JURI600 Render Unto Caesar Essay

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Liberty University *

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600

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Philosophy

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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3

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Render Unto Caesar Due to a rise in violence in the state of Wisconsin, there was a law passed that enhances the penalty for any offense committed against a victim where the crime is committed because of hatred for the victim’s race, sex, or religion. The governments’ primary purpose is to enforce justice so that others can fulfill their god given purposes in society. The civil government was not designed to punish every evil and does not have jurisdiction over the heart or mind. That jurisdiction belongs to God. The hate crimes enhancement by the state of Wisconsin is not a proper exercise of the civil government’s jurisdiction according to a biblical worldview. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefor whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” 1 Jesus affirmed that God himself has the exclusive authority to decide what power may rightfully be exercised by human civil government. 2 When God created man and woman, he gave them dominion over “the fish,” “the fowl,” and “every other living thing that moves upon the earth.” 3 But the jurisdiction to rule man remained with God. Just like when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God found them guilty and pronounced their sentences. Early on, God established the family as the only human institution with authority to govern another human being. 4 God did, however, place limitations on family authority. For example, he protected Cain from the death penalty that he rightly deserved for having murdered his brother, Abel. When God entered a new covenant with Noah and his sons, he granted authority to men to enforce the penalty for murder. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the 1 Romans 13: 1-4 (ESV). 2 Herbert W. Titus, God, Man, and Law: The Biblical Principles 65 (1994). 3 Id. 4 Id. at 66.
image of God made he man.” 5 From Noah’s sons came the gentile nations. Through the Noahic covenant, God granted limited authority to those nations to impose the death penalty. 6 To the nation of Israel, that authority was extended beyond murder when God, through Moses, granted jurisdiction to inflict capital punishment on those who committed adultery, sexual perversion, and various other offenses against God. 7 The summary provided of this series of events is to document that man has no authority to rule over a fellow human being except as conferred by God. James Madison served in the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1783, where he learned firsthand the weaknesses of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation. While he was serving in the Virginia Assembly, he produced his first political pamphlet titled “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments.” 8 The purpose of this pamphlet was to criticize a bill that was supported by Governor Patrick Henry that would have laid a general tax to pay Christian teachers a modest salary. This bill would have made Christianity the established religion of the state. According to Madison, the bill was a “dangerous abuse of power.” Madison argued that if government could establish Christianity over other religions, then it would also have the power to elevate one Christian group over another. Madison believed that religion was a matter of individual conscience and that giving legislator’s control over religious belief would inevitably lead to violation of other basic rights. Madison stated, “It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties.” Madison did succeed in defeating the religious assessment bill. 5 Genesis 9:6 (KJV). 6 Id. 7 Id. 8 James H. Read, James Madison , The First Amendment Encyclopedia (2009), https://www.mtsu.edu/first- amendment/article/1220/james-madison#:~:text=Madison%20believed%20that%20religion%20was,the %20religious%20assessment%20bill%20and. 2
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