Saturday, August 28, 2010
So...
I can tell that my last post REALLY interested you all. :) No I understand, it was a little long and deep. The orientation week at Oak Brook went very well. I learned alot and was able to meet alot of new people. There are 25 students in my class, the majority of them being older adults. Right now I am finishing up my first lesson, which takes two weeks, and ready for a day of rest tomorrow. Because of my studying I won't have alot of time to be on here doing new posts, but when I can I'll be sure and do some. But don't be surprised if they start being more and more on the subject of law. I still need to finish up my WIBWIB though and post that, as well as a post on my thoughts regarding music. Anyway, below is a picture of my class.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Law School Application Writing Sample
As I mentioned before, I recently got accepted to Oak Brook College of Law. One of the admission requirements was for me to write a paper about law. Sorry it's a little long, but that was the length required.
~
"The study of law is an honorable pursuit that many feel called to. However it is no mere walk in the park. In addition to the difficult academic aspect, there are many pitfalls and dangers that face the would-be law student. The dangers are usually based on ungodly worldly philosophies that come straight from the father of lies. These lies have permeated our culture in such a way that they are taught in secular law schools across the nation and, regretfully, have even infiltrated some Christian law schools. This has produced a generation of lawyers that care more about winning a case, than they do about what is just. They ignore the laws of nature and of nature’s God and rely on their faulty human reasoning to determine what is “right”. They may have the best of intentions in this, but good intentions do not make actions right.
One of the primary dangers a law student must avoid is relying on his own reasoning powers and intellect in order to succeed. Worldly, human reasoning is found commonplace in the field of law, but it is a path that is sure to lead to destruction. Instead of following this well trod path, he must daily immerse himself in the Word of God and in seeking God’s face. He must ask, as Solomon asked, for “an understanding heart, to judge Your people,” for without this his best efforts will be in vain. Before he even begins to study law, he should seek to identify the various strongholds in order that, when they appear in his study and practice of law, he can be ready to quickly identify and refute them. This primary stronghold, the following of human reasoning, is the stronghold from which the others directly stem. For all the strongholds are based in human reasoning.
One of the worst of these is that man is the only source of law. Laws are one of the greatest controlling influences in our lives, and when you put man in the position to be the only source for those laws, you deliver to him an immense amount of power. If man is the only authority behind law, then he can change the law whenever he wishes. Man is finite and as such, when relying on his own intellect, he will create finite laws. However our infinite God creates infinite laws. When we refer to “the laws of nature” we are speaking of those laws that have been in place since the beginning of the world, put in place and held in place eternally by the Divine Author. He created the world and everything in it; therefore it is fitting that He be the one to institute the laws by which His creation is governed. Man, on the other hand, has no authority in himself over the creation. His authority is given to him by God Himself therefore man, ultimately, is not the source of any law. Any law that man institutes is based on the authority that man has been given by God. When man tries to remove himself from that authority, laws are created with deadly results.
Another false idea that has permeated the field of law is that fairness is the same as justice. Many expect a judge to be fair in his ruling instead of just. They want what seems right for one or both parties, not what they, by law, deserve. Many legal decisions these days are merely an attempt to “balance the interests” of the parties involved. This shows a sort of pacifist mentality that, if we can just keep everybody happy, then we have done what is right. Of course in the cases of crimes like murder, the decision is clear. The judge in this case does not seek to weigh the interests of the victim and perpetrator. If the man is found guilty, then he receives his just sentence. But in many other cases the judges do not seem to find the decision as clear. The cases in which a child is involved, most frequently involve this sort of “what is fair” mentality. The judge seeks to determine what is in the best interests of the child, usually from his point of view. Many times custody will be given to the worldlier of the two parents, in order to give the child a “well rounded life”. Many times parents must “justify” their authority to the state, as if their child belonged to that state. In many states the Juvenile Code states that a child can refuse to live at home and then the court will decide where the child should be placed. Even when there is not abuse of neglect involved, a child can refuse to remain at home, merely because his parents are “too restrictive”. However, a correct legal view is that the state can only remove a child from a home if there is abuse or neglect. This is a case where what may seem “fair” for the child, is not what is just.
