As I write this, the United States Senate is debating whether we should continue revoking the right of Habeas Corpus for detainees held in the prison camp at Guantanamo. Vice-president Richard Cheney is lobbying the Senate to create a special exemption for the CIA in a bill outlawing torture. And President Bush is threatening to veto the bill unless the CIA is given this special exemption. Mr. President, that is wrong.

If ever the Adventist church ought to speak out against government action, this is an occasion to do so. The conflict of ideas is clear: On one side is the rule of law and the authority of courts. On the other side is the exercise of power by individuals unfettered by law or court review. Adventists have long given “law” an exalted place in our theology. We picture God himself as in some sense constrained by law. God is not lawless. The law is a “transcript of his character.” Humans can appropriately challenge God as did Abraham with his question, “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25)

In ancient Israel, the king was instructed to