Thoughts on the next Supreme Court Justice

President Obama made some remarks on the announcement of Supreme Court Justice Souter's retirement. I was most interested in what he said about what he's looking for in the person to replace Justice Souter. Here's an excerpt of his remarks during a press conference on 1 May 2009:

"Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as President. So I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives -- whether they can make a living and care for their families; whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation.

I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving as just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values on which this nation was founded, and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time." (emphasis mine)

I generally like the sentiment here, but I'm not exactly sure how President Obama will find someone with these qualifications. Much has been recorded about Obama's thoughts on Supreme Court nominees which I won't go into here. But still, there is something about this that bothers me, but I can't put my finger on it.

President Obama's comments made me remember some of what God says about what he wants to see in people (not just Supreme Court nominees):

"Thus says the Lord: 'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.'" -- Jeremiah 9:23-24

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" -- Micah 6:8

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." -- Matthew 23:23

To sum up, God most highly values knowing him, walking humbly with him, practicing love, justice, righteousness, kindness, mercy, and faithfulness.

Now that's what I'm looking for in the next Supreme Court nominee.

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Why Do The Nations Rage?

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.

The 15 December 2008 edition of Newsweek magazine carried a cover essay entitled "Our Mutual Joy", and subtitled "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage". That title really caught my attention, and that of many others too, as it has stirred up anew a heated debate between advocates of so-called "gay marriage" and Bible-believing Christians.

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.

The cover essay was written by Lisa Miller. It got me so worked up, I wrote and posted a paragraph-by-paragraph response to "Our Mutual Joy". The bottom line is that you just can't make the Scriptures support such an idea. In fact, the very notion of "gay marriage" is an oxymoron. Homosexual practices are universally condemned, first in the Old Testament and subsequently reaffirmed in the teaching of Jesus and other New Testament writers.

Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.

Worse than the cover story itself was the introduction to it by the Newsweek editor, John Meacham. I also wrote and posted a paragraph-by-paragraph response to "The Editor's Desk". I say that it's worse because he not only endorses the conclusions of Lisa Miller's story, but says "this conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism," and "to argue that something is so because it is in the Bile is more than intellectually bankrupt - it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition." Say what? It is nearly unbelievable to me that a respected journalist could print such an asinine remark. He doesn't seem to understand anything about what real Christians believe and why they believe it.

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

To make the whole thing even worse, in the following issue of Newsweek (22 December 2008), in the section called "The Popularity Index", a comment on "Our Mutual Joy" said: "The Bible is the basis for much opposition to gay marriage. But Scripture does not proscribe it." Outrageous! First they publish an essay chock-full of bad scholarship, the editor endorses it with his own poor understanding, and then they have the gall to basically declare God is OK with it! God save us.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
-- Psalm 2 (ESV)

It's hard to know how to conclude this. I feel outraged that people have (mis)used God's word, which is precious to me, to try to justify abominable behavior. This is just my way of trying to think through the whole thing, and provide a reasonable response. May God grant readers of these articles to see the truth.


Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.