Like most religious right outfits, the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is not at all happy that bans on same-sex marriage are falling like dominoes. Yesterday, its president and CEO Gary Cass issued what amounts to a fatwa against judges who are inclined to rule in favor of marriage equality and anything else that runs counter to “God’s law” — they risk the full, unfiltered force of God’s wrath.
Cass went on this tirade in response to federal judge John Edward Jones III’s recent ruling that Pennsylvania’s ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. To Cass’ mind, this was yet another example of judges acting like “unaccountable, ‘Big G’ gods” who have issued rulings that run counter to “the only true source of justice — God’s unchanging moral law.” According to Cass, God doesn’t look too kindly upon judges who abuse the “great, god-like powers” vested in them. Jones’ ruling, to Cass’ mind, is such an abuse. Jones is already a four-letter word among fundamentalist circles, as back in 2005 he ruled that the teaching of “intelligent design” in science classes was an unconstitutional attempt to sneak creationism in through the back door.
Cass was particularly incensed by two passages in Jones’ ruling in the Whitewood v. Wolf case. First, Jones saying that the plaintiffs in Whitewood v. Wolf were “courageous” in challenging the ban. To Cass’ mind, the plaintiffs should have been “ashamed and downcast” had Jones been a truly just judge, and instead drew effusive praise. Cass warned Jones that “those who forsake the law praise the wicked.” Jones also said that Pennsylvania’s ban should be consigned to “the ash heap of history.” When Cass saw this, he saw parallels between the kangaroo courts in Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union and Mao’s China that gave legal sanction to the slaughter of thousands of people. He has a warning for Jones and other judges who don’t rule in accordance with God’s law:
“All judges, no matter how ‘supreme,’ must remember that they are not God. According to our text, Almighty God ‘judges among the gods.’ Jehovah is the Judge of judges. The Ever Blessed Triune God is the real Supreme Court. The proof of this is no one judges God. God answers only to Himself. These ‘mighty ones,’ who now enjoy earthly authority as judges, will one day acquiesce to God’s final eternal decree; those who obey the gospel unto eternal life, and the others to the lake of fire!“
So in Cass’ view, Jones is no different from Roland Friesler, the judge of the infamous Nazi People’s Court, where being brought before it was tantamount to a death sentence. I know what you’re thinking — “How could anyone go there?” But based on Cass’ biography, it’s par for the course. He’s a veteran of the culture wars, having worked for the late D. James Kennedy’s Center for Reclaiming America before joining the CADC. It says a lot about how desperate the religious right is that a major player in that movement has to stoop to Nazi comparisons.
Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
Edited by D.H.
