Rousas Rushdoony: Law and Liberty: The Future of Law

    Rushdoony next topic is the future of law.  He starts with the premise that Western man’s vision of a future circumscribed by Christian truth has been overtaken by men desiring to find direction and enlightenment apart from God.  In the Christian view, it was sin that was the stumbling block for man, in the new world our problems will all be overcome by the advancement of science.  No matter what aids in helping man form the foundation of their future, it is understood that our nation’s laws are one of the primary methods that we can tailor society towards our intended end. 

     In modern times, it is clear that the direction our laws and judicial system have been moving from a basis in Christianity to a more humanistic and relativistic foundation.  One example of this is that at the foundation of our nation and aligned with our Christian worldview, laws were designed to emphasize a division of powers which was evidence in their belief in the inherent sinfulness of men.  Fast forward to our time and it becomes evident that those in power, whether it be in the executive, legislative or judicial branch have no desire to keep these checks in place.  Ultimately, as each of these individual groups vies for power, what is lost is that it is the people themselves that have really forfeited their liberty and thus are left without the greatest check we have on tyranny.  Rushdoony continues with the logical conclusion that if man is moving away from Christianity and from God, then by necessity, the laws he creates will have the same motivation.  What is interesting is that this declination in society, its values, morals and actions are clearly visible to any who have their eyes open to the monumental change in society yet these same people are incapable of diagnosing the true issue because they themselves are thoroughly humanistic.  The end results are laws dictated by the whims of man and in the hands of those who are determined to fashion society in the image of man.  Eventually, this will, by necessity devolve into tyranny because there is nothing more destructive to liberty than men who elevate themselves in the place of God.  Make no mistake, those who desire the demands of unpredictable and sinful man over the loving rule of a good God will, in the end, get exactly what they desire.