2020 | Week of September 21 | Radio Transcript #1378
God assures us that nothing happens outside His knowledge and control, down to knowing the number of hairs on our head and even when a sparrow falls from a nest. And He even appoints the day of death—and that is why we must trust Him as we deal with and attempt to process yet another unique twist and turn in this wild ride called 2020. God not only knew Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would die on Friday, September 18, He in eternity past foreordained that event to happen, even knowing how crazy this year has already been in America and around the world. What we must do know is to pray that in the midst of all this, we as believers know how this affects us and understand what we can do to help ensure good comes from this turn of events.
First and foremost, I send to the Justice’s family my sincere condolences and my prayers. This is a difficult time, no matter the age of the loved one or the circumstances surrounding the death.
Now, what does all this mean as we stand about forty days from a major presidential election that is already fraught with more drama than one can imagine? I think hearing from a noted attorney, in this case, Michael Farris, CEO and general counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, gives us some perspective. Farris wrote on his Facebook the following:
“Why has the Supreme Court Become So Politicized? It would shock the Framers of the Constitution to learn that filling a vacancy on the Supreme Court would become a leading issue in a presidential election…
“For many people, including me, judicial selection (especially for the Supreme Court) is the most important issue….Why? The answer is self-evident.
“The Supreme Court has made and continues to make some of the most important and most controversial policy decisions for our country. The Supreme court legalized abortion nationwide. It wasn’t a vote of Congress or the people. The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. It wasn’t a vote of Congress and [was] contrary to a vote of the people in nearly every state. This last term, the Supreme Court expanded the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the protected classes. Congress did no such thing.
“These are policy decisions. And they have been made by unelected judges. These judges joining these opinions claim these were decisions that were required by the text of the Constitution or law. But few seriously believe that Congress and the states intended to legalize abortion or same-sex marriage when they crafted the 14th Amendment in 1868.
“The public says it correctly. The Supreme Court legalized abortion and same-sex marriage—words that describe a legislative and not a judicial act.
“President Trump, and others who support the idea of appointing judges who are originalists, are actually seeking to de-politicize the Supreme Court. We want judges who follow the law, not make the law. If Roe v. Wade is reversed by originalist judges, for example, that does not ban abortion nationwide. It is not just the opposite policy decision. Reversing Roe v. Wade simply puts the issue back to the states. It takes the judiciary out of this political issue.
“[This] falls pretty much along party lines. Democrats generally want living constitutionalists—a philosophy that allows and encourages judges to make policy decisions rather than leaving those to the legislative branches or the votes of the people themselves. Republicans generally promise to appoint judges who want to de-politicize the judiciary by following the original meaning of the Constitution and laws.”
Farris closes by saying President Trump will be accused of politicizing the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court, he says, did it to itself.
That pretty much sums up how we are all impacted by the death of Justice Ginsburg. Decisions made by the justice who will fill her vacancy on the court could be there for decades, being part of, or maybe even being the deciding vote, on issues that are sometimes truly matters of life and death and truth versus falsehood.
This is not a time for Christians to sit on the sidelines. This is the time for Christians to pray faithfully and earnestly for God to intervene in the affairs of this nation—because we know He is in control of it all. And then, we must be sure to vote and to encourage others to join us. Elections have consequences. And so very much is at stake.
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling, reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
