Essay

Foundations of : Week 4

Key Principle of Equality

• God rules without partiality.
• Deuteronomy 10:17. “For the LORD your God is

God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God,
mighty and awesome, who shows no
partiality”

• Acts. 10:34-35. “In truth, I perceive that God is
no respecter of persons.”

4 Major Principles to take from
Chapter 3

• All power comes from God; He gives that
authority to different governing bodies.

• Power must be expressly granted to civil gov’t,
else, it does not exist. Genesis 9.

• Christian view of gov’t provides great liberty.
• When considering whether a law is valid, must

also consider who has been granted
jurisdiction to enforce it.

Equality

• “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal. . . .” Dec. of Ind.

• Our legal system is based upon the CL which is
derived from LONANG. So we look to the Bible
for meaning.

Equality Principle Found in the
Scriptures

• The foundational principle of equality is found
in the character of God.

• Deuteronomy 10:17. “For the LORD your God
is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great
God, mighty and awesome, who shows no
partiality” (or who is no respecter of persons).

God judges without partiality
• God has only one standard of justice
• All are equally condemned by the law of sin and death.

– Romans 3:23. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
– Romans 6:23. “The wages of sin is death.”

• All are equally declared innocent by the law of the Spirit of life.
– Galatians 3:27-28. “But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that

the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who
believe. . . . For as many of you as were baptized in to Christ have put
on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor
free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus.”

– Romans 8:2. “For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made
you free from the law of sin and death.”

Civil Government Must Judge without
Partiality

• Deuteronomy 1:17. “You shall not show
partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small
as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in
any man’s presence, for the judgment is
God’s.”

• Deuteronomy 16:19. “You shall not pervert
justice; you shall not show partiality.”

What does it mean to show partiality?

• Considering economic status . Leviticus 19:15. “You shall do no
injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor
the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your
neighbor.”

• Considering political power. Leviticus 19:15, and Deuteronomy
1:17. “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the
small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s
presence, for the judgment is God’s.”

• Considering appearance. John 7:24. “Do not judge according to
appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

• Considering family ties. Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His
own Son, but delivered Him up for us all . . .”

• These considerations seem to violate the principle of equality.

God Does Respect Choices

• Colossians 3:25. “But he who does wrong will
be repaid for what he has done, and there is
no partiality.”

• Romans 6:23. “The wages of sin is death but
the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”

God does give different people
different abilities

• 1 Corinthians 4:7. “For who makes you differ
from another? And what do you have that you
did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it,
why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

• 1 Kings 4:20-30. “And God gave Solomon wisdom
and exceedingly great understanding, and
largeness of heart like the sand of the seashore.
Thus, Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of
all the men of the East and all the wisdom of
Egypt.”

• Exodus 31:1-5. Bezalel, the master artisan.

So what is equality?

• Then, equality before God does not
necessarily mean equality of participation in
all of God’s creation; rather, it means equality
of opportunity for God’s justice.

• God’s laws do not guarantee any particular
political or economic office or position.

• However, the antithesis of this Equality
principle is special privileges for favored
classes.

Examples in American ?

• Declaration of Independence
• State Constitutions

– No hereditary privileges
– No privileges for established church
– No titles of nobility or monopolies

• Federal Constitution
– Art. 1, Section 9 & 10. Neither U.S. nor any states

can grant titles of nobility.

Why the prohibition on titles of
nobility?

• Nobility: “a division of the people . . . By which
certain people enjoy specified privileges that
others do not enjoy.”

• Prevents tyranny (Madison in the federalist
papers)

• Keeps gov’t accountable to the people. Our
constitution “reduces every officer again to a
private station.”

• Keeps us from being ruled by special interests

Are we faithful to the Equality
Principle today?

• Wall street bailout?
• Special rules in tax code?
• Pensions for retired presidents and

congressmen?

Equality Principle Rule

• Any law that identifies a specific group for
favored treatment should be presumed to
violate equality principle.

• The antithesis of this principle is special privileges
for favored classes.

• However, distinctions based on merit or skill are
permissible.
– I.e. license? Medical license?

• Distinctions based on choices are permissible.
– I.e. s that criminalize speeding.

License Hypo

• See Craigmiles v. Giles (posted to BB)
• Does TN’s required license for selling caskets

comport with the Equality Principle?
• Does TN’s required license for funeral

directors comport with the Equality Principle?

Rule

• Any law that identifies a specific group for
favored treatment should be presumed to
violate equality principle.

• The antithesis of this principle is special
privileges for favored classes.