In addition to the many strongholds in the general field of law, we discover many in the specific field of litigation. The word literally means a contest or debate, and most lawyers view it as just that. Because of this picture of a “battle” taking place in the courtroom, there is an assumption of a winner and loser. Should Christians be involved in such an arena? If their only motive in the court is to seek to win and “put the other lawyer in his place”, then they should reexamine why they are there. The Christians goal and attitude in court should not be win/lose, but instead he should strive to be an advocate for truth, and present it in a humble, peaceable way. The courtroom should be viewed as a place where facts are determined, and righteous causes argued. The Christian attorney must surrender his reputation to God, in order to be used to properly defend truth. He must also be convinced that he is defending a righteous cause, or a person with a righteous claim. If these are both true, then he can truly become an advocate for truth.
Before one begins to study law, he must ask himself “what is the purpose of law?” A deadly stronghold is that law is merely a means to an end. It is only in place to get what we want, be it justice, reconciliation, or our own selfish ambition. We see an example of this in the Biblical example of the law of the Medes and Persians. King Darius was persuaded to create a law, merely for his benefit, that required all men to pray to him. The king did not stop to determine whether the decree was right of wrong, or whether it was within his authority to make the decree. He liked the idea, so he passed the law. Then when he realized that the new law affected Daniel, one of his chief rulers, he spent long hours searching for some way to change that law. God could have brought about deliverance for Daniel through some loophole that the king found, however God had a different plan. Darius was to discover that when a law is made for merely the king’s benefit sometimes the affects are unexpected and unwanted. The king had to obey the law he decreed, and he had to face the consequences. In the same way, if we today seek to pass laws merely for our benefit, we will see terrible results, not only in our generation, but in generations to come.
Many of these strongholds may seem reasonable and perhaps contain some truth. But that is what makes them so dangerous. Mouse poison is ninety-nine percent good food. This draws the mouse in so that the one percent poison will kill it. We must watch for the pitfalls that seek to draw us in with something that seems good, but its lasting effects are devastating. The stronghold of comparison is one of those that seem reasonable. But if we allow comparison into our practice and study of law, it will hinder us as we seek to serve God. In our academics we must be careful to avoid comparing grades, abilities, and skills among the students. It is the responsibility of the teachers to evaluate performance, not the students. Seek to glorify God in your studies and not be focused on how you compare to the rest of the class.
A stronghold closely related to that of comparison, is the stronghold of pride and selfish ambition. In fact most of the strongholds we have discussed find their roots in this final stronghold of pride. Pride originated with Satan desiring to be equal with God. We must seek to avoid this pitfall and rely on God to help us in our weaknesses. Without Him we can do nothing, so we must ask Him to use us for His glory, not ours, to be vessels for His use, exposing the many strongholds in law.
When we remove these strongholds, we must replace them with truth. We must search out and discover what God’s view of law is, and follow Christ’s example of the perfect advocate. If we seek the truth it will set us free and show the world how faulty their wisdom really is. For many of us the way we think about law must be changed before we begin the process of studying it. Law students today are taught that law is now derived from previous cases, not from an ultimate source of authority. But the truth is that our laws are derived from principles of morality, rooted in the Bible. Our Founding Fathers had a certain view of law that we should, as good law students, seek to follow. Their view of law was based primarily on the writings of William Blackstone. Blackstone’s definition of law was a “rule of action prescribed by some superior, and which the inferior is bound to obey”. He then acknowledged that the “Supreme Being… impressed certain principles” upon His creation “from which it can never depart, and without which it would cease to be.” This was the view of law that the Founding Fathers also held as seen in some of our nations founding documents. In the Declaration the writers referred to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” as their basis for the split with England. They acknowledged the Common Law of England (based on Blackstone’s writings) as the law applying to them in America. And they had the mindset that man’s actions and laws must be in accordance with the “Law of Nature” to have any validity. But the Founding Fathers were not alone in this view of law, many of the leading law professors at that time held the same position. Theodore Sedgwick wrote “The moment that he (man) comes into existence, he is the subject of the will of God, as declared in what we term the laws of nature”. It is clear from these and other documents, that our nation’s laws were based on the Bible. Therefore we must seek to discover what the Biblical principles of law really are.
