The Center for Law and CultureRestoring Truth in Law

Dear friends of the Center,

“In our age, good-natured ignorance is a luxury none of us can afford,” wrote prominent political theorist Russell Kirk in The American Cause. Widely regarded as an “enduring primer on American civilization,” this book appeared in the midst of the

Cold War in response to governmental studies disclosing that many citizens, including numerous members of the military, were woefully ignorant of “their own nation’s first principles.” In masterful fashion, The American Cause sets forth the moral, social, and economic principles underlying the American order, laying particular emphasis upon the Judeo-Christian conviction that “all just authority comes from the people, under God.”

Have we made strides since the Cold War? Are American citizens more knowledgeable today about our nation’s first principles than when Kirk wrote The American Cause? Unfortunately, common sense and experience suggest that we have lost some ground. In an age of informational overload, the essential spiritual and moral lessons necessary to foster a virtuous people are too often drowned out by a cacophony of trivial and crude messages.

In addition, Christian higher education has not adequately stepped up to guard the legal heritage enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, nor to implement curriculums centered on producing informed, altruistic citizens. My work at three Christian colleges, as well as at the Christian Legal Society and the Center for Law and Culture, has enabled me, over the last two decades, to bring the message of the importance of law and citizenship to hundreds of leaders in Christendom. Overwhelmingly these leaders were good and caring people who talked often about fostering “Christian worldview” and “engaging the culture for Christ,” but few of them appeared to understand the vital role played by law in achieving these goals. As a result, only a handful of confessional Christian colleges and universities have implemented vigorous politics and law programs dedicated to educating principled leadership and citizenship in our constitutional republic.

One of the principal reasons for the establishment of the Center for Law and Culture almost 10 years ago was to confront this “good-natured ignorance” by challenging Americans to rediscover their venerable heritage of the rule of law under God. The Center stands in

Center’s Creation Care Program Takes Great Strides Forward

New DVD WebsiteIn November, the Center for Law and Culture’s Creation Care Program launched a new website (www.whenheavenmeetsearth.org) featuring the multi-award winning DVD When Heaven Meets Earth: Faith and the Environment in the Chesapeake Bay. The site

features the history of the Tangier and Pennsylvania efforts as well as the beginnings of the minority outreach in Berlin, Maryland. It highlights the making of the new DVD from the perspectives of its filmmakers, provides

historical documents, a photo gallery, the 10-minute trailer, model college classroom lesson plans, and recommended educational materials and references. One can purchase the new DVD, which has three films on it, via the website. In addition, the site has the capability for information sharing so others around the world can develop faith-based stewardship initiatives. The Center is indebted to the Bradshaw-Knight Foundation for making this website possible.

DVD Discussion GuideThe Bradshaw-Knight Foundation also awarded the Center for Law and Culture a grant to produce a discussion guide for the DVD for use by small groups and churches. It will be available and accessible from the new DVD website in 2011.

Creation Care OutreachThis year the Creation Care Program launched its first church outreach. Susan Emmerich assisted Moraine Valley Church of Palos Heights, Illinois, in establishing its first Creation Care week in May 2010. This led to creating the church’s first eight-week Creation Stewardship Pathways class. During the class, several church congregants took a stewardship covenant and developed a Creation Care Vision for the church. A new Creation Care group has now been started to implement several activities from the Vision in preparation for another Creation Care Week in May 2011.

Susan Emmerich will also be the keynote presenter at the Lilly regional conference, “Faith, Science and Stewardship: Christian Pedagogy on the Environment,” at Benedictine University on Saturday, April 16, 2011.continued on p2 ...

From a website to church connections, its outreach expands

From the Executive Director: Christmas 2010 Rediscovering America’s first principles

a partnership with

Samantha Schultz Leads the Next GenerationInstitute graduate takes her knowledge and training to the classroom Since its inception, 97 students have left the Center’s Law, Justice and Culture Institute with a more vibrant, biblically-based conception of politics and law—one such example being Samantha (Vales) Schultz. A 2004 graduate of Olivet Nazarene University and graduate of the Institute, Schultz is now an adjunct professor at

Trinity Christian College, teaching both American Government & Politics and American & Western Civilization. She credits the time she spent at the Institute for helping to prepare her both practically and spiritually for a life of service within the political realm.

“The Center and the Institute have helped to shape my Christian worldview in that each has provided practical guidance on how to deal with real-life issues through a Christian lens,” Schultz said. “Too often, Christians simply utilize scriptural support

Law, Justice and Culture Institute May 2011The Law, Justice and Culture Institute, which will be held May 16-27, 2011, attracts top students from around the country to Trinity Christian College. The academic experience leads to three hours of college credit and includes a rigorous curriculum encompassing classroom instruction, six guest speakers, and a graduation luncheon featuring an address by a prominent public leader. In the seven Law, Justice and Culture Institutes conducted since 2002, 97 talented students representing 22 colleges and universities have been challenged to formulate a Judeo-Christian worldview designed for careers in law, government, and politics. In that time, the Center has awarded almost $36,000 in financial assistance to those students.

As part of the upcoming Institute the Center will include a new, one-day practicum led by Susan Emmerich, which will explore the application of the biblical principles of stewardship and conflict management used in her faith-based stewardship work on Tangier Island. Participants will gain the knowledge and tools necessary to apply these methods and principles both at the community level and in the arenas of law and policy. The creation care concentration will be held in conjunction with the Institute on Saturday, May 14, 2011, and is open to the general public and college students. The cost is $95.00 and one may register via phone at 708.293.4990 or email at lawandculture@trnty.edu by April 15, 2011.

– James Wilson, Of the Study of the Law in the United States (1790)

Law and liberty cannot rationally become the objects of our love, unless they first become the objects of our knowledge.”

(From the Executive Director) continued from p1 ...

a cultural gap, saying, as Kirk put it, “if we ourselves are ignorant of those ideas and institutions which nurture our culture and our political liberty—why, then we will fall, no matter how great our industrial productivity is, and no matter how many divisions we equip, and no matter what ingenious new weapons we devise.”

As the Center for Law and Culture looks toward its tenth year, we are grateful for your encouragement, prayers, and support. Thank you for making it possible for the Center to stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30) by educating talented students and concerned citizens about America’s moral and legal heritage.

Charles J. EmmerichExecutive Director

rather than really diving into how that Scripture applies to every day life. The Center and Institute bridge the gap between Scripture and reality by providing the means by which to effectively exercise influence within the political sphere.”

Schultz said she recognizes that the Center and Institute provide students and individuals with a strong foundation for a life of civil service. Having experienced that firsthand, she can now pass that on to the students she teaches.

“I incorporate Christian principles and Scriptures throughout my coursework to encourage students to practice their faith and have the practical means to be effective in their own communities,” she said. “I also provide extra credit opportunities for students wanting to embark in an active political role for their community or the government, including even the most basic privilege of voting. The Institute and Center have helped to keep government and politics at the forefront of my daily living. I am constantly trying to be aware of how Christians can make a change within their own communities.”

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P: 708.293.4990 • F: 708.597.5858 • www.lawandculture.org • lawandculture@trnty.edu

Prof. Charlie Emmerich (right) at Wheaton College (Sept. 2010), serving as moderator for the Penner Foundation roundtable discussion, “What are the Greatest Moral Challenges of the Next Decade?”