• However, distinctions based on merit or skill
are permissible.
– I.e. license? Medical license?

Application of Equality Principle

1. Ask whether law selects a certain group for
differential treatment?

2. If it does, the law is presumed to violate the
Equality Principle.

3. But can the law be justified on some ground
consistent with the character/law of God?

– I.e. where only justification is special privilege
for favored classes violates Equality Principle.

– I.e. recognizing the special abilities or skills of a
group of persons may be permissible. (Licensing
laws?)

Dred Scott

• “The unhappy black race were separated from
the whites by indelible marks, and laws long
before established, and were never thought of
or spoken of except as property, and when the
claims of the owner or the profit of the trader
were supposed to need protection.”

Dred Scott cont’d

• “On the contrary, they were at that time
considered as a subordinate and inferior class
of beings, who had been subjugated by the
dominant race, and, whether emancipated or
not, yet remained subject to their authority,
and had no rights or privileges but such as
those who held the power and the
Government might choose to grant them.”

Core Presuppositions behind Race-
based Slavery

• 1. That there are different races.
• 2. That the slave is of an inferior race, and

ultimately, is not human.
• 3. That the slave’s only value is as a

commodity
• 4. The slave has no rights except those given

by government

Somersett’s Case

• The state of slavery is of such a nature that it is
incapable of being introduced on any reasons,
moral or political, but only by positive law, which
preserves its force long after the reasons,
occasions, and time itself from whence it was
created, is erased from memory. It is so odious,
that nothing can be suffered to support it, but
positive law. Whatever inconveniences, therefore,
may follow from the decision, I cannot say this
case is allowed or approved by the law of
England; and therefore the black must be
discharged.

Commonwealth v. Aves

• Slavery was “contrary to the principles of
justice, and of nature, and repugnant” to the
State’s Declaration of Rights.

• Declaration of Rights states: “All men are born
free and equal and have certain natural,
essential, and unalienable rights, which are,
the right of enjoying and defending their lives
and liberties, that of acquiring, possessing and
protecting property.”

LONANG on Slavery

• The seminal events in both the Old Testament and the
New Testament warrant against slavery.

• Old Testament: God redeemed the Hebrew people who
were slaves in Egypt.
– Exodus 13:14, 20:2. “I am the Lord your God, who brought

you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
• New Testament: Christ’s death on the cross redeems

sinners from slavery to sin.
– Galatians 5:1. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened
again by a yoke of slavery.”

LONANG on Slavery cont’d
• Mosaic law punished slave trading with the death penalty.

– Exodus 21:16. “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or
still has him when he is caught must be put to death.”

• Mosaic law instructed Hebrews not to return a slave to his master.
– Deut. 23:15-16. “You shall not give back to his master the slave who

has escaped from his master to you. He may dwell with you in your
midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where
it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.”

• Paul includes kidnapping among the list of sins committed by the
ungodly.
– 1 Timothy 1:8-10. “knowing this: that the law is not made for a

righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the
ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, … for kidnappers,
for liars, for perjurers,….”

LONANG Response to Dred Scott
Presuppositions

• There is only 1 race. Acts 17:26. “And He has made from one
blood[a] every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries
of their dwellings,”

• Male and female are both fully human. Genesis 5:2. “He created
them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind
in the day they were created.”

• Man is made in God’s Image and thus has inherent value. Genesis
1:26-28. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness….”

• Man has no authority to rule another man. Genesis 1:27. “let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth.” Gov’t has no right to permit slavery!

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
Comment on “Race.”

• Term once commonly used in PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY to denote
a division of humankind possessing traits that are transmissible by
descent and sufficient to characterize it as a distinct human type
(e.g., Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid). Today the term has little
scientific standing, as older methods of differentiation, including
hair form and body measurement, have given way to the
comparative analysis of DNA and gene frequencies relating to such
factors as BLOOD TYPING, the excretion of AMINO ACIDS, and
inherited ENZYME deficiencies. Because all human populations
today are extremely similar genetically, most researchers have
abandoned the concept of race . . . . “Race” is today primarily a
sociological designation, identifying a class sharing some outward
physical characteristics and some commonalities of culture and
history.

Constitution re Humanity of Slaves
• Slaves were never referred to as such in the U.S. Constitution. They are

always referred to as “persons” because the Framers hoped to eventually
abolish slavery.

• Art. I, § 2. Numbers of each state for purposes of representation and taxes
counted all free persons and 3/5 of “all other persons.” (South actually
wanted them counted as whole persons so that they would have more
political power.)