God has put in place certain jurisdictions in law that must be followed. It is not enough to merely determine whether something is right or wrong; we must also determine who has the duty to enforce the law in a given area. God has given us four jurisdictions of authority; civil authority, church authority, family authority, and self authority. Each of us is directly accountable to God for our actions. However we may also find that we must give account to God ordained authority in some cases. However, these authorities have jurisdiction over only our actions, not our thoughts. God is the only one in a position to judge our thoughts and motives. Basically, the jurisdictions of each authority are limited to those actions related to their jurisdiction. The civil authority is responsible to judge civil conduct, the family authority for conduct in the family, and the church authority is responsible for the conduct in regard to the church. These jurisdictions may overlap, but they are not to exercise control over one another.
The final truth we must establish is that the different aspects of common law have their roots in Biblical principles. The law of contracts, for example, has its roots in the Mosaic Law, and even before that time in the form of covenants. It is one of our God-given, unalienable rights to be able to enter into agreements with others. However certain rules must apply to those contracts in order for them to be valid. If one party decides not to keep their part of the contract, a means must be in place for the other party to receive their just due. The various aspects of contracts can be found in the Bible. To break a contract constitutes lying which the Bible clearly states as sin. Since we are made in God’s image, it is our duty to reflect His nature, and since God is truth and cannot lie, we must be held to contracts. The law of torts also has its basis in the fact that we are created in God’s image. However it also comes from the biblical principle of restitution. If someone intentionally or negligently causes injury to another, he must be required to make restitution. The biblical principle of fault is another basis for tort law. The accused party must be at fault to be held responsible. This concept is also the basis for the principle of criminal law. The person had to commit the crime either intentionally or through negligence in order to be held responsible. Criminal Law has its roots near the very beginning of time when God said that whoever intentionally killed another man; by man his blood would be shed. This was the first criminal law, and it also established civil government. This civil government was given the authority to administer capital punishment (as in the case of murder), and corporal punishment (for lesser crimes). These forms of punishment were not instituted in order to “get back” at the criminal. Instead their purpose was to seek to restore the criminal and make restitution. The punishment was to be proportional to the transgression and the blame of the criminal. We also find in Scripture the principle that we are not to show partiality in our judgments. When we show partiality we begin to pervert justice. It is no longer a determination of what is fact and truth, but instead it is granting special privileges to those who “meet your standards”. It is difficult not to make a predetermined judgment based on a person’s appearance, for example, but remember all of us are made in the image of God and because of that everyone has unalienable rights. Law is a tool intended by God for great good, and, when used properly, promotes freedom and protects our liberties.
As you study law remember to avoid the strongholds, build upon truth, and recognize that the primary purpose of law is to uphold and reflect the image of God in each of us. Yield yourself to God, humble yourself before Him, and then watch Him use you to affect the world for His honor and glory."
~
"The study of law is an honorable pursuit that many feel called to. However it is no mere walk in the park. In addition to the difficult academic aspect, there are many pitfalls and dangers that face the would-be law student. The dangers are usually based on ungodly worldly philosophies that come straight from the father of lies. These lies have permeated our culture in such a way that they are taught in secular law schools across the nation and, regretfully, have even infiltrated some Christian law schools. This has produced a generation of lawyers that care more about winning a case, than they do about what is just. They ignore the laws of nature and of nature’s God and rely on their faulty human reasoning to determine what is “right”. They may have the best of intentions in this, but good intentions do not make actions right.
One of the primary dangers a law student must avoid is relying on his own reasoning powers and intellect in order to succeed. Worldly, human reasoning is found commonplace in the field of law, but it is a path that is sure to lead to destruction. Instead of following this well trod path, he must daily immerse himself in the Word of God and in seeking God’s face. He must ask, as Solomon asked, for “an understanding heart, to judge Your people,” for without this his best efforts will be in vain. Before he even begins to study law, he should seek to identify the various strongholds in order that, when they appear in his study and practice of law, he can be ready to quickly identify and refute them. This primary stronghold, the following of human reasoning, is the stronghold from which the others directly stem. For all the strongholds are based in human reasoning.
One of the worst of these is that man is the only source of law. Laws are one of the greatest controlling influences in our lives, and when you put man in the position to be the only source for those laws, you deliver to him an immense amount of power. If man is the only authority behind law, then he can change the law whenever he wishes. Man is finite and as such, when relying on his own intellect, he will create finite laws. However our infinite God creates infinite laws. When we refer to “the laws of nature” we are speaking of those laws that have been in place since the beginning of the world, put in place and held in place eternally by the Divine Author. He created the world and everything in it; therefore it is fitting that He be the one to institute the laws by which His creation is governed. Man, on the other hand, has no authority in himself over the creation. His authority is given to him by God Himself therefore man, ultimately, is not the source of any law. Any law that man institutes is based on the authority that man has been given by God. When man tries to remove himself from that authority, laws are created with deadly results.
