Sunday, July 20, 2008

It's True! I Love John Stossel!

I never miss a chance to see John Stossel. He comes on Friday nights, so I set my VCR. This week was another eye opener. Stossel typically focuses on the unintended consequences of many of our laws. He has the annoying habit of asking innocent questions that usually contain far more wisdom than the answers he gets. This week's theme was the government's war on sex.

For me, the most fun part of the program was Stossel's interview with Texas State Senator Dan Patrick. Senator Patrick is a fine Christian man whose passion for law and order is exceeded only by his modesty. According to his website he is the auther of "The Second Most Important Book You'll Ever Read".

Stossel asked him about the harsh penalty for a man who has to regularly register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, for having premarital sex with his wife. She was a 15 year old high school freshman, he was a 19 year old high school senior. Mom got ticked off, (I don't blame her), and reported the teenagers' offensive behavior to authorities, to teach them a lesson. Little did she know the life sentence that would be imposed on the young man who would become her son-in-law and father to her grandchildren.

When asked about the fairness of being listed on a website with rapists and child molesters, Senator Patrick's response was, "rules are rules." Stay with me here and I will tell you what's really bugging me about this.

I suspected that the good senator was a Christian man, and indeed he turns out to be. Doesn't Christianity replace "the law?" What about "grace and forgiveness?" I guess that's only for some sinners. So, apparently, if you're a Christian, it's only Torah law that's temporary. Texas law is eternal.

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