• Article I, § 9. “The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by
the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but
a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten
dollars for each Person.”

• Art IV, § 2. “No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the
s thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any or
Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall
be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may
be due.”

13th Amendment

• “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction.”

Civil Rights Act of 1866

• Established citizenship of all persons born in
U.S.

• Established that all have same right as white
persons to: “to make and enforce contracts, to
sue, be parties and give evidence, to inherit
purchase, lease sell, hold, and convey real and
personal property ,and to full and equal
benefit of all laws and proceedings for the
security of person and property”

14th Amendment

• It established citizenship of all persons born in
U.S.

• Stated that all “persons” are entitled to equal
protection of the laws

• Restored the apportionment of representation
that all persons would count as a full person

Article II, Section 1.

• “No person except a natural born citizen, or a
citizen of the United States, at the time of the
adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the office of President; neither shall any
person be eligible to that office who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty-five years,
and been fourteen years a resident within the
United States.”

Is Principle of Equality Violated by
Different Treatment of non-citizens?

• Deuteronomy 17:15. “be sure to appoint over
you a king the LORD your God chooses. He
must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do
not place a foreigner over you, one who is not
an Israelite.”

Rule

• Any law that identifies a specific group for
favored treatment should be presumed to
violate equality principle.

• The antithesis of this principle is special
privileges for favored classes.

• However, distinctions based on merit or skill
are permissible.
– I.e. license? Medical license?

Compare 14th Am. v. 15th Am.

• 14th Am. protects persons from denials of
equal protection and life, liberty, property

• 15th Am. Protects citizens from denials of right
to vote

Article II, Section 1.

• “No person except a natural born citizen, or a
citizen of the United States, at the time of the
adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the office of President; neither shall any
person be eligible to that office who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty-five years,
and been fourteen years a resident within the
United States.”

Do citizenship distinctions violate
Equality Principle?

• Note that there are different nations. Unlike race,
God recognizes that there are different nations

• Genesis 10:32. “These were the families of the
sons of Noah, according to their generations, in
their nations; and from these the nations were
divided on the earth after the flood.”

• Acts 17:26. “And He has made from one blood
every nation of men to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and has determined their
preappointed times and the boundaries of their
dwellings”

Do citizenship distinctions violate
Equality Principle? (cont’d)

• Exodus 22:21. “You shall neither mistreat a
stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers
in the land of Egypt.”

• Exodus 12:49. “One law shall be for the native-
born and for the stranger who dwells among
you.” See also Lev. 24:22.

• Deuteronomy 17:15. “be sure to appoint over
you a king the LORD your God chooses. He must
be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not
place a foreigner over you, one who is not an
Israelite.”

Citizenship Hypo

• Virginia passes a law that no non-citizen
injured in the Commonwealth may sue a
citizen for his injuries. Does this violate the
principle of Equality?

Presenter
Presentation Notes
A: Violates LONANG and 14th Amendment
Exodus 22:21. “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
Exodus 12:49. “One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
Leviticus 24:22. “You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.”

Application of Equality Rule
1. Ask whether law selects a certain group for differential

treatment?
2. If it does, the law is presumed to violate the Equality

Principle.
3. But can the law be justified on some ground consistent

with the character of God?
– where only justification is special privilege for favored

classes violate Equality Principle.
– respecting the special abilities or skills of a group of

persons may be permissible. (Licensing laws?)
– that makes racial distinctions violates Equality Principle.
– that makes distinctions based on citizenship may be

permissible if limited to the basic political integrity of the
nation/state. I.e. ruling, voting, defining jurisdiction.

Bradwell v. State (p.116)

• Supreme Court upholds law that prohibits
married women from being lawyers.

• But did this holding comport with LONANG?

LONANG Principles re Sex

• Genesis 2:18. Woman is a helper to man.
• Colossians 3:18. A wife should submit to her

husband, and a husband should love his wife.
• Genesis 3:16, 21. God made men and women

with inherent physical differences.
• Judges 4. Deborah was a wife and a judge.
• Proverbs 31. Virtuous woman sells

merchandise and clothing and runs her own
business.

Bradwell v. State, cont’d

• The Supreme Court made a mistake of
jurisdiction. LONANG recognizes the different
roles between husband and wife, but those
apply within the family jurisdiction, and not
necessarily within the civil and economic
realms.

• God gave the dominion mandate of Genesis
1:26-28 to both men and women.

Hypo 1

• Do “separate but equal” bathroom facilities
for men and women violate the Equality
Principle?

