LOVE ONE ANOTHER REFLECTS THE GOSPEL!

Racial Division & Gospel Unity

by Jeremy Fair, Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, OK
Galatians 3:27-29

 

        Last week I began a short series about issues that divide us and the Gospel that unites us.  We are, according to objective research and subjective impressions, a divided nation.  Even Christians are divided along political lines, racial lines, and lines that form within culture.  We’ve allowed all sorts of isms to define us and divide us, rather than being defined and united by our common faith, common baptism, and common Lord.  Our Lord, Jesus Christ, doesn’t play by our rules; he cannot be co-opted by a political party, he doesn’t favor one race over another, he doesn’t give preferential treatment to the cultural elite.  He is Jesus outside the lines!

        Consider the following: Nearly 70% of Americans think that race relations are very bad; that’s the highest level of discord since the 1992 Los Angeles race riots.  A recent Pew survey, just a month old, further illustrates the racial divisions that exist in America.  65% of blacks believe that racial inequality continues to be a major problem, while only 22% of whites believe that racial inequality is a problem.  That 43% discrepancy highlights the fact that there is certainly some sort of problem!  And, not to focus exclusively on blacks and whites, 70% of Hispanics, the largest minority group in the U.S., believe that major changes are needed for there to be true racial equality.

        I could go on and on and cite statistic after statistic but isn’t it clear to all of us that we are a divided nation when it comes to race?  Haven’t the events of the past two years made it abundantly clear that things are not they way they ought to be?  Next week will mark the two-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, which seemed to set into motion a series of events that continue to plague our nation. 

        Last month I was talking with a black friend who is a pastor and I asked him what it was like for him to be stopped by a police officer.  I’m embarrassed to admit this but I get stopped at least a couple times a year for speeding and I have never once gotten nervous or experienced fear; I’ve mostly been frustrated and put out.  My friend told me that when he gets stopped, his heart begins to race, he wonders if he’ll be removed from his vehicle, verbally abused, or even worse.  I was telling a white friend about that conversation and he said, “If he’s not doing anything wrong then he’s got no reason to be nervous.  The only time something bad happens is when you break the law.”

        How do we account for those different perspectives between my two friends?  What do we do with the experiences and impressions of my black friend?  Again, those conversations, in and of themselves, illustrate that there is division…and it’s not just division in the broader culture, it’s division in the church.  My black friend is a PCA pastor, my white friend that I was telling his story to is a PCA elder.  The church is not immune to the racial divisions that exist in the broader culture; in fact, many times the church is guilty of passively fostering those divisions. 

        At this year’s PCA General Assembly, a pastor named Duke Kwon gave a speech titled Denominational Diversity and Cultural Normativity.  For context, consider this: There are 4,500 pastors in the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America).  Of that 4,500, 53 are black and 20 are Hispanic.  So, speaking about our denomination’s lack of diversity, Pastor Kwon said, “What keeps folks of color out of our churches is not public racial hostility. And the greatest hindrance to racial harmony in our denomination is not crass bigotry.  It’s our shared, institutional blindness to the exclusivity of a white normativity. Indeed, insofar as it devalues, subordinates, and excludes minority culture members—even against our best intentions—and as it overvalues, supra-ordinates, and preferentially includes majority culture members, white normativity is the passive racism of our beloved denomination.”

        In contrast to this racial division, the Bible paints a very different picture of racial unity, unity that is rooted in, built upon, and fostered by Gospel identity.  Consider Galatians 3:27-29:

²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

        Here’s the larger context of Galatians: The Apostle Paul had previously spent time preaching the Gospel and ministering to the people of Galatia, who were mostly Gentiles, and many of them were converted.  However, after Paul left them, they began to embrace a distorted message, a false gospel.  The crux of the true Gospel is justification by faith alone.  We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone but the Galatians had been deceived into believing that faith alone was insufficient.  A group of false teachers who were Jewish, whom Paul called the “circumcision party”, taught that faith alone was not enough.  They taught that true conversion requires human works and the work they focused on was circumcision.  Essentially, they were teaching that in order to become a Christian, one first had to become a Jew and adhere to Jewish ethnic practices.  For them it wasn’t white normativity but Jewish normativity.   

