Legally Rambling (10/4/2009). I stood in my office this Sunday afternoon, watching the rain fall, the traffic break and reflecting on the day, a nice separation from the law. Of course, it was a rainy, dark day in Dallas, but you know, the light still shines on ... it always does!
This Sunday morning, I had the opportunity to visit Watermark Community Church and listen to Dr. William Lane Craig defend Christianity. What a great mind and a very interesting intellectual and spiritual discussion. Since I am a collector of books, stories and word phrases in general, my mind grabbed a term that he used within the discussion to describe some men – “Sentient Moral Agents.” As a follower of Christ and defender of the faith, the responsibility immediately hit me – I am a Sentient Moral Agent who is also a lawyer. I also thought how many non-sentient moral beings exist in this world? Even - how many sentient a-moral agents exist? And, like a savory piece of mind candy I thought about it for the rest of the day.
I thought OK great here we go and in a Jerry Maguire moment, this picture came to mind:
“I’m finished, I’m fucked. Twenty four hours ago, man, I was hot! Now … I’m a cautionary tale. You see this jacket I’m wearing, you like it? Because I don’t really need it. Because I’m cloaked in failure! I lost the number one draft picked the night before the draft! Why? Let’s recap: Because a hockey player’s kid made me feel like a superficial jerk. I ate two slices of bad pizza, went to bed and grew a conscience!
Now, I’m not going to go all Maguire on you, because unlike Luther, I don’t believe you have to split from the law to effect change. I am not a cautionary tale or cloaked in failure – quite the opposite – cloaked in the one. However, since I love To Kill A Mockingbird, what really came to mind was actually Atticus Finch’s jury argument – it’s one of my favorites:
Now gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality.
So, I know what you are thinking (Sentient Moral Agents made me think of the Matrix as well) – that line from Morpheus in the Matrix next comes to mind:
I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.
It’s the reason a lot of people go to law school, because you want to do something about this human mess that we have created! First, of all you can’t really do anything without Christ. It really has to start with Christ. Period.
So where am I going next with all of this? – well these ideas usually don’t come to me, unless I’m looking at my AstroView 120 EQ at the Orion Nebula, or scanning my favorite stars in that region (check out Betelgeuse – 10th brightest star in the sky and a supergiant – if it ever blows it could be like a second sun) and its really cold outside. That region has been an obsession since I was a kid. I digress.
Now one of my favorite books is A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More and in that same book there is an exchange between William Roper and Sir Thomas More that I really love that goes something like this:
William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
This Sunday morning, I had the opportunity to visit Watermark Community Church and listen to Dr. William Lane Craig defend Christianity. What a great mind and a very interesting intellectual and spiritual discussion. Since I am a collector of books, stories and word phrases in general, my mind grabbed a term that he used within the discussion to describe some men – “Sentient Moral Agents.” As a follower of Christ and defender of the faith, the responsibility immediately hit me – I am a Sentient Moral Agent who is also a lawyer. I also thought how many non-sentient moral beings exist in this world? Even - how many sentient a-moral agents exist? And, like a savory piece of mind candy I thought about it for the rest of the day.
I thought OK great here we go and in a Jerry Maguire moment, this picture came to mind:
“I’m finished, I’m fucked. Twenty four hours ago, man, I was hot! Now … I’m a cautionary tale. You see this jacket I’m wearing, you like it? Because I don’t really need it. Because I’m cloaked in failure! I lost the number one draft picked the night before the draft! Why? Let’s recap: Because a hockey player’s kid made me feel like a superficial jerk. I ate two slices of bad pizza, went to bed and grew a conscience!
Now, I’m not going to go all Maguire on you, because unlike Luther, I don’t believe you have to split from the law to effect change. I am not a cautionary tale or cloaked in failure – quite the opposite – cloaked in the one. However, since I love To Kill A Mockingbird, what really came to mind was actually Atticus Finch’s jury argument – it’s one of my favorites:
Now gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality.
So, I know what you are thinking (Sentient Moral Agents made me think of the Matrix as well) – that line from Morpheus in the Matrix next comes to mind:
I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.
It’s the reason a lot of people go to law school, because you want to do something about this human mess that we have created! First, of all you can’t really do anything without Christ. It really has to start with Christ. Period.
So where am I going next with all of this? – well these ideas usually don’t come to me, unless I’m looking at my AstroView 120 EQ at the Orion Nebula, or scanning my favorite stars in that region (check out Betelgeuse – 10th brightest star in the sky and a supergiant – if it ever blows it could be like a second sun) and its really cold outside. That region has been an obsession since I was a kid. I digress.
Now one of my favorite books is A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More and in that same book there is an exchange between William Roper and Sir Thomas More that I really love that goes something like this:
William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Yes, give the Devil the benefit of the law and use your training to defend the faith - resist the winds that blow in this world! As a Christian Sentient Moral Agent what a great privilege and responsibility ... Ramble On!
Yes, give the Devil the benefit of the law and use your training to defend the faith - resist the winds that blow in this world! As a Christian Sentient Moral Agent what a great privilege and responsibility ... Ramble On!
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