Another false idea that has permeated the field of law is that fairness is the same as justice. Many expect a judge to be fair in his ruling instead of just. They want what seems right for one or both parties, not what they, by law, deserve. Many legal decisions these days are merely an attempt to “balance the interests” of the parties involved. This shows a sort of pacifist mentality that, if we can just keep everybody happy, then we have done what is right. Of course in the cases of crimes like murder, the decision is clear. The judge in this case does not seek to weigh the interests of the victim and perpetrator. If the man is found guilty, then he receives his just sentence. But in many other cases the judges do not seem to find the decision as clear. The cases in which a child is involved, most frequently involve this sort of “what is fair” mentality. The judge seeks to determine what is in the best interests of the child, usually from his point of view. Many times custody will be given to the worldlier of the two parents, in order to give the child a “well rounded life”. Many times parents must “justify” their authority to the state, as if their child belonged to that state. In many states the Juvenile Code states that a child can refuse to live at home and then the court will decide where the child should be placed. Even when there is not abuse of neglect involved, a child can refuse to remain at home, merely because his parents are “too restrictive”. However, a correct legal view is that the state can only remove a child from a home if there is abuse or neglect. This is a case where what may seem “fair” for the child, is not what is just.
In addition to the many strongholds in the general field of law, we discover many in the specific field of litigation. The word literally means a contest or debate, and most lawyers view it as just that. Because of this picture of a “battle” taking place in the courtroom, there is an assumption of a winner and loser. Should Christians be involved in such an arena? If their only motive in the court is to seek to win and “put the other lawyer in his place”, then they should reexamine why they are there. The Christians goal and attitude in court should not be win/lose, but instead he should strive to be an advocate for truth, and present it in a humble, peaceable way. The courtroom should be viewed as a place where facts are determined, and righteous causes argued. The Christian attorney must surrender his reputation to God, in order to be used to properly defend truth. He must also be convinced that he is defending a righteous cause, or a person with a righteous claim. If these are both true, then he can truly become an advocate for truth.
Before one begins to study law, he must ask himself “what is the purpose of law?” A deadly stronghold is that law is merely a means to an end. It is only in place to get what we want, be it justice, reconciliation, or our own selfish ambition. We see an example of this in the Biblical example of the law of the Medes and Persians. King Darius was persuaded to create a law, merely for his benefit, that required all men to pray to him. The king did not stop to determine whether the decree was right of wrong, or whether it was within his authority to make the decree. He liked the idea, so he passed the law. Then when he realized that the new law affected Daniel, one of his chief rulers, he spent long hours searching for some way to change that law. God could have brought about deliverance for Daniel through some loophole that the king found, however God had a different plan. Darius was to discover that when a law is made for merely the king’s benefit sometimes the affects are unexpected and unwanted. The king had to obey the law he decreed, and he had to face the consequences. In the same way, if we today seek to pass laws merely for our benefit, we will see terrible results, not only in our generation, but in generations to come.
Many of these strongholds may seem reasonable and perhaps contain some truth. But that is what makes them so dangerous. Mouse poison is ninety-nine percent good food. This draws the mouse in so that the one percent poison will kill it. We must watch for the pitfalls that seek to draw us in with something that seems good, but its lasting effects are devastating. The stronghold of comparison is one of those that seem reasonable. But if we allow comparison into our practice and study of law, it will hinder us as we seek to serve God. In our academics we must be careful to avoid comparing grades, abilities, and skills among the students. It is the responsibility of the teachers to evaluate performance, not the students. Seek to glorify God in your studies and not be focused on how you compare to the rest of the class.
A stronghold closely related to that of comparison, is the stronghold of pride and selfish ambition. In fact most of the strongholds we have discussed find their roots in this final stronghold of pride. Pride originated with Satan desiring to be equal with God. We must seek to avoid this pitfall and rely on God to help us in our weaknesses. Without Him we can do nothing, so we must ask Him to use us for His glory, not ours, to be vessels for His use, exposing the many strongholds in law.