        Thus, the book of Galatians is a treatise on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, but the context of that treatise was racial division masquerading as religious purity.  The Galatians had a religious problem and that religious problem was rooted in and built upon racial division.

It is in that context that the Apostle Paul wrote, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 

Christ breaks down the dividing wall between Jews and Greeks by making us one in him.  And Christ breaks down the dividing wall between blacks and whites, whites and Hispanics, blacks and Asians, and every other ethnic/racial category by making us one in him! 

There is no excuse for racial hostility and crass bigotry by any group of people towards another group of people.  All of us are image bearers of God!  And, while there is no excuse, it is somewhat understandable in this world and in our nation.  We live in a fallen world where people reject the truth that we are all created in God’s image and when you lose the truth of imago dei, you lose the inherent dignity and worth of all people.  While there is no excuse for racial hostility and crass bigotry in the broader culture, it is an abomination to God for even passive blindness to exist among His people.  We are one in Christ!

I.                   Observations:

        So, I’m going to make a couple of observations from this passage and then offer a few applications for you to consider.  First observation, as Christians, our chief identity is Christ not our ethnic or racial identity.  That doesn’t mean that we must forfeit or discount or ignore ethnic and racial identity but it means that our chief identity is the eternal, blood-bought, baptism-confirmed, Spirit-indwelt, righteousness-clothing identity that comes from our union with Christ. 

        Notice the implication that Paul makes in verse 29, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”  His point is not that we become ethnically Jews when we come to Christ; that is not what it means to be Abraham’s offspring.  His point is that, in Christ, we take on a new identity with a common heritage of faith.  Just a few verses earlier Paul wrote, “Know then that it is those of faith who are sons of Abraham.”  Similarly, Romans 9 tells us, “Not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’  This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”  Our identity in Christ gives us a common heritage greater than ethnicity or race; it makes us brothers and sisters of faith.

        Second observation, Red and Yellow, Black and White, we are precious in God’s sight…all of us, equally, because of God’s love for sinners who are all created in His image.  When Paul wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female” he wasn’t simply telling us how God sees us, he was telling how we should see one another. 

        Remember, while Galatians is a richly theological letter, its first priority is pastoral.  Paul was writing to children in the faith whom he dearly loved and he wanted them to know the truth so that they might live the truth!  Living the truth and acting in love means that we must see one another as God sees us and we must love one another as God loves us.  Our rich theology is meant to find its expression in loving unity and equality!

        Reverend Lance Lewis, a PCA pastor in California, writes, “It is imperative that believers joyfully pursue redemptive ethnic unity not because it’s the latest fad that’s sweeping the church, nor as a cave-in to political correctness, but in obedience to God’s express command.” You see, Paul’s statement in Galatians is an indicative; “this is who you are”, but his statement also implies an imperative; “this is how you are commanded to view one another and treat one another.”  Regardless of this divisive period we live in where racial unity has become a cultural priority, it should always be a priority for God’s people.  It should always be the church’s priority!

II.     Applications:

        Now, in light of those observations, I’m going to make a few applications.  First application, we must acknowledge the sin problem, name it, confess it, and seek repentance.  To my black brothers and sisters, to my Hispanic brothers and sisters, to my Asian brothers and sisters, to everyone who marks a different box on the census form than I do, I am sorry.  I am sorry and I confess my active racist sins and my passive racial indifference.  I am sorry and I confess for entertaining jokes that belittle you.  I am sorry and I confess for the careless words I’ve spoken that have effectively hindered unity.  I am sorry and I confess for the inner suspicions I’ve harbored and the labels I’ve applied.  You see, racial disunity is not simply our culture’s problem, it is not simply our nation’s problem, it is not simply the church’s problem, it is my problem, my sin.