Presenter
Presentation Notes
A: No. God made men and women with inherent physical differences.
He clothed them in the garden after the fall.
Even SCOTUS has noted such differences.
Upheld statutory rape laws where male is held responsible if “consenting female is under age.”

Hypo 1

• Do “separate but equal” bathroom facilities
for men and women violate the Equality
Principle?

Presenter
Presentation Notes
No. God made men and women with inherent physical differences.
He clothed them in the garden after the fall.
Even SCOTUS has noted such differences.
Upheld statutory rape laws where male is held responsible if “consenting female is under age.”

Hypo 2

• Virginia law permits state prisons to force
inmates to clean highways as part of their
prison sentence. Does this violate the
Principle of Equality?

Presenter
Presentation Notes
No. God does make distinctions based on our choices.
Deuteronomy 30:19. “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”
Even the 13th Amendment permits “involuntary servitude” as a punishment for crime.

Rule

• Any law that identifies a specific group for
favored treatment should be presumed to
violate equality principle.

• The antithesis of this principle is special
privileges for favored classes.

• However, distinctions based on merit or skill
are permissible.
– I.e. license? Medical license?

Application of Equality Rule
1. Ask whether law selects a certain group for differential treatment?
2. If it does, the law is presumed to violate the Equality Principle.
3. But can the law be justified on some ground consistent with the

character of God?
– where only justification is special privilege for favored classes violate

Equality Principle.
– respecting the special abilities or skills of a group of persons may be

permissible. (Licensing laws?)
– that makes racial distinctions violates Equality Principle.
– that makes distinctions based on citizenship may be permissible if

limited to the basic integrity of the nation. I.e. ruling, voting.
– that makes sex distinctions may be permissible if based upon inherent

physical differences b/t men and women.
– s that make distinctions based on actions are permissible. I.e. 14th

Amendment protects right to vote except “for participation in rebellion or
other crime.”

Affirmative Action

• Fisher v. University of Texas
– Facts: University of Texas considers race as one of

various factors in its undergraduate admissions
process as part of the University’s plan to increase
racial minority enrollment on campus. Student applied
for admission to 2008 entering class and was rejected.

– Issue: Does U. of Texas’s policy violate the Equal
Protection Clause, or is it a permissible means for
achieving racial diversity on campus?

– Holding: Supreme Court held that Court of Appeals
gave too much deference to the University’s plan and
did not actually apply strict scrutiny.

Affirmative Action and LONANG

• There is only 1 race. God doesn’t make race
distinctions

• Everyone should bear their own guilt. Can’t
punish the innocent .
– Deuteronomy 24:16. “Fathers shall not be put to

death for their children, nor shall children be put to
death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death
for his own sin.”

– Also, Ezekiel 18, Jeremiah 31:27-30.
– Romans 2:6. God “will repay each person according to

what they have done.”

Affirmative Action Conclusion

• Official race discrimination has produced
intolerable injustices in society that beg for a
remedy.

• Remedies must comport with the LONANG.
Any proposed remedy, therefore, must not
punish innocent victims, for that is unjust.

Foundations of : Week 4
Key Principle of Equality
4 Major Principles to take from Chapter 3
Equality
Equality Principle Found in the Scriptures
God judges without partiality
Civil Government Must Judge without Partiality
What does it mean to show partiality?
God Does Respect Choices
God does give different people different abilities
So what is equality?
Examples in American ?
Why the prohibition on titles of nobility?
Are we faithful to the Equality Principle today?
Equality Principle Rule
License Hypo
Rule
Application of Equality Principle
Dred Scott
Dred Scott cont’d
Core Presuppositions behind Race-based Slavery
Somersett’s Case
Commonwealth v. Aves
LONANG on Slavery
LONANG on Slavery cont’d
LONANG Response to Dred Scott Presuppositions
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary Comment on “Race.”
Constitution re Humanity of Slaves
13th Amendment
Civil Rights Act of 1866
14th Amendment
Article II, Section 1.
Is Principle of Equality Violated by Different Treatment of non-citizens?
Rule
Compare 14th Am. v. 15th Am.
Article II, Section 1.
Do citizenship distinctions violate Equality Principle?
Do citizenship distinctions violate Equality Principle? (cont’d)
Citizenship Hypo
Application of Equality Rule
Bradwell v. State (p.116)
LONANG Principles re Sex
Bradwell v. State, cont’d
Hypo 1
Hypo 1
Hypo 2
Rule
Application of Equality Rule
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action and LONANG
Affirmative Action Conclusion