Hate Crimes in a Biblical Light

Reading David Limbaugh’s blog musing about why it is hate crime laws do not apply to the vandalism of Republican campaign headquarters—hate of some groups of people seems acceptable, or at least legal—got me to thinking again about hate crime legislation from a Biblical standpoint. To do that we have to think again about the four distinct governments in Scripture: self-government, family government, ecclesiastical (church) government, and civil government, and consider what responsibilities and tools of discipline are granted to each. I’ve made a little chart (above) that summarizes these as I see it from Scripture. (We could discuss that more later; but that’s not my point today.)

We get ourselves all mixed up when we forget the purposes and tools of the various governments and apply them to the others. For example, when we forget that repentance and restoration are the goals of the first three governments, but not the last, we end up with the civil government trying to “reform” prisoners, or we take apparent remorse into consideration when sentencing criminals. If we forget that the purpose of family discipline is to bring about repentance and restoration, rather than punishment, then the rod can become a weapon of angry abuse.

I define tyranny as what happens when one sphere of government attempts to exert authority in an area in which God has not given that authority. For example, the first three governments have been given the task of instruction. When the civil government takes on that responsibility, and claims authority over or compels taxes for education, they have become tyrannical in that area.

So what about offenses of the mind, of which unjust hatred is only one? Others include covetousness, lust, insincere worship, ingratitude, and pride. Yet how are these offenses handled in Scripture? What is the proscribed punishment or remedy for these things? We are often told to examine ourselves and to keep ourselves from such sins, and to pray for the help of the Spirit in doing so, but there is no imposition of penalty for these offenses by the family, ecclesiastical or civil governments.

For two reasons, then, I believe that any attempt by the civil government to legislate the governance of the thoughts or affections is tyrannical and ought not be supported: 1) These offenses are sins, but not crimes, and 2) They are sins that God has placed under no human government other than the self.

That is not to say that things such as racial hatred are not wrong. They certainly are. But they are sins of the heart that must be dealt with by the self and the Spirit of God.