        I was incredibly encouraged at this year’s PCA General Assembly to hear Dr. George Robertson, the new moderator of our denomination, stand before the assembly, just moments after his election, and confess his own racism.  I am encouraged to read my brother Doug Serven, a fellow PCA pastor at City Church in OKC and the editor of this book, confess his own racism in a chapter titled, “I Am Racist.”  I am encouraged that our denomination passed an overture this year confessing, condemning, and repenting of racial sins that we have committed as a denomination.  I am encouraged by these things because the only way to deal with racial sin is by naming it, confessing it, and repenting of it.  Repentance and faith go hand in hand.  As we accept, by faith alone, a Savior who died for people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, he stirs within us godly sorrow and true repentance.

        There is a difference between worldly sorry and godly sorrow, Paul tells us that in 2 Corinthians 7.  There is a difference between general repentance and specific repentance.  We can confess and repent of general racial discord by acknowledging that things are not they way they ought to be, or we can confess and repent of specific sins, our own sins, by acknowledging that we are not the people we ought to be. 

        And to my black brothers and sisters, to my Hispanic brothers and sisters, to my Asian brothers and sisters, to everyone who marks a different box on the census form than I do, I would humbly ask you to forgive me, to forgive us, to believe the Gospel and apply the Gospel through forgiveness. 

        Nadine Collier, the daughter of Ethel Lance who was shot and killed by Dylann Roof at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, spoke these words these words to her mother’s killer: “I forgive you.  You took something very precious away from me.  I will never get to talk to her again.  I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul…You hurt me.  You hurt a lot of people.  If God forgives you, I forgive you.”  Confession, repentance, faith, and forgiveness, through the Gospel, are God’s means of bringing restoration and unity.

        Second application, we must work as individuals and as a church to combat a cultural normativity that excludes people from other cultures and races.  I’m reminded of a question that Russ Whitfield asked at last year’s mission conference; he asked, “What will it take for those unlike us to darken our doors?  What will it take to regularly reach and engage millennials, minorities, and those who aren’t Reformed?”  What will it take?  What cultural idols must we destroy to truly reflect the kingdom?

        I’m reminded of another question I was challenged with recently; “Is our worship and are our relationships and ministries so defined by the presence of ethnic minorities—so built from the ground up on a racially integrated foundation—that if our members of color were to leave one day, what about our church would never be the same?”  Multi-cultural integration is the biblical norm!  The eternal fellowship and worship of heaven will not exclude anyone and no single culture or race will have exclusive rights to the dynamics of the eternal kingdom.

        When I say that we must work as individuals and as a church to combat a cultural normativity that excludes people from other cultures and races, I don’t simply mean that we should actively include others, I mean that we should fight against the ways that we passively exclude others with our qualifiers.  Duke Kwon says, “White normativity is defining ministry to certain communities and contexts with qualifiers—‘ethnic ministry,’ ‘urban ministry,’ ‘international ministry,’ or ‘outreach ministry’—while calling ministry to the majority culture simply, ‘Ministry.’”  You see, we must work as individuals and as a church to be Gospel exclusive, meaning we must fight for the supremacy of Jesus and the singular saving message of the Gospel, while at the same time being culturally inclusive. 

        Third application, we must not allow the divisiveness of our cultural to shape the church but must strive for Gospel unity, through the church, to shape the culture.  Like the Galatians, we must guard ourselves against false theological messages that have a way of infiltrating the church and creating division.  We must also guard ourselves against false political posturing that uses race and culture as a wedge.  Instead of succumbing to bad theology or brazen political spin, we must love one another in such a way that the surrounding culture sees a living demonstration of Gospel unity.     

        Jesus said in John 13, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  We are loved by a Jesus who is outside the lines.  His Gospel love and justifying grace takes natural enemies and makes them brothers and sisters.  Let us believe that Gospel.  Let us live the truth and act in love.  Amen.

THE HOPE OF AMERICA IS THE GOSPEL, NOT TRUMP OR CLINTON!

Political Division & Gospel Unity

Part 1 in a series of 4 sermons presented by Jeremy Fair

 

        I read a book recently titled Jesus Outside the Lines and it put words to my feelings.  The book began with these questions: “Are you tired?  Are you tired of political correctness and political caricatures?  Are you tired of indignant blog posts and tweets and Facebook posts that take a stand against everyone but persuade no one?  Are you tired of the endless quest to find something to be mad about?  Are you tired of racism, classism, sexism, generationalism, nationalism, denominationalism, and all the other isms?”  I am tired and I am frustrated and I believe that the underlying theme to my frustration and the aforementioned weariness is division.  We are a divided nation.  We are divided as a church in many mays.  And yet, division is contrary to the Gospel that we believe and profess.

