No Defence!

“Ignorance of the law is not a defence.” So said the Crown Prosecutor to everyone who was gathered in the courtroom waiting to plead innocent to a traffic ticket. Traffic tickets come with photos these day, so trying to say you didn’t park overnight on that street or in a handicapped spot is pretty useless. That leaves “I didn’t know it was against the law” as the go-to defence. And apparently this wasn’t going to work!!!

In an age where information is more available and easier to get for most people than it has ever been before, people are strangely uninformed. They get most of their facts from social media, never bothering to check them to see if in fact they are true, or if they are ‘fake news’. If it is in print, if Joe-blow said it is so, then it must be right. But this was different reality. They were being called to account and so there were some confused faces in that courtroom. It seemed they had never heard anyone say to them “You broke the law and we have proof. You are guilty. The best we can do for you is perhaps reduce the fine imposed.”

This reminds me of The Inquisition which started in the 12th century and continued until the early 19th century. When a suspect was convicted of unrepentant heresy, they were handed over to secular authorities by the church for the final penalty which was usually burning at the stake. Apparently this was a black and white issue too.

Today we see this same ethic at work in some of our churches. People are told what to wear, who they can associate with and most importantly, what they are to believe. Stepping over this line can lead to expulsion or isolation.

From The Spiritual Tyranny of ‘Religious Liberty’ by Stephen Mattson 5-05-2017 in Sojourners Magazine: "The Christian faith shouldn’t be defined by … government mandates. Instead, it’s perfectly represented by the person of Jesus Christ, who told us to love our neighbours as ourselves and do unto others as we would have done to us."

“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behaviour: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!” Luke 6:31[MSG]

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