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Chad Graham’s Legal Compass

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Chad Graham's Legal Compass
Thoughts on Law, Economics, and Ethics

While law, economics, or ethics can be abstracted, they have a fundamental impact on the lives of every person. My faith, my family, and my firm have helped me to appreciate how true this is. The law–particularly, the rule of law that we enjoy–is a beautiful inheritance. The compassionate capitalism of the Anglo-American variety has created the greatest wealth for the greatest number of people. Our laws and our economic plans are shaped by the normative ethics driving a culture.

My faith inspires me to love justice and to seek the good of all people. As a Christian minister, I saw the impact that the law and economics have had on individuals of every background. I observed how churches, charities, and other non-profits, driven by their ethical commitments, seek to make life better for those they are called to serve. 

Knowing how important that ethical component would be, I studied for my doctorate writing on ethics-based leadership training, urging organizations to prioritize character, convictions, and competence (in that order). This does not imply competence is unimportant, but it sought to correct the imbalance I saw where only competence mattered.

Law school was a bit of an unexpected life twist. I came to a place in my life where I realized that the law had a disproportionate impact on the everyday lives of the people and organizations I had been involved with. As a child, I learned the nature of justice and people’s need for a legal system from my parents, especially my father, an RCMP officer. As a University student, I saw the passion my uncle always had for helping people fulfill their dreams, what he calls, “happy law.” I saw the mischief that arose when poor legal decisions, or a lack of legal planning, got in the way of the good people want to do in their lives and in their organizations.

It goes right to the everyday. My wife was appointed Administrator of her aunt’s Estate a few years ago. Knowing little of what was required, and having to navigate the extended family relational and practical requirements of estate work, brought home for both of us how valuable a good lawyer could be in a challenging time! My passion for the law is motivated by these experiences.

We are very fortunate to have centuries of resources in the Anglo-Canadian heritage, which make the study of law, economics, and ethics immensely satisfying and useful. My practice of law and ongoing study of economics and ethics within that tradition help me to envision a future where the core legacy we all enjoy is preserved, and the challenges that indeed remain are solved, leaving a better world for my children.

This series of blog posts will be part of an exploration of the history, theology, and legal and economic theories of the Anglo-Canadian tradition made (I hope) very practical.  

When Heaven Speaks (Fear God)

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What does it mean to Fear God? There are times when the troubles of life simply cannot be explained, or understood. In these hard cases, we can either tend toward blaming God, or toward revering God. The second provides us with the only path to hope.

When Our World Collapses (Seek God)

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In this third part of my series on the book of Job, we explore the wisdom tradition of the ancient near east and common philosophies explaining suffering. Sometimes having this discussion brings great consolation. But ultimately the final answers lie beyond what we can fathom.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People

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When Bad Health Assails (Praise God): Lessons from Job in a dark night of the soul.

“There comes into all souls, at least once in life, a severe test. It is known as the Dark Night of the Soul. It is when we are beleaguered by darkness: spiritual and mental and where no hope seems to be near and everything we try to do it thwarted. It is where the soul is forced to persist and enter into the glorious Golden Dawn of Illumination and kinship with God, or relax into  the dull slumber of a mediocre physical existence. You cannot avoid it. If this test has not already come into your life-it will. How you deal with it is as important as life itself.” (From the preface to The Dark Night of the Soul by 16th century theologian John Cross).

Is God Good?

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The physical, psychological, and economic sufferings of the COVID-19 pandemic require that we think about the problem of suffering. When bad circumstances occur, how are we to understand them? Is God powerless to stop bad things? Is God good? In this study of Job, I explore these questions through the age-old inquiry: “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” so begin the tribulations of the children’s classic hero, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?

The book has a positively puritan title (check out the length and descriptive nature in all its glory!). But it also captures a great truth. This little boy’s struggles have enchanted generations of readers because every one of us has terrible, horrible, bad days. More seriously, it reminds us that not every day in this world is a good day. The 19th Century American Poet H. W. Longfellow has penned: “Into each life some rain must fall, / Some days must be dark and dreary.”

The Challenge and Opportunity of Christian Unity (Part 2)

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The Challenge and Oppotunity of Christian Unity
The Challenge and Oppotunity of Christian Unity

A recent article proclaims, that in the US the “Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace” (link). I do not buy into doomsday scenarios. The church has often faced decline. She has also often experienced reformation and revival. Together Scripture and Church History hold out a light by which we can see our modern faults. By this same light they show us the path forward.