            Jesus came to destroy divisions and create unity.  He destroyed the veil that separated a holy God and sinful people and brought unity by the blood of his cross, which is the fundamental message of Hebrews.  He destroyed the hostility between races, particularly Jews and Gentiles, and brought unity through the common exercise of faith, which is the fundamental message of Galatians.  He destroyed the hostility between the rich and poor, and brought unity through the preeminence of love, which is the fundamental message of James.

            The only biblically legitimate division is between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world and those kingdoms divide along the line of Jesus.  What that means is that when we create, or champion, or tolerate divisions that are less than Jesus-centered we are working against the purposes of the Gospel. 

            In his High Priestly Prayer in John 17, just hours before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for his people, he prayed for us, that we might be one, that we might be unified just as Father and Son are unified.  And yet, it seems based upon our indignation and isms that we are far from unified, and I’m talking about Christians.

            Consider this: nearly 70% of Americans think that race relations are very bad; that’s the highest level of discord since the 1992 Los Angeles race riots.  If the relationships between people of various races is bad, then the relationships between people with different political views is toxic. In the 1960’s, only 4% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans said they’d be displeased if their child married a spouse with a different political ideology. Six years ago, in 2010, 33% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans said they’d be displeased if their child married a spouse with a different political ideology and I have to believe that those numbers have risen in the last 6 years.  We’ve become more divided!

            What has happened?  Perhaps what has happened is that we have created a God in our own image which makes it not only easy, it makes it normal for us divide along lines of personal preference and political ideology.  Anne Lamott says, “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” 

            What has happened?  Perhaps what has happened is that we’ve colored lines around Jesus, lines that accord with our own isms.  And yet, Jesus cannot be contained by our lines.  Scott Sauls writes, “The more we move outside the lines of our own traditions and cultures, the more we will also be moving toward Jesus.” 

            Joshua 5:13-15 broadly addresses what it means to move toward Jesus and quite pointedly addresses our view of others who hold a different political view from our own.

¹³ When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” ¹⁴ And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” ¹⁵ And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

We are in a political season that is more polarizing than any that I can remember.  For the last year, lines have been drawn and sides have been taken and it will only get worse.  Ronald Reagan once said that if you can agree with 80% of your opponent’s platform, policies, or positions then you can lock arms with them but now it seems that unless you have 95% agreement or greater then the other person is considered an enemy.

This past week, I was at the Republican National Convention and I saw this first hand.  Vile insults were spoken, fights nearly broke out, professing Christians shouted at one another because their chosen candidates differed on this point or that point.  In that climate, God help the person who has a (D) by their name.  What I mean is that if professing Christians are that divisive and devoid of Christian principles and practice amongst people with whom they share almost every platform plank and political ideology, then how will they view and treat others with whom they share very little political ideology?

Friends, the Gospel of Jesus is greater than politics.  And, unless a human system, i.e. political party or government entity, is fully centered on God (and none are), Jesus will have things to affirm and things to critique about it.

So, please listen closely to me: Jesus is not a Republican! Jesus is not a Democrat!  Jesus is not a Libertarian!  And to associate the Creator and Savior of the world with an American political party is beyond offensive.  When it comes to kings and kingdoms, Jesus sides only with himself.  He is a party of One!

At this point, I am not concerned with taking a specific issue, platform plank, or policy and making a case for how Jesus would view it.  I do believe if we carefully study the Bible and remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit that God will guide us and shape our view of platforms and policies.

My concern is that, as Christians, we fight against partisan and even intramural division and strive for unity.  Even as we differ in political views, we must not let the tail wag the dog. 

Returning to Joshua 5:13-15, consider the awesome encounter that Joshua had; he had an encounter with an angel, a being who represented God and spoke for God.  Joshua asked, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”  Isn’t that the question that we ask repeatedly, “Lord, are you for us or for our opponent?”  Shamefully, most of the time we don’t ask that question, we simply assume the answer, we assume that God is for us and our positions. 

