Legislation and Law

Conclusion:

1. There must be an immutable constitutional law based off of the basic laws of God. This law is applicable in all cultures, times, and governments and cannot be reinterpreted or changed. This law is supreme above all actions of the government and is purposed to protect the people’s rights that are within the government’s jurisdiction. (Lex Rex- Law is king)

2. These constitutional laws are not subject to the rulings of judges, but rather govern the judges’ decisions. The only “laws” that can be made by anyone by any method are what we call case applications: a ruling explaining how the constitution ought to be applied in a certain case. They do not supersede the constitutional law, they augment it, without overstepping its boundaries.

With joy and peace in Christ,
The Liberty’s Light Team

Prevention

Conclusion:

Prevention, in which everyone is restricted from doing something in the hopes that it prevents crimes, is not just and is outside the government’s jurisdiction. The government can only punish criminals who have been proven as to having committed a crime. See definition on crime for clarification.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

The Definition of Crime

Conclusion:

1. Crimes are done, not thought. They are not necessarily acted, as a deliberate or careless refusal to act has the same denotations and consequences as an actual action.
2. The punishments for crimes are based on the fact that they are towards other people, not towards animals or God. All sins are against God, but the punishment of the government is limited to that part of a sin that is against mankind. This is the principle of restitution, as separate from the principle of guilt towards God. If you sinned against another in the Mosaic Law, you had to pay restitution, and give an offering to God. The one was for the offense to man, the other for the offense to God. Government can only exact the former, the offense to man. Government only deals in restitution in the New Testament.
3. Crimes are against another person. They are injurious to him in some way. An attempt at an injurious act is also a crime because although it might have been thwarted, it was against the other person. In the Old Testament we see an example of this deduction with the law of false witness. The false witness is not merely punished for the limiting of the accused liberty because of the trial, but for the accusation, what he had intended to do to the accused party. So restitution is required even if the attempt fails, though maybe not always in the full amount.
4. Crimes are not limited to a person himself, but extends to his properties and liberties. A person has exclusive jurisdiction over his property, and to violate that exclusive right, is to violate himself. This extends to his liberty as well, as is required by logic and indicated by many laws in the Old Testament, including the kidnapping laws. Because of this, we can also add contract law, as that is a necessary extension of both property and liberty. To break a contract is to commit a crime against the other parties.
5. It is not a crime to punish crime if you are delegated to punish crime. It is the government’s responsibility to punish crime, and to do so they must exact punishment, which itself falls into the category of actions that defines a crime. Criminal type actions can only be done by delegated government officials in punishment of proven crime. If a criminal type action is done without due process of law (however that is defined) then that action is a crime and needs to be punished as such.

So from this we may conclude the following definition of crime (keep in mind that government in the New Testament is limited to punishing crime and praising righteousness): a crime is a breach of contract with fellow men or a sin against a fellow man, which includes violations of his life, liberty, and property without due process of law.

We will need to continue our studies to determine which crimes must always be in the government’s jurisdiction, which ones may be excluded from it by the decision of the offended parties, and which ones are never within it, and etc. We must do this to discover when a criminal type act is truly within the government’s jurisdiction, and when it is not.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

Property

Conclusion:

Property is anything we exercise ownership and have exclusive control over; our control working in accordance to our definitions of liberty and crime. This means that our control is limited by other people’s liberties. So, we may not abridge another’s liberties by our use of our property. Property cannot include mankind.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

A Biblical View of Human Rights

Conclusion:

Rights are liberties given to us by God. They are not revocable by man’s arbitrary decision: only by the stipulation and delegation of God. It is the moral and civil responsibility of each person to use his Rights in a way that doesn’t infringe on the rights of others. It is the civil magistrate’s duty to punish those who infringe on somebody’s Right, as long as that infringement is within his jurisdiction. No one, therefore, may infringe upon anyone else’s Rights.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

Liberty, What is It?

Conclusion:

We have defined liberty as being: Liberty is the freedom to do what is righteous. And what is righteous is determined by God’s law and word.

We clarified that the definition of freedom for this Team is being able to do what you want to do, while liberty is the freedom to do what is right.

With this definition, impeding someone’s liberty can be considered a crime (when within the civil magistrate’s jurisdiction) and it is not within the government’s jurisdiction to choose which righteous things people do.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

Welfare

Conclusion:

We have agreed an concluded that government’s (the civil magistrate’s) only business in welfare is in simply doing its job according to the purpose of government as previously stated. Consistently and justly punishing crime; limiting taxes; and refusing to enact regulations on the liberties of the people all are major actions which improve the welfare of the people, and which are its duty to perform.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

When Does Life Begin?

Conclusion:

1) Life begins at conception

2) Human life (as separate from animal life) is valuable because God made it so and said it is.

3) Conception is the point of fertilization of the egg by the sperm.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

The Purpose of Government

Conclusion:
The sole purpose and function of government is to punish crime and give praise to those who work righteousness.
We are currently defining the word “Crime” for our use as it is rather ambiguous otherwise. We will also be determining some of the means by which government will carry out its purposes, and the applications of these principles.

With joy and peace in Christ,

The Liberty’s Light Team

The Standard Bible Version for the Forum and Blog

Conclusion:

On this forum, the standard version used for references and quoting is always to be the KJV. We want to use the same version so that we can be united in the use of our most important reference book.

With joy and peace in Christ,
The Liberty’s Light Team