 When Solomon penned the words "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11), he summarized a principle that undergirds the entire biblical approach to criminal justice. He identified delayed punishment as the singular cause of rampant criminality. Modern criminologists may propose complex theories about socioeconomic factors, psychological conditions, or systemic inequalities, but Scripture presents a remarkably straightforward explanation: people commit crimes when they believe they can escape punishment. This simple observation, that somehow seems to elude modern criminologists, finds support throughout both testaments and offers practical guidance for contemporary criminal justice policy.
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 Most American Christians assume our immigration system represents a reasonable balance between order and compassion. We tell ourselves that America welcomes legal immigrants while simply requiring people to follow proper procedures. This comfortable narrative allows us to support restrictive immigration policies without wrestling with the deeper question of whether our immigration system is acceptable to God. Unfortunately, this narrative rests on ignorance of both what the Bible actually commands regarding immigrants and also what American immigration law actually requires.
 Over the past year, there have been many incidents of ICE officers ordering U.S. citizens to vacate areas, move their vehicles from public streets, and comply with various commands. In cases where citizens have refused to comply with these commands, ICE has often resorted to the use of force. But does ICE actually possess the legal authority to issue such commands? A careful examination of federal statutes and court precedents, demonstrates that ICE’s legitimate authority is constrained by significant limitations.  Since my picture is featured prominently on Mark Ward’s KJB Study Project, I figure he shouldn’t have any problem with me exposing some of the flaws inherent in his survey. I mentioned a few of these flaws to Ward as a passing comment in one of our discussions, and he dismissed my concerns by saying, “I did not perform this survey with academic standards in mind, because I did not and do not have academic resources.” That’s a poor excuse for the type of errors I found in this study. An honest evaluation of Ward’s infamous study reveals significant weaknesses in survey design, execution, data presentation, and interpretive framework that should lead any serious researcher to question the validity of the results.
 Most Christians are familiar with Christ's comparison of faith to a mustard seed in Luke 17:5-6, but not many of us take time to read the rest of the passage. Consider what Jesus said in the first two verses:
 The error in Ward’s claims about the word hell differs from those in his other videos in a very significant way. Ward’s entire video on this word can be refuted with a single exercise to expose his confirmation bias. Ward claims that the word hell describes a place where both the righteous and the wicked go after death before being ushered into either Heaven or eternal torment. About twelve minutes into the video, Ward said, “Here’s the key point: this is a place to which the righteous can also go. Presumably, it is the intermediate state. That’s really the key here.” Ward’s entire argument for hell being a “false friend” rests on his claim that the KJV translators sometimes used hell to refer to a place where both the righteous and the wicked go after death.
 When Senator Jacob Howard explained the Fourteenth Amendment's citizenship clause, he said: "This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States."
Most people today read this statement and assume Howard was listing four separate categories of people who would not receive birthright citizenship:  One of the issues that I have with Mark Ward’s argument against the KJV is that Ward is operating from a position of willful ignorance. Thomas Jefferson once contemptuously observed of Thomas Paine that he “thought more than he read,” and I’ve found the same sentiment to be true of Mark Ward. His arguments often reveal a lack of genuine study and a contempt for the more laborious requirements of true scholarship. Ward’s video on the word excess in Ephesians 5:18 stands as a glowing testament of this shortcoming.
 I wrote my first book about fifteen years ago, and I've written another nine since then. Most of them have done fairly well compared to other self-published books, and I've had one of them really take off with sales comparable to the average traditionally published book. I'm still honing my craft, and over the years, I've listened off an on to several podcasts that have helped me improve both as an author and as a marketer for my books. Here's a list of thirty eight podcasts in four different categories to help you succeed as an author. (Note that not all of these podcasts are explicitly Christian. They were selected for their writing and marketing content, not their religious affiliation.)
 In my book The Birthright: A History of Citizenship in America, I devoted three separate chapters to the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" found in the Fourteenth Amendment. With all of the present controversy surrounding this phrase, I thought it would be good to make those three chapters available here. The first two are from the section dealing with the debates in the senate, and the third chapter is from my analysis of the Supreme Court case United States vs. Wong Kim Ark. These three chapters provide a clear explanation of this phrase supported by historical documents. |
Bill Fortenberry is a Christian philosopher and historian in Birmingham, AL. Bill's work has been cited in several legal journals, and he has appeared as a guest on shows including The Dr. Gina Show, The Michael Hart Show, and Real Science Radio.
Contact Us if you would like to schedule Bill to speak to your church, group, or club. "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." (Proverbs 9:9)
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