I heard a gross display of this on the opening night of the Republican National Convention.  Here’s a portion of the closing prayer: “Republicans, we got to be united because our enemy is not other Republicans — but is Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.  Father God, in the name of Jesus, Lord we’re so thankful for the life of Donald Trump.  We’re thankful that you are guiding him, that you are giving him the words to unite this party, this country, that we together can defeat the liberal Democratic Party, to keep us divided and not united.  Because we are the United States of America, and we are the conservative party under God.” Those were the parting words of a Christian minister, charged with proclaiming the word of the Gospel.  Our enemy is Democrats?!  God is working specifically on behalf of Republicans to defeat the Democrats?!  Republican is God’s party?!  I couldn’t believe my ears!  When I heard that prayer firsthand, I was ashamed and embarrassed.

            When asked, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” the messenger of God replied, “No!  I’m the commander of the Lord’s army.”   In effect, he was saying, “I, as God’s messenger, represent Him and Him alone.  I’m not for you or for your adversaries.  I am for the King and His kingdom.”  Friends, the question is not whether Jesus is on our side but whether we are on his side and his side is a kingdom side, a side that is not beholden to either Republicans or Democrats. 

            What are the priorities of God?  His priorities are His glory, holiness, and the Gospel unity of His people.  The angel said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals, the place where you are standing is holy”, which are the identical words that the Lord spoke to Moses in the burning bush.  The presence of God is a holy presence and the glory of His presence is His lone agenda, which is why the angel answered, “No” when asked, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

God will not be co-opted by a political party; He will not be manipulated to champion an ideological agenda.  Jesus told us, “Seek first the kingdom of God.”  The King and his kingdom are holy and stand above and beyond all the earthly kingdoms that we create.  Lord, are you for us or are you for them?  No!

Now, in this climate of division, partisanship, and political posturing, which too often brings with it the absence of Christian charity, grace, and humility, how should we align with Jesus and what will that look like?

First, as Christians, we must view Gospel unity as greater than political ideology.  Please don’t hear me saying that Christians should be a-political or that Christians shouldn’t be specifically involved in politics or government.  I don’t believe that at all because I don’t believe that the Bible teaches that.  We see, all throughout Scripture, that God’s people have been highly involved with the institution of government and even engaged in what we might call the political process.  As I mentioned previously, as we carefully study the Bible and remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit, God will guide us and shape our view of many matters, and that may move us toward a particular political ideology or party.  So, don’t hear me saying that politics and government are bad.  Hear me saying that Gospel unity trumps, no pun intended, political ideology.  Our one faith, one baptism, one Spirit and Lord, supersede political persuasion.

Second, we mustn’t question someone’s faith because they hold a different political view than us.  Consider this: within the twelve Apostles there was, what we might call, a tea party activists and a big government bureaucrat.  Simon was a zealot; zealots actively opposed the government and worked against the government.  Matthew was a tax collector; tax collectors worked for the government.  I don’t think we understand how different these two men were and how differently they viewed government.  And yet, when Christ called them as disciples they became one with him and one with each other and it’s absurd to imagine that their political views changed overnight or perhaps even at all.  Interestingly, Matthew, the tax collector emphasized diversity more than any other Gospel writer. 

We don’t have any indication that Matthew thought or said, “There’s no way that guy Simon can be a Christian!  No follower of Jesus thinks like that!”  We have no indication that Simon thought or said, “There’s no way that guy Matthew can be a Christian!  No follower of Jesus thinks like that!”  And yet, that is often how we speak about or even view other Christians with whom we differ; we question their faith or discount their faith.  I heard this two weeks ago from a good friend; we were talking politics and he said, “There’s no way that (he stated the name of a liberal politician who by all accounts is a moral man and devout believer) is a Christian.  No Christian would stump for Hillary.”  My friend has allowed political ideology to cloud his view of another Christian’s faith.

John Wesley once wrote, “I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them, 1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy; 2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against; and, 3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”  Let me say this very clearly: It is wrong to question someone’s faith because they don’t vote like you do!

