Chuch Baldwin -- Time to Put a Stop to Despotic Court Rulings

The decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional is not only the height of absurdity, it is despotic and obscene as well! It is the latest example of how liberal judges attempt to legislate from the bench in an effort to eviscerate all vestiges of America's Christian heritage. Americans throughout the nation are rightly outraged.

Using the reasoning of the 9th Circuit, the Declaration of Independence should be declared unconstitutional for its repetitive references to God. All of our money is unconstitutional. The National Motto is unconstitutional. Every session of the House and Senate is unconstitutional because each is opened in prayer. Using a Bible to take the presidential oath is unconstitutional, and the U.S. Constitution itself is unconstitutional. After all, it exempts "Sundays" in Article 1, Section 7, as legal working days thus showing favoritism to the Christian day of worship. Beyond that, The Lord Jesus Christ is directly referred to in Article 7 of the Constitution where He is clearly identified as " our Lord."

I need to remind my readers, however, that many Americans were outraged in 1962 and '63 when the Supreme Court removed prayer and Bible reading from our public schools, but this outrage changed nothing! Prayer and Bible reading were still removed.

Today, congressmen and senators from both major parties are denouncing the court's decision in no uncertain terms. The White House also expressed disapproval, albeit tepidly. In all likelihood, the decision will wind up at the U.S. Supreme Court where a ruling to uphold the 9th Circuit Court's ruling is indeed possible. If the Supreme Court decides to favor the lower court's decision, all the rhetoric we hear today will mean absolutely nothing.

This is the problem: all we get from our elected leaders is rhetoric - partisan political rhetoric, at that. For example, Republicans are using the occasion of this idiotic ruling to call for swift approval of President Bush's appointees to the bench; however, Republican appointees are hardly a guarantee of constitutional rulings.

Need I point out that a Republican president appointed the federal judge who wrote the 33-page opinion for the court in the pledge case? Furthermore, this is not an exception to the rule; it is the rule.

In the Engel v. Vitale case, which removed prayer from schools, all three Republican-appointed justices voted with the majority. In Abington Township v. Schemp, only one Republican-appointed justice voted against removing the Bible from schools. Again, in Roe v. Wade, only one Republican-appointed justice voted against legalizing abortion-on-demand. It should be obvious to everyone, therefore, that Republican-appointed judges are little better (if any better) than Democrat-appointed judges.

Instead of congressmen and senators throwing out verbal protestations or using this national crisis (and it is a crisis) to try to score political points, they should rise to the challenge by exercising their constitutional authority to overturn this ridiculous ruling. Article 1, Section 8, and Article 3, Section 2, give Congress the power and responsibility to "constitute" and "regulate" all inferior courts.

Therefore, the judges of the 9th Circuit who issued this despotic ruling should be summarily removed from office and have their judgment rescinded! It is time for Congress to put a stop to this madness!

Chuck Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.

Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively, hard-hitting syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis Communications Network called, "Chuck Baldwin Live" This is a daily, one hour long call-in show in which Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a conservative Christian point of view. Pastor Baldwin writes weekly articles on the internet http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and newspapers.

To learn more about his radio talk show please visit his web site at: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com. When responding, please include your name, city and state E-mail: chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com

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