What is the original source of many of our laws in Canada today?
Have we lost our grasp on history and along with this are we witnessing the demise of
law?
A recent comment on our Viewpoint entitled, "Is Tradition Important?"
challenged the assertion that the Bible is in fact the primary source of the laws that
make up the legal code of much of the western world.
The comment reads: I must disagree that The Bible is the source
for 'most of our laws.'
...any actual modern laws that define us as 'Western' Cultures were only conceived during
the Enlightenment, Protestant Reformation, etc.
Is this true?
Did our laws come about from the concepts of men during the Enlightenment period or
even on the basis of ancient texts such as Hammurabi's code?
Is the Bible to be excluded as a primary source?
It's time we opened a history book...
In order to understand the development of Canadian Law, we must first look at the history
of British Law.
In England the Anglo-Saxons were united as a people under the leadership of Alfred the
Great.
He ruled from AD 871 to 899 and "He appended to his laws a free translation of the Ten
Commandments and an abridgement of the enactments of Exodus 21 to 23."
During the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547) marriage laws in England were refined using
the Bible to determine who was permitted to marry with whom.
Henry and his advisors decreed: All persons may lawfully marry, but such as
are prohibited by God's law.
Henry cited Leviticus 18 as that which identified marriage relationships which are to be prohibited
and cited in the marriage laws of the time were sections of Leviticus 20.
Solicitor General of England, Sir William Blackstone in 1765 authored "Commentaries
on the Laws of England".
This was the first text in England that set out all of the existing laws of the land and
commented on their source.
In the Introduction, pages 39-43 Blackstone makes the following comments:
When the Supreme Being formed the universe and created matter out of nothing, He impressed
certain principles upon the matter from which it can never depart...This will of his maker
is called the law of nature...This law of nature...is binding over all the globe...no
human laws are of any validity if contrary to this...because man's reason is corrupt...The
doctrines thus delivered we call revealed or divine law and they are to be found only
in the holy scriptures...Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation,
depend all human laws."
During the years 1750 to 1900 the British Empire spread and carried with it the laws
of Britain.
That law, even if imperfectly implemented, was designed to produce peace and order in
the family and in the nation.
It should not be surprising the Empire was known for its legal systems, and that even
modern day China has sought advice from judges and lawyers in Britain and Canada in developing
a sound legal system.
During and after the American Revolution, although the 13 colonies rejected British
rule over perceptions of unjust governance, they still preserved the British legal system;
referring to its judicial precedents as "case law".
Britain and America have both maintained Common Law which formally recognizes God's law as
its foundation.
An example is found in the case of The Queen vs Taylor.
Lord Chief Justice Hale stated: Christianity is part and parcel of the laws
of England and that to cast obloquy (strong public criticism or verbal abuse) upon its
precepts is to speak subversion of the law.
In the United States the case of Sparrow vs Union Pass, Judge Strong stated:
Christianity is a part of the Common Law of this state (Pennsylvania)"It was part of the
Common Law of England before this state was settled...(it) is an indictable offense at
Common Law to write or speak of Christianity contemptuously.
It is simply incorrect for anyone to suggest that the laws of the English-speaking world
are not inexorably linked to the Bible.
History shows when these laws are implemented, even imperfectly, the produced a society that
the world admired and sought to emulate.
Yet now that same society and many of its leaders are striving with all their heart
to destroy and disdain this very law and its source.
Perhaps it is worth taking some time to consider the conditions that enabled the English speaking
world to achieve what it did, one of which were just laws, and carefully evaluate the
consequences of repudiating those conditions.
We should carefully read our history and learn from the past, in particular we should read
the foundation of our nation's laws.
I am Stuart Wachowicz for Tomorrow's World Viewpoint.
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