word

In the context of Jurisdiction every idle word has significance. That is why we are warned that we will have to give account for every word that we speak, even those that are said in jest or thoughtlessly.

“But I say to you, That every idle word that men speak, they will give account for in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36

Thus the Bible warns us that we must mean what we say. Our Yes must mean ‘Yes’ and our No must mean ‘No’.

“But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest you fall into condemnation.” James 5:12

Your Jurisdiction

While you may not rule an empire you do have rule over your own life and soul. Your words have the power of life and death over your own self. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, because the tongue dictates what you, as the authority over your life, decree.

There is law in your mouth. Your words determine legal outcomes for your personal existence. Be very careful of the ‘diction’ in your jurisdiction over your own life.

The Right to Speak

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Your personal authority is directly related to your “right to speak”. So, while this may be something you have never thought about, it is a topic with profound significance. This subject illuminates God’s authority and informs your own actions. I urge you to take note of this discussion and to reflect on it, as it may prove valuable in encouraging your own words and actions.

Jurisdiction

We understand that certain courts and authorities have power only within limited jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the court is that scope or range of issues over which the court has the right to make a judgement. A traffic court, for instance, cannot make rulings relevant to the family, while the Family Court will have that jurisdiction.

Similarly certain officials will have jurisdiction, or the right to operate with authority, in one place but not in another. A state policeman cannot act as a policeman in a different country or state. A tax official cannot function as a traffic cop, nor can a customs officer approve building permits.

Each official, office, court and government has its own “jurisdiction”. It cannot legally operate in other jurisdictions. It is empowered within one area, but limited from asserting its authority in other areas.

Jurisdiction for Logophiles

Take a look at the word “jurisdiction” and you will see the convergence of two powerful thoughts. Juris – comes from the Latin word ‘ius’, which means ‘law’ or legal matters. So we have the juris concept of law in such words as “jurisprudence” and “jury”.

Diction – means “to speak”. It refers to speech, words and commands.

Jurisdiction, then, refers to words that have legal authority. In practice that involves “The authority to apply the law.” But note that the authority is linked in the morphology of the word jurisdiction to the concept of words and speech.

Jurisdiction means “the right to speak”, “speaking words of authority”, “speaking with legal privilege”, and “making law through the spoken word”. So ‘jurisdiction’ is at the heart of my topic, The Right to Speak.

The Sphere of Speech

One way to understand the jurisdiction of a person, court or authority is to check the sphere over which that entity can speak. The sphere of speech measures the scope of the authority. When a person cannot speak with power into a situation then it is outside their jurisdiction. When a person speaks and there are consequences from those words, in outcome or moral accountability, then the person has jurisdiction in that area.

On the Royal Navy’s ship, HMS Bounty, on April 28, 1789, Masters Mate Fletcher Christian led twelve other crew members in a mutiny against the captain, Lieutenant William Bligh (who had sailed under Captain Cook). The orders given by the captain were the words which had jurisdiction. The mutineers ignored the demands of their appointed leader and took over the ship.

While Bligh’s words were ineffective in practical terms, in that they were disobeyed, yet they remain the words which held jurisdiction. Bligh had the “right to speak” over his crew. When some of the men rebelled they carried the moral and legal consequence of their actions. They did not have the right to speak.

God’s Right To Speak

God’s jurisdiction can easily be comprehended by simply looking at the sheer scope in which His words have influence. The very first reference to God’s speech is found in the third verse of the whole Bible.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3

That short verse may easily be skipped over by a casual reader but consider the legal significance of what it says. God spoke and a miracle took place. That attests to God’s awesome power. But it also attests to the sheer scope and dimension of God’s authority.

God’s scope of authority spans as far as light travels. If you can find some place in which light cannot shine then you may have found a place where God has no jurisdiction. God said “Let there be light” and His words held sway over the entire realm in which He has the right to speak. So, from here to the furthest galaxies in every direction, God rules. God’s words have authority over you and everything around you, since God’s words clearly have evident power in the realm in which you live.

Your Ability to Speak

To help you catch something of the significance of this, take a moment to test out your own ability to speak. Just say out loud, “Let there be dark!” Now see what happens. Your words have no effect at all. That’s because you do not have jurisdiction over light in the same way that God does.

God’s authority is radically beyond your authority. God can speak things into existence and there is nothing you can do about it. God clearly has much greater jurisdiction than you do. And, as noted earlier, God has jurisdiction over the entire realm in which you live.

Now, while you cannot command dark, there are some things you can command. Whatever those things are they represent the scope of your jurisdiction. Your personal right to speak is an important indicator of your personal authority at this stage of your life.

Changing Jurisdiction

Our personal jurisdiction changes throughout our life. As people are promoted in their workplace they are given an increased area over which they have the right to speak. We can be given temporary jurisdiction over a situation. Parents have the right to speak on behalf of their dependent children, but they lose that right as the children grow into adulthood and are expected to speak for themselves.

That is a hopeful fact. Whatever the limitations may be to your jurisdiction right now you have the potential to expand your jurisdiction and expand the realm over which you have the right to speak.

I hope all this has whetted your interest in this topic. This is not a dry academic or esoteric notion, but a very practical issue that impacts who and what you are.

Some Further Considerations

I have taught on this topic for years and there are several key issues which spring from it. I will probably get around to elaborating on some of them in the future, but for now let me headline a few things for you to ponder.

God endorsed Christ’s right to speak and then Christ instructed Christians to “Go and preach”. So Christians have divine right to speak the gospel to the nations.

Some of the people you have listened to have not had the right to speak into your life. So why did you listen to them and why do you fear their words?

Some people you have ignored had God’s authority to speak into your life, such as your parents. Your rejection of their words over you makes you an immoral person living in the consequences of rebellion. You may have some tidying up to do.

Words are so important that God will hold us accountable for every idle word we speak. Hmmmm.