On Speeding Tickets
Apply Christian thinking to the following problem.
A visitor to Calgary rents a car and drives down the Deerfoot in the right hand lane. The visitor passes a police car 4 miles under the posted speed limit of 100km/hr. The police car has pulled over another speeder, the lights are flashing, and the officer is at the offenders vehicle handing them a ticket.
The day before, a new law was passed to fine a driver in the nearest lane passing a police car with its lights flashing at faster than 60km/hr on the Deerfoot.
The police ticket the visiting driver with a $500 speeding ticket.
Should the visitor be excused from the fine for not knowing the law?
Harry Blamires in his book The Christian Mind has some comments in the first two chapters of his book that might shed some light on how a Christian might approach the question before even considering an answer.
First, Blamires warns that Christians today tend to think secularly about secular things. Forewarned, we work to think in Christian terms. First, we may think Christianly about the very terms being used in the question; "should" "be" "excused" "knowing" "law"
"should"
Where do we find 'ought' in this world? Where can we turn to know what we should do? What we ought to do? The Christian responds that we must turn humbly to Scripture which teaches of all things. Does it teach of hockey games and speed limits? Specifically no, but it will teach of all the universe in which such things may be. And in approaching Scripture, the Christian is humble, ready to hear, ready to know, ready to submit to its ancient Author. And readied, searches to know where 'ought' is, certain it is there in-between where worldly power meets the personal act. It's read that this government is ordained by God, there is no power except it be granted by God, even law making power and law enforcing power. The source of power in speeding law, therefore, begins in the Originator of all law making power, shared to government, enforced by police, and now extended to the Deerfoot. Here God reaches the Christian in what he ought. And seeing nothing to the contrary the Christian can but submit with the same readiness made in first preparing to read the book of the law in consideration not of the nature of law, or the nature of right and wrong, but the nature of its Author to whom ought directs the Christian mind.
"be"
A small but profound verb, to be is to the Christian to either be created by God, or to be an extension of his attributes. Laws of logic and math are extensions of His very thinking throughout the universe, not contingent as gravity is contingent, but the wholly fibrous stuff of the thinking of God. Such immutable law is far from our ilk, for we change often and can be suspended, like gravity so Christ may walk on water. Contingent on God, we therefore rely on God to be. We are an extension not of his very Mind which always is, but of his power to conceive of what was not. That is, we are weak and he is strong. To be is to embody a graceful act to which the creature responds "I am what you've made me". Guilty, excused, shamed, forgiven, honoured the Christian is, at the end of all things, already being as declared by his God, even the powers ordained by Him, and not in the foundationless chaos of the secular mind and so, in whatever condition he is in, need never despair.
"excused"
That graceful condition that is not owed. Only the Christian can fully appreciate the value of this status and understand its value.
"knowing"
With all his thoughts known by God, the Christian has nothing to hide and is open to the great Judge to be judged. God is the foundation of knowing that makes all knowledge intelligible to the Christian experience. "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" Proverbs 1:7
"law"
Unless violating those things ordained in Scripture, the Christian accepts law as governing him, submitting not to law for laws sake, or orders sake, or for the sake of "good society", but because of the root of all law, God as revealed in the Christian Bible. Not even attributing civil law to idols is enough to pursuade the Christian to avoid the Scripture.
A visitor to Calgary rents a car and drives down the Deerfoot in the right hand lane. The visitor passes a police car 4 miles under the posted speed limit of 100km/hr. The police car has pulled over another speeder, the lights are flashing, and the officer is at the offenders vehicle handing them a ticket.
The day before, a new law was passed to fine a driver in the nearest lane passing a police car with its lights flashing at faster than 60km/hr on the Deerfoot.
The police ticket the visiting driver with a $500 speeding ticket.
Should the visitor be excused from the fine for not knowing the law?
Harry Blamires in his book The Christian Mind has some comments in the first two chapters of his book that might shed some light on how a Christian might approach the question before even considering an answer.
First, Blamires warns that Christians today tend to think secularly about secular things. Forewarned, we work to think in Christian terms. First, we may think Christianly about the very terms being used in the question; "should" "be" "excused" "knowing" "law"
"should"
Where do we find 'ought' in this world? Where can we turn to know what we should do? What we ought to do? The Christian responds that we must turn humbly to Scripture which teaches of all things. Does it teach of hockey games and speed limits? Specifically no, but it will teach of all the universe in which such things may be. And in approaching Scripture, the Christian is humble, ready to hear, ready to know, ready to submit to its ancient Author. And readied, searches to know where 'ought' is, certain it is there in-between where worldly power meets the personal act. It's read that this government is ordained by God, there is no power except it be granted by God, even law making power and law enforcing power. The source of power in speeding law, therefore, begins in the Originator of all law making power, shared to government, enforced by police, and now extended to the Deerfoot. Here God reaches the Christian in what he ought. And seeing nothing to the contrary the Christian can but submit with the same readiness made in first preparing to read the book of the law in consideration not of the nature of law, or the nature of right and wrong, but the nature of its Author to whom ought directs the Christian mind.
"be"
A small but profound verb, to be is to the Christian to either be created by God, or to be an extension of his attributes. Laws of logic and math are extensions of His very thinking throughout the universe, not contingent as gravity is contingent, but the wholly fibrous stuff of the thinking of God. Such immutable law is far from our ilk, for we change often and can be suspended, like gravity so Christ may walk on water. Contingent on God, we therefore rely on God to be. We are an extension not of his very Mind which always is, but of his power to conceive of what was not. That is, we are weak and he is strong. To be is to embody a graceful act to which the creature responds "I am what you've made me". Guilty, excused, shamed, forgiven, honoured the Christian is, at the end of all things, already being as declared by his God, even the powers ordained by Him, and not in the foundationless chaos of the secular mind and so, in whatever condition he is in, need never despair.
"excused"
That graceful condition that is not owed. Only the Christian can fully appreciate the value of this status and understand its value.
"knowing"
With all his thoughts known by God, the Christian has nothing to hide and is open to the great Judge to be judged. God is the foundation of knowing that makes all knowledge intelligible to the Christian experience. "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" Proverbs 1:7
"law"
Unless violating those things ordained in Scripture, the Christian accepts law as governing him, submitting not to law for laws sake, or orders sake, or for the sake of "good society", but because of the root of all law, God as revealed in the Christian Bible. Not even attributing civil law to idols is enough to pursuade the Christian to avoid the Scripture.
posted by Tulipman @ 3/20/2006 09:12:00 p.m.
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