Law Post 4

Equality and justice are two important concepts that many times, get lost in the trivial matters of man made laws that govern our representative democracy . One of such ideologies that has gained momentum in today's legal system is the idea of Critical Legal Studies, a approach to law that is spearheaded by the Postmodernist thinkers who desire to change the liberal legal system that is already in place. Critical Legal Studies has many subcategories that focus on different "oppressed" people, such as women or different ethnicities, but at its core, the branch of law maintains that the law is contradictory, and thus it is important to find who the current laws are oppressing, in order to overturn those laws that have once suppressed a group in society. This idea correlates with the Postmodernist idea of deconstruction, as in the Critical Legal Studies, lawyers try to find the inherent bias in laws, and change these laws to accomodate those who have once been held back. Those in Critical Legal Studies believe that in breaking down the previously oppressive laws, they guarantee that equality, or fairness in terms of quality, rank or degree, is achieved. An example of this movement saying that they have achieved equality through the breaking down of a law, is their push to legalize gay marriage. CLS thinkers believe that the previous laws that prohibited this kind of marriage were oppressive to the homosexual community, and therefore have worked to break down these laws to allow any kind of marriage. Through this example, it is clear to see that while those who live by CLS ideas think that they are doing the best thing, their opinions are not always the righteous thing to do. Additionally, those who work with Critical Legal Studies as their basis of interpreting law believe that in overturing accepted norms in favor of bringing equality, they bring justice to those who they deem are "oppressed". While this idea of overturing laws that actually hinder an indiviual or group is effective in the right circumstances, CLS desires to find the inherent bias in EVERY law, to change the liberal legal theory that they are so against. Clearly, this idea poses multiple problems as to bringing justice and upholding equality, which has convinced me that CLS is not the right way to turn, when looking at such an important topic as law.

On the other hand, God has provided His creation with specific laws that not only govern the people, but also provide a practical way to live life, while upholding equality and justice in a way that Critical Legal Studies will never be able to do. For instance, the book of Deuteronomy, it clearly says that to "do justice", we must fear the Lord, as God is the only one who can look at his creation and show no favoritism or partiality-- in other words, He alone is able to bring true equality, and is the ultimate judge. We must recognize this fact and alter how we view people, knowing that God does not look at anyone differently. Additionally, Jeremiah tells us that in order to do what is right, to uphold equality and justice, we must turn away from what is wrong, so that we can exemplify the law that God has created to uphold righteousness in a broken world. We need to rescue and help those who are oppressed, not trivialize the law and find what is wrong with it. James echoes this point, and reminds us as Christians to be aware of the fact that people need guidance; we need to reach out and actively help them, if they can not help themselves. If we become consumed with falling into sin, and being of the world, then we will be unable to rise to this task. Lastly, Micah adds that we need to be carriers and givers of mercy, and that God has told us how to act in a just manner; therefore we must glorify God by being merciful as He is merciful, and by bringing justice to those who are oppressed.

The act of bringing justice to a broken world, and equality to a judgemental, oppressive culture sometimes may seem like an impossible task. Instead of relying on Critical Legal Studies to break down the laws that are already set in place, we need to realize that God, the only righteous lawgiver, has provided us with foundational laws to abide by that do bring justice and uphold the idea of equality. It is through us that God can work to bring righteousness and order into a chaotic, messed-up world.