When we remove these strongholds, we must replace them with truth. We must search out and discover what God’s view of law is, and follow Christ’s example of the perfect advocate. If we seek the truth it will set us free and show the world how faulty their wisdom really is. For many of us the way we think about law must be changed before we begin the process of studying it. Law students today are taught that law is now derived from previous cases, not from an ultimate source of authority. But the truth is that our laws are derived from principles of morality, rooted in the Bible. Our Founding Fathers had a certain view of law that we should, as good law students, seek to follow. Their view of law was based primarily on the writings of William Blackstone. Blackstone’s definition of law was a “rule of action prescribed by some superior, and which the inferior is bound to obey”. He then acknowledged that the “Supreme Being… impressed certain principles” upon His creation “from which it can never depart, and without which it would cease to be.” This was the view of law that the Founding Fathers also held as seen in some of our nations founding documents. In the Declaration the writers referred to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” as their basis for the split with England. They acknowledged the Common Law of England (based on Blackstone’s writings) as the law applying to them in America. And they had the mindset that man’s actions and laws must be in accordance with the “Law of Nature” to have any validity. But the Founding Fathers were not alone in this view of law, many of the leading law professors at that time held the same position. Theodore Sedgwick wrote “The moment that he (man) comes into existence, he is the subject of the will of God, as declared in what we term the laws of nature”. It is clear from these and other documents, that our nation’s laws were based on the Bible. Therefore we must seek to discover what the Biblical principles of law really are.
God has put in place certain jurisdictions in law that must be followed. It is not enough to merely determine whether something is right or wrong; we must also determine who has the duty to enforce the law in a given area. God has given us four jurisdictions of authority; civil authority, church authority, family authority, and self authority. Each of us is directly accountable to God for our actions. However we may also find that we must give account to God ordained authority in some cases. However, these authorities have jurisdiction over only our actions, not our thoughts. God is the only one in a position to judge our thoughts and motives. Basically, the jurisdictions of each authority are limited to those actions related to their jurisdiction. The civil authority is responsible to judge civil conduct, the family authority for conduct in the family, and the church authority is responsible for the conduct in regard to the church. These jurisdictions may overlap, but they are not to exercise control over one another.
The final truth we must establish is that the different aspects of common law have their roots in Biblical principles. The law of contracts, for example, has its roots in the Mosaic Law, and even before that time in the form of covenants. It is one of our God-given, unalienable rights to be able to enter into agreements with others. However certain rules must apply to those contracts in order for them to be valid. If one party decides not to keep their part of the contract, a means must be in place for the other party to receive their just due. The various aspects of contracts can be found in the Bible. To break a contract constitutes lying which the Bible clearly states as sin. Since we are made in God’s image, it is our duty to reflect His nature, and since God is truth and cannot lie, we must be held to contracts. The law of torts also has its basis in the fact that we are created in God’s image. However it also comes from the biblical principle of restitution. If someone intentionally or negligently causes injury to another, he must be required to make restitution. The biblical principle of fault is another basis for tort law. The accused party must be at fault to be held responsible. This concept is also the basis for the principle of criminal law. The person had to commit the crime either intentionally or through negligence in order to be held responsible. Criminal Law has its roots near the very beginning of time when God said that whoever intentionally killed another man; by man his blood would be shed. This was the first criminal law, and it also established civil government. This civil government was given the authority to administer capital punishment (as in the case of murder), and corporal punishment (for lesser crimes). These forms of punishment were not instituted in order to “get back” at the criminal. Instead their purpose was to seek to restore the criminal and make restitution. The punishment was to be proportional to the transgression and the blame of the criminal. We also find in Scripture the principle that we are not to show partiality in our judgments. When we show partiality we begin to pervert justice. It is no longer a determination of what is fact and truth, but instead it is granting special privileges to those who “meet your standards”. It is difficult not to make a predetermined judgment based on a person’s appearance, for example, but remember all of us are made in the image of God and because of that everyone has unalienable rights. Law is a tool intended by God for great good, and, when used properly, promotes freedom and protects our liberties.
As you study law remember to avoid the strongholds, build upon truth, and recognize that the primary purpose of law is to uphold and reflect the image of God in each of us. Yield yourself to God, humble yourself before Him, and then watch Him use you to affect the world for His honor and glory."
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)