Of the many millions of words already published about the late Justice Scalia, some of the most revealing come from Albert the Pious.
Christians must also remember that Justice Scalia’s understanding of the proper reading of the Constitution as a text is directly relevant to the church’s proper reading of Scripture. The same liberal theorists who propose reading the Constitution as a “living” and “evolving” text also propose that the Bible be liberated from its actual text and from the intention of its authors. Ultimately, this approach to the Bible, common to theological liberalism, denies the authority of God as the ultimate author of the Scriptures. It is no accident that liberal theology and liberal theories of the constitution emerged together in American public life.
Now, consider this passage from the New York Times’ report of Scalia’s death and summary of his career:
Justice Scalia also disdained the use of legislative history — statements from members of Congress about the meaning and purposes of laws — in the judicial interpretation of statutes.
The mindset here is clear: We are not to search for the ethical principle which informs the law, or the Bible, and then apply it to an ever-changing world. No.
In the case of Biblical ethics, then, we are handcuffed to a world which has ceased to exist because the Bible is sacred scripture and may not be updated. In the case of the Constitution, the direct action of legislators is required to respond to changed circumstances; the meaning and purposes of pre-existing law, and the principles which inform it, are unimportant.
In both cases, Mohler rejects reasoning forward from principles and applying them to new circumstances. Rather, we are to obey what has been written in the past by men who are dead … and that’s that.
There is no nice way to say it: That outlook is an evasion of adulthood, the outlook of the child who wants to be patted on the head and praised as a good little boy or girl.
That works, unfortunately, only when there are adults around to do the hard work of thinking and exercising foresight on his behalf. If Mohler had any sense, he’d be grateful for sinners.