Thirdly, we must promote Christ and his kingdom as the supreme good and only hope.  Last week, as I listened to speech after speech promoting Donald Trump, I wondered whether I was hearing about a successful businessman turned politician or an immortal messiah.  More than once, it was explicitly said that Trump was the only hope for our nation.  Now, I expect the same drivel next week from the Democrats at their convention.  Hillary will be championed as the great savior of America; watch and listen, the language used about her will border on worship. 

When the angel of the Lord said, “I am the commander of the army of the Lord.  The place you are standing is holy”, he was saying that God alone is holy, God alone is good, God alone is our only hope, because God alone, in Jesus Christ, is our only savior.  We must be on His side.  As Christians, we must promote Christ and his kingdom.  No politician can save us.  Christ alone can save us.

Jeremy Fair is Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, OK.  He attended the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland as a guest of his father, Steve Fair, the former National Committeeman for Oklahoma.  The four sermons titled: (1) Political Division & Gospel Unity, (2) Racial Division & Gospel Unity, (3) Class Division & Gospel Unity, and (4) Sexual Division & Gospel Unity can be accessed at http://www.christpresbyterian.church/sermons

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

RESTRAINT OR ACTIVIST?

by Steve Fair

     The balance of the U.S. Supreme Court hangs in the balance with the November election.    There is already one vacancy, created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative voice on the court.  Justices Ginsberg and Kennedy are both in their 80s and most likely the next POTUS will appoint at least three justices in their first term.  Four of the current Justices were appointed by Republican presidents, four by Democrats.  Balance on the court is critically important and Clinton will most certainly appoint liberal jurists to the court.  Here is a little history on the function and duty of the SCOTUS.

     In 1789, Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution established the high court.  It doesn’t specify how many justices, but originally there were only six members and each decision had to be approved by a two-thirds majority (4 to2).  Congress increased the number from seven to nine to ten before passing the Judicial Act of 1866 which established eight Justices and a Chief Justice(the current make-up).  Monkeying with the court has been done several times in our nation’s history, most famously in 1937, after the conservative SCOTUS overturned several of his ‘New Deal’ proposals calling them an overreach of federal power, President Roosevelt attempted to ‘pack the court’ by adding more justices.  His plan failed and the number remained at nine.

     John Jay was the first Chief Justice of the SCOTUS.  Under the first three Chief Justices, the court heard few cases and had little prestige, but that changed when John Marshall became Chief Justice in 1801.  Marshall had a forceful personality and guided the court to take unprecedented steps in several cases, including the famous Marbury v. Madision case.  That case formed the basis for the SCOTUS to exercise power to review laws passed by Congress  

     There are two fundamental judicial philosophies that guide justices/judges; judicial activism and judicial restraint. The judicial activist holds to the view that the duty of the court is to interpret the law by taking into consideration changes with the times.  In other words, the activist believes the constitution is a living document. The judicial restraint position is that laws should not be struck down unless they are obviously unconstitutional and interpretation should be based on the original intent of the writers of the founding document.  Scalia, Thomas, and to a lesser degree Roberts favor judicial restraint.  The remaining justices are activists. 

     During her tenure in the U.S. Senate, Secretary Clinton voted against confirming both Justices Alito and Roberts based on their ‘restraint’ judicial philosophy.. “I did oppose Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts, because after listening to them, I did not believe that their judicial philosophy and approach was one that would be the best for the country,”  Clearly Clinton would appoint jurists who are activist in their judicial philosophy. 

     In May, Trump released a list of eleven potential judges he would consider appointing to the high court.  It is a safe list, with all eleven having been appointed by a Republican and all ranked very highly by the conservative Federalist Society, a law group who favors restraint as a judicial philosophy.  

     How important is this election?  If Hillary Clinton is elected, she will shape the SCOTUS into the most progressive/liberal court since the 1960s. Sixty years ago, Chief Justice Earl Warren led the high court to expand federal overreach and to end voluntary prayer in schools. The Warren court is often citied as the most liberal and political SCOTUS in our nation’s history. 

