Judges hold the key to a more realistic society

It could be merely coincidental but there seems to be a grand conspiracy to destroy the very foundation upon which our nation was built. The aim is to deconstruct fundamental values that we hold dear as a society and engrain impunity of various kinds. The conspiracy is conceived and executed at high intellectual levels. It is a battle of the wits that is aimed at forcing those of us who have some level of education to disengage from age-old values and overthrow the Judeo-Christian heritage that has held this country together since the drawing of our borders.

It would appear that things that we have assumed to be naturally obvious – which form the foundation of natural justice, are being questioned. Such beliefs are based on the Aristotelian view of reality, which holds that things have an inherent nature in their very essence – it is what makes them what they are in reality. When we discover what something is according to its nature, our job is to conform ourselves to its purpose, because, reality exists without our permission.

However, there seems to be a new conception of reality that goes totally against the Aristotelian view. Robert Reilly, a former Senior Advisor for Information Strategy for the US Secretary of Defense, makes some profound observations about the conception of this new reality. He points out that the new reality argues that things do not possess a nature with any ultimate purpose. Instead, we are the ones to make them to be according to our wills and desires. Therefore, we no longer have to conform ourselves to reality, but we conform reality to ourselves – a totally convoluted perspective to reality!

Yet, in this regard, the American philosopher and psychologist, John Dewey, once said, “Man’s nature is to have no nature.” And with no nature, nothing is “natural” because everything is what we make it. This is the modern project, which is behind the deliberate denial of reality. It is not based upon ignorance; it is a deliberate, dogmatic denial, to open a door for throwing out all that we consider sacrosanct – all that we deem natural.

No moral absolutes

For example, if the Aristotelian concept of reality is correct, then homosexuality cannot possibly be right, because it goes against the unitive and procreative ends of our sexual make up – it goes against the rational natural order! But if John Dewey is right, then there cannot possibly be anything wrong with homosexuality, because the human body is for us to do with as we please – and if it feels good, do it! According to Reilly, however, once you get rid of Nature, then there are really no standards against which to judge moral behaviour or anything else. Man becomes a product of his times and must therefore change with the times. There are no moral absolutes. This is how, on May 20, 2014, US District Judge John Jones reached his decision of invalidating Pennsylvania’s laws restricting marriage to a man and a woman. Like a new realist, he said, “It is time to discard them into ash heap of history.”

The sad truth is that, for a permanent rationalisation to become effective, it has to be universalised. Everyone must agree, or be made to agree, that a particular wrong is actually a right. This is the essence of future battles, and interestingly, the court of law is the new arena for this battle. This is because, what cannot be achieved through advocacy or legislation, is being driven through the corridors of Justice.

This therefore is a plea to our honourable Judges and Magistrates: The very foundations of our society are being destroyed. Drugs, corruption, and general moral decadence, have come to define who we are as a people. Will you arise – even at the very possible risk to your life and your career – and defend our values, or will you sit pretty and hope the tide will pass? As George Orwell wrote, “the more a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” Nonetheless, our obligation is to tell the truth and not participate in the lie.

To be sure, recent brief demonstrations by Mombasa residents might have been the venting of pent up frustrations against the Judiciary. For these ordinary folks, justice must not just be done, but must also be seen to be done. That is why, in some of the recent high-profile corruption cases, it has been greatly encouraging to see some of our Judges rise against all odds and stand on the side of justice for the public.

- The writer is the presiding bishop of Christ is the Answer Ministries. [email protected]