Sowell on What it Means to Be a Judge, Parts 1 & 2

I linked to Sowell's excellent piece yesterday and he has a follow up today. If you have the time, read him. The articles are fascinating and good precisely because they are true.

1. 'Empathy' vs. Law: When you buy words, you had better know what you are buying.
2. 'Empathy' vs. Law: Part II: Obama vs. Oliver Wendell Holmes.

The reason I love the idea of the law being something fixed--that is, they cannot be added to or taken away from, but only adjudicated--is because, in many ways, this is exactly the way we must interpret the Bible. Though there are things in it that will undoubtedly make us shutter or revolt, we must believe that it is fixed. These are not the words of men but of God, and he is perfect. Our job, then, is only to interpret what he said, not take away from or add to (on the contrary, doing either of those things will get you into serious trouble; see Gal. 1:8). And upon these words we must base our lives.

Now, God is not only perfect. He is also good. And that means that his words must also be good. This is different from Holmes' sometimes visceral reaction to judgments he was forced to make (e.g. “I loathed most of the things in favor of which I decided”). Though our job is to interpret and put into practice the fixed words of God, we must also learn to believe that those words are preeminently good. Holmes' did not like aspects of the law probably because he deemed it unjust. But we cannot follow suit. We must believe that God's purpose for us in adhering to the scriptures is not just good for him; it is also good for us. Our sometimes angry reactions to certain parts of his word are not unlike a child's angry reactions to the commands of her parent. Though we admit that these commands are often difficult, they are designed, ultimately, to benefit us. Similarly, God's word is intended to turn us away from idols and to him. And that, my friends, is the greatest thing in the world.