     You may not like Donald Trump.  He can be brash, loud, arrogant, insulting, proud, and condescending.  But only two people have a realistic chance of becoming the POTUS- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  Anyone who believes a third party candidate is going to pull an upset is living a pipe dream.  Those who plan to sit this one out or who plan to vote for a third party candidate because they don’t like Trump fail to recognize what is at stake; the future of the SCOTUS for the next fifty years.  We know what Hillary will do if elected.  She will appoint liberals to the high court.  While there are no guarantees, Trump, says he will appoint judges who would exercise judicial restraint.  This isn’t about Donald Trump- this is about the future of America. Conservatives need to play attention and keep their eye on the ball.

Four year sentence...term... comes to end!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

 

OBSERVATIONS OF A HAS BEEN!

by Steve Fair

 

The 2016 GOP Convention is in the books.  Businessman Donald J. Trump is the Republican presidential nominee.  Indiana Governor Mike Pence is the vice presidential nominee.  This was my fourth straight GOP Convention.  When the gavel fell, I completed my four year term as National Committeeman.  Here are my observations about the state of the GOP:

     First, Rules: There was a great deal of discussion about the rules and the movement to allow delegates to be ‘unbound’ and to ‘vote their conscious.’  Thankfully, that got nowhere, because whether you like Trump or not, he won fair and square under the rules.  The unbound crowd didn’t have a leg to stand on because most states bind their delegates to the results of the presidential preference primary or caucus. 

     It was disappointing a proposal to give states like Oklahoma, who have closed primaries, more delegates than states that have open or jungle primaries failed in the convention rules committee.  Party primaries should be closed.  Republicans should select the Republican nominee.  Independents and Democrats should have no voice in who the GOP nominee is.  If you want to vote in the Republican primary, register Republican.  Amazingly about half the states have open primaries and allow non-Republicans to vote in the primary.  Crazy idea!  The Baptists don’t let the Presbyterians vote on who their pastor will be.  Allowing those who are not Republicans to vote in the GOP primaries encourages people to ‘play with their vote.’  They can vote for the ‘weakest’ candidate so their preferred candidate will win the general election.  For the proposal to be voted down shows a disregard for grassroots Republicans.  Ironically, both of the delegates who proposed the idea to reward states with closed primaries are from states that have ‘open or jungle primaries.’   Perhaps they should spend their time lobbying their legislature to change their primary system instead of trying to reform the RNC rules, but then they wouldn’t get near the publicity laboring in the trenches at home than hot-dogging for the cameras.

     Second: Platform:  The platform passed by the RNC was conservative.  It left in the plank supporting traditional marriage and was very pro-life.  I commend the platform committee for their work, but the fact is Trump could care less that the GOP platform says.  I seriously doubt he has read it.  That is a fundamental problem in the GOP.  The grassroots of the Party spend their time drafting resolutions and platform planks instead of working to get principled, ethical people to office.  There must be a long-term commitment to electing principled conservatives from dog catcher to the White House.  That commitment must include knocking doors, raising money, and sacrificially helping those candidates get elected and then holding them accountable. 

     Third: Division: The GOP is as divided as I have ever seen it.  Anyone who has been involved in the political process more than a year is branded, ‘establishment.’  Political purity is required to cooperate or communicate with others.  Factions are everywhere and those who are not in your click are branded RINOs.  There is little civility and certainly no one who is involved in GOP politics is having any fun.  Meetings are contentious and argumentative.  Political Phariseesism rules the day.  Everyone believes that are right and anyone who disagrees with them is wrong.  Candidates, at all levels, lose elections, but don’t concede.  They keep their organizations together to ‘save America.’  They claim they are team players, but play the game like spoiled brats- and their followers blindly follow and justify their arrogance. 

     Can the GOP come together and defeat Hillary?  Probably not for the very reasons I just cited, but even if Trump is elected, the Republican Party is a vastly different Party than it was just twelve years ago.  No unity and no permanent infrastructure.  Fundamentally, until a dose of humility is swallowed by some of the party leaders and elected officials, expect things to get worse before they get better.