This is part two of my series on the Challenge and Opportunity fo Christian Unity (part one). In my first post I argued:

Many today are concerned that the church seems to be a spent force in the West. The cultural battle seems to have been all but lost. And yet Jesus said, “I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18).

Jesus cannot fail. His church is being built. So what is happening in the West? Could it have to do with division and factionalism?

Spiritual Help and Hope in a Time of Crises

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Spiritual Help and Hope in the Age of the Virus
Spiritual Help and Hope in the Age of the Virus

What can we do when we feel anxiety in light of this COVID19 crises? Or where can we find spiritual help and hope in such a time when even the churches are closed for the duration?  First, you should all follow your local health authority’s instructions. Second, join many today in rediscovered a priceless Christian resource!

Many Christians today are rediscovering the Treasures of their history, which speak powerfully into today’s crises. One such treasure is the Book of Common Prayer (Amazon; .ca; .co.uk). For a modern and online edition, which will guide you in the life shaping experience of daily devotions from this resource try (The Daily Office). For those who may want an audible experience I recommend the Trinity Mission. This resource has both text and accompanying MP3 recording. It lasts 15-18 minutes and is a great option for your daily commute.

What is the Book of Common Prayer all about? Is it a collection of someone’s prayers? No. The Book of Common Prayer (commonly referred to as the “BCP”) is a spiritual treasure chest of resources, building our faith in Almighty God to keep us in any uncertain time and now in this age of COVID19.

The Challenge and Opportunity of Christian Unity (Part 1)

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The Challenge and Oppotunity of Christian Unity
The Challenge and Oppotunity of Christian Unity

Oh, how good and how pleasant it is, the Psalmist declares, to dwell together in unity. Of course, to be unified, you have to dwell!  Many today are concerned that the church seems to be a spent force in the West. The cultural battle seems to have been all but lost. And yet Jesus said, “I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18).

Could there be a link between survival and unity? Part of the failure of the church to thrive maybe because we have forgotten Jesus’ prayer in John 17, where our Lord asks the Father to protect his people, and to sanctify them, and to unite them as one. But, if that is the case, we must understand what Jesus is really asking for in this prayer, and look at how the church has understood it throughout her history.

A Philosophy of Life and the Big Quesitons in Life

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The Life of Faith is a Philosophy of Life
The Life of Faith is a Philosophy of Life

The big questions in life can have a tremendous impact on the small ones. While we may not even realize consciously that we have asked them, our answers can change our whole outlook. The question of the meaning of life is like that. We might not ask this question philosophically, but we all answer it practically. We ask it when we wonder, what is the point of going to work today? It orients our views of the world and our goals, our education and careers, our relationships and family objectives. Is the meaning of life to make lots of money; To maximize pleasure; To have lots of friends; to make a difference in the world? Choosing one or more of these answers will set us in different directions than if we have picked other ones.

This is just one of the questions that a Philosophy of Life seeks to answer. The Christian philosophy of life is rooted in the Faith (the summary of which is found in the Nicene Creed – see my previous post introducing this subject). For a brief restatement continue below.

012 According to the Scripture

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012 According to Scripture
012 According to Scripture

How do we know that we know what we know? Its the great question today. Some say that faith is passé, that believers should become enlightened and move on. Others say that they are right and Christians are wrong.

The Christian faith welcomes these challenges. The Apostle Peter urges all Christians, “always be ready to give a reasoned defence for the hope that is within you” (1 Peter 3:15).

Many today suffer from an easily curable problem. They believe that being faithful to the Scriptures means figuring out the ancient text personally. The challenges of time, culture, and language separate us from Scripture, making this difficult. Christianity, however, teaches we know truth when it is, “evident unto all men diligently reading holy Scripture and ancient Authors” (Anglican Ordinal).

According to the Scriptures

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures

Find out what this means in todays episode from the GoodFaith Podcast series on the Nicene Creed.

The GoodFaith Podcast

The GoodFaith podcast takes the wisdom of collective church history and apply it to the problems and concerns we have today. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or your favourite feed by copying the following into your client (http://chadwgraham.com/feed/podcast), or by clicking on the RSS feed links on the home page of ChadWGraham.com