In America we think of ourselves as being a “nation of law.” But what does that really mean? Probably most Americans think that law is a settled body of rules, norms, statutes, and protocols designed to make for a just and orderly society. There’s some truth to that, but not as much these days as there used to be. Since the beginning of the 20^th Century judges and lawyers have trumpeted a “living” law or Constitution, one much more amenable to changing interpretations, to fit the temper of the times. The same laws that America’s Founders wrote, confident they would last forever, are now being set aside, even while they remain on the books, by judicial interpretations and legal opinions. Does law have more staying power than that? Here are some resources you might consider:

“Dissing the Law: Who Governs America?” by Charles Colson

“Natural Law and the Law: An Exchange,” including Hadley Arkes and others

“The Restraint of Law,” by T. M. Moore

“Natural Law and the Constitution,: by Robert Bork

“Letters from a Birmingham Jail,” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Whose Law is it, Anyway?” by Charles Colson

For a deeper consideration of this question, order the book, Retrieving the Natural Law, by J. Daryl Charles, from our online store.

A conversation starter: “Man, it seems like we’re drifting awfully far from the Constitution as our Founders wrote it. Does that bother you at all? Is there any way to anchor the moorings of American law a little more firmly?”