      So what is the long term answer to fixing America and the divide in the Republican Party; Grassroots citizens taking equity in their government at the local level ALL THE TIME, not just every two years.  Until citizens truly start paying attention ALL THE TIME, we will get the candidate who has the ‘best marketing plan’ and not necessarily the best candidate.  If voters did their homework and researched candidates, the big money would dry up in politics and ‘We the People’ would really run the country.  But then that requires a personal commitment from people beyond watching Fox News or MSNBC every night.

1st day report from RNC NATIONAL CONVENTION!

FROM CLEVELAND

by Steve Fair

The first day of the 2016 GOP convention is in the books.  Speakers included two Oklahomans- Governor Mary Fallin(who will also speak on Thursday night) and OKC Mayor Mick Cornett in the afternoon session.  Prime time speakers were Willie Robertson, former Governor Rick Perry, Marcus Luttrell, Oz and Tig from 13 hours in Benghai, Sheriff David Clarke, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Melania Trump.   The theme of the evening session was “Make America Safe Again.”  Donald Trump made a brief appearance and before he introduced his wife declared: “We are going to win!  We are going to win so big!”  I have never seen a politician other than Reagan who can fire up a crowd like Trump.  He is confident, self-assured and fearless.  Those are characteristics of exceptional leaders.  While there is still a Never Trump movement among the delegates, his wife’s address tonight may have moved some.  A delegate I spoke to after her speech told me: “I like her.  She seems so together and humble. I can get on the Trump bandwagon now after hearing her.”  That may not be the response of all women, but it is a start. 

     Trump’s family is scheduled to speak throughout the convention.  Many on the RNC think Ivanka Trump is Donald’s secret weapon with women.  She speaks on Thursday, when the theme is “Make America one again” Continental Resources’ Harold Hamm speaks on Wednesday night. 

Enthusiasm is high among the Oklahoma delegation.  The city of Cleveland has done an amazing job and security is very tight.  There are a lot of receptions/events in the course of the week hosted by elected officials and sponsors.  Governor Fallin sat with the delegation on the floor Monday night for over an hour.  Oklahoma is sitted to the right of the speaker, directly behind Alabama.  Oregon is across the aisle. 

     The business of the convention: rules, platform, and credentials went off with little fanfare.  The effort to unbind the delegates failed to gain significant support among the 112 members of the rules committee.  They needed to have 28 members sign off on a minority report to get to the floor.  They got less than half that.  The platform committee crafted a very conservative platform, leaving in the traditional marriage plank intact.  The platform is also very pro-life and strong on the second amendment.  An attempt to consolidate the platform into a one page ‘statement of principles’ failed to pass the committee.  The Credentials committee dealt with several ‘disputes’ in delegations, most notably the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Some mainlanders moved to the island and out organized the small state Party and took over.  While questionable what their motive and tactics were/are, they were within the rules to do so and were seated as delegates.  No roll call votes were taken today, in spite of an attempt to have the rules committee vote be taken by roll call. 

     National Conventions present opportunities to meet other like-minded people.  I met Robert J. Dechert from Ontario, Canada.  He is a former member of the Canadian Parliament.  In 1994, Dechert formed the “Blue Committee,” a group of conservatives who ultimately formed the Conservative Party of Canada.  Dechert was defeated last year, when Canada kicked out the conservatives and the liberals won 184 seats and installed Justin Trudeau, Pierre Trudeau’s son, as prime minister.  He is here as a guest of Oklahoma state auditor Gary Jones.  Very interesting gentlemen who is planning to launch an effort to take back Canada from the liberals.  He also told me that Canada is ‘paying for a $4 billion bridge’ from Detroit to Windsor because 25% of the goods exchanged between the two countries goes over that bridge.  Dechert said, “Mexico will pay for the wall.  I have no doubt the political pressure will be such they will have to pay for the wall because of trade.” 

     Tomorrow morning(Tuesday) Governor Scott Walker will speak at our delegation breakfast.  Congressmen Cole and Lucas are here at the hotel and Senators Lankford and Inhofe will be here later in the week. The spirits of the 43 delegates and 40 alternates is high.  Pray for a safe convention.  Unity would be great, but safety is our primary concern.