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When Law Fails: Reflections On Justice

When Law Fails: Reflections On Justice

Last updated on: February 17, 2025 at 7:42 am by Henry Karlson

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When Law Fails: Reflections On Justice 2025-02-17T07:42:50-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Daderot: Law By Frederick Dielman Mosaic At Library Of Congress/ Wikimedia Commons

My father was a law professor, and because of it, I was taught to respect the rule of law. He believed in it. However, as I studied philosophy, theology, and history, I came to understand the limitations with the rule of law. Law is meant to help in the promotion of justice, and with it, the common good. Sadly, that often does not happen. Those who create laws and those who enforce the rule law, often use laws, not for justice, not for the common good, but for their own private interests, private interests which, if enforced, would end up undermining the common good and promoting some form of injustice. Through my studies, I also came to understand when the law is used in this way, that is, when laws are made to promote various evils instead of what is good and just, the rule of law itself can be questioned and resisted. My father, I believe, understood this, though he would not have put it in such terms. He sought justice, and believed the rule of law was the best way to promote it, but he also experienced its abuse, and when he saw it was being used badly, when people were suffering grave injustices due to the rule of law (or those who enforced it), he would join in and help those in need, though he would try to do so through the system which had been put in place. That is, he believed it was best to work within the system, even when there was the need for the system to be reformed. He saw the need to oppose bad laws, and with it, to fight for the rights of the people, but he believed the way to do so was to show how the rule of law itself, and those enforcing it, was being violated. He gave much of his time, much free advice, to those in need, to those who were abused by the system, and that served as a great example for me.

My father respected the rule of law, and the system in place, in a way which I would eventually find myself questioning. This is not to say I disagree with the principles he was trying uphold, as I agree with him concerning the need for laws, for a system which enforces those laws, but the problem is that we must make sure the laws and the system put in place are just. The more I have explored history, the more I have seen how the rule of law often has been used, not for justice, but injustice (as seen in the way the rule of law in various countries have been used to promote evils such as slavery, racism, sexism, and even genocide). Through my studies, not only did I know this was wrong, I learned a way to explain the problem through a basic principle found throughout Catholic teaching: an unjust law is no law. Once I took this principle seriously, I found the means I needed to explore the legal system and show how and why many laws put in place, or laws people want to put in place, must be rejected.

It is best to have a system in place where law and justice work together, and in such a system, the rule of law should be followed. However, as that often is not the case, and even in the best system, we find there are unjust laws, we must understand that the rule of law is not an absolute, meaning, its authority over us is not absolute.

Due to their own historical experience, one would think Christians would know and understand that the law is not absolute. Christian history is full of examples when Christians have found themselves resisting the rule of law, and in doing so, finding themselves being declared criminals. A prime example of this is found when Christians were told they must abandon Christ, demonstrating their willingness to do so, by sacrificing to Caesar. Christians knew they could not do so. They rejected Roman authorities telling them to do so, even if it meant they would die. Similarly, Christian missionaries often found themselves not welcomed when they went to foreign lands; when they were told to leave and not come back, not only would they not obey, they often were rounded up and executed. In both of these instances where Christians can be shown violating the rule of law, those who resisted the law became martyr-saints, showing that they did right in rejecting unjust laws. Sadly, it seems many Christians have forgotten the lessons of the past, as they now tell each other they must follow the rule of law without question, and they use a few words from St. Paul, words misunderstood and taken out of context, to justify absolute adherence to anyone in a position of power (if Paul really was telling Christians to obey all authorities without question, he would have proven himself to be a hypocrite, when he constantly ignored Roman laws).

What often surprises me is how many Christians tell other Christians they must treat the rule of law as an absolute and obey it, no matter how bad the law is, when some authoritarian figure (like Trump) is in power, but they deny it when someone else (like Biden) is in power. The same Christians who demand Christians follow and obey Trump’s every whim, such as his whims concerning immigration, whims which are far from just and indeed, run contrary to basic principles in Scripture, were themselves the same ones who were unwilling to follow the rule of law during the covid pandemic: they ignored the law when it told them to go into lockdown, all because it interfered with their own private desires (despite the fact that the lockdown was helping deal with a pandemic and actually saved lived, showing there was a just cause for it). Those Christians who do this show us how far they are from the basic concerns of justice, let alone the greater justice revealed to them in the teachings of Christ. Christ told us to follow after him, and to do so, we must take up our cross, that is, to deny ourselves and our inordinate desires, especially when they get in the way of justice and the common good, the kind of denial which the lockdown represented. Christ likewise told us to love our neighbor, to help those who are being oppressed, to resist injustice, and again, these Christians who are trying to tell other Christians to obey Trump and the rule of law now are doing so, not for the sake of justice, not for the sake of following Christ, but because they want what Trump is promoting. They show how little they care for what Christ taught. They want his approval, they want to use him as a tool for their own benefit, but they are unwilling to follow him themselves.

I have no problem standing for the rule of law. There is the need to accept the law has some level of authority, and it can and will often tell us to do things we would rather not do. However, the rule of law, the rule of positive law, is not absolute. The rule of law is meant to be a tool for the sake of justice and the promotion of the common good. When it is used for the opposite, it no longer has any authoritative claim upon us. Christians must not support tyranny, must not support ideologies which run against the teachings of Christ. Christians must be concerned with justice, and with it, the way of love taught by Christ. They must stand against oppression, not reinforce it. If and when Christians find other Christians telling them they must obey the rule of law, even if what the rule of law demands is evil, the only Christian response is to point to Christ and the early Christians and show how they were unwilling to embrace such evil. Christians must take a stand, to follow Christ and his ways, ways which promote liberation and helping those in need. If it means Christians will find themselves opposing the rule of law and be deemed as criminals, so be it; after all, what should they expect when Christ himself was once declared to be a criminal as well?

* This Is Part XLIII Of My Personal Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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