Diane
Becton, Contra Costa County District Attorney, countered biblical concepts of
justice Thursday, September 3, 2020, when she ordered her prosecutors to
consider “need” when considering charges against looters. Located outside San
Francisco, Contra Costa County is east of San Francisco Bay.
The new mandate makes It difficult to prosecute cases of
looting such as those occurring in major American cities since early May.
County prosecutors must now consider whether the looting was “for financial
gain or personal need.”
Becton’s ruling did not quietly slip by other county
officials. Antioch Mayor Sean Wright rebuked Becton calling her plan
irresponsible and disturbing. Steve Aiello, president of the Antioch Police
Union called the guidelines “reckless” causing hurt to local individuals and
businesses. Becton’s ruling begs the question: Who determines what is “need”
and what is not? Mayor Sean Wright had this question on his mind when he said, “For
the District Attorney to put out that kind of plan is irresponsible and where
do you exactly draw the line on need because these are people’s businesses that
are being impacted and livelihoods that are being destroyed.”[i]
Does tailoring decisions to prosecute at law based on need or
considering circumstances really fit an understanding of justice? At first
glance the Merriam-Webster dictionary seems to support a positive
answer. Justice is defined as “the maintenance or administration of what
is just especially by the impartial
adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or
punishments.”[ii]
Added to this, the dictionary defines justice as “the quality of being just,
impartial or fair” and “conformity to truth.” Thinking I could find a biblical
definition of justice, I turned to Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible. I
was wrong. The entry for “justice” referred me to “righteousness” which defines
that term as “conformity to a certain set of expectations.”[iii]
In my view, the key to understanding justice is an
understanding of the word “just.” As I am using it term here “just” is defined
as (a) “acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good:
RIGHTEOUS” or (b) “being what is merited : DESERVED.” In other words, justice is the administration of what is
deserved. It is deserved judgment (Deuteronomy 16:19, Amplified Bible).
A biblical understanding of “justice” is seen in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be
deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
Partiality and unequal administration of justice plagues the
current American justice system. As noted above, Deuteronomy 16:19 says, “You
shall not misinterpret or misapply judgment; you shall not be partial….”[iv]
It is not all that difficult to recall instances when the administration of
justice was anything but impartial. How often have celebrities and government
officials escaped judgment with a slap on the wrist while someone else felt the
law’s strong arm? “Justice” personified is supposedly blind. Failure to indict
looters for theft, regardless of circumstances, is not impartiality before the
law.
Becton’s decision undoubtedly derives from her acceptance of
Critical Race Theory. Becton and five other Black female prosecutors wrote an
opinion piece in August for Politico which began, “Our criminal legal
system was constructed to control Black people and people of color.”[v]
This statement not only represents the opinion of the five prosecutors[vi]
it is a classic representation of Critical Race Theory propaganda.
Critical Race Theory, which is rooted in Cultural Marxism,
defines “social justice” quite differently. According to the National
Association of Social Workers, “social justice” is “the view that everyone
deserves equal economic, political and social rights and
opportunities.”[vii] Social
justice warriors express this definition in the demand for ‘equity.” By the
way, equity and equality represent completely different concepts. Equality has
to do with status, rights, and opportunity.”[viii]
When linked to social justice equity means “equality of result or outcome.”
Equality means citizen A
and citizen B are equal. Each enjoy the same opportunity, rights and
standing. Equity means shares are
adjusted so both A and B made equal. Equity requires fooling
around with the system so there is equality of outcome or result. Critical Race
Theory proponents believe equality is merely an illusion. Thus, it is no
accident for Becton to see our criminal justice system the means to control
minorities. Because of such inequity, the “hurt of the past” – slavery, Jim
Crow Laws, lynching, etc. – must be made up so everyone is equal and then, and
only then, can racism be eliminated. Looting really is not stealing! It is
reparations for past mistreatment. Looting simply makes up for needs created by
oppression. Therefore, looters should not be prosecuted.
Advocates of Critical Race Theory, which is becoming rampant
in the church, categorize everyone in terms of oppressor and oppressed.
Builders of Western civilization constructed culture precisely to oppress
people of color and other minorities. Western culture is built by white male
capitalist Christians. For true “social justice” – racial justice – to come
about Western culture must be replaced and eliminated.[ix]
Black Lives Matter is an organization bent on destroying Western culture,
Christianity, and America’s constitutional government.[x]
[i] https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-prosecutor-tells-prosecutors-to-consider-looters-needs-when-considering-charges
[iii]
“Righteousness,” Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. II (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1988), p. 1860.
[iv]
Amplified Bible
[vi]
Diana Becton, Contra Costa County, California; Satana Deberry, Durham County,
N.C.; Kim Foxx, Cook County, ILll; Rachael Rollins, Suffolk County, MA.
[viii] https://www.google.com/search?q=equality&oq=eq&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l3j46j0l2.3115j0j7&
sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[ix]
Recent events where Black Lives Matter members publicly burned Bibles,
vandalized churches, and killed a Christian counter-protester proves the point.
[x] See http://blacklivesmatter.com and read
their “What We Believe” page.
[xi] See Decision
Magazine online at https://decisionmagazine.com/the-stated-goals-of-black-lives-matter-are-anti-christian/,
Center for Biblical Unity at https://www.centerforbiblicalunity.com/,
and material from Eric Metaxas, Jordan Peterson, and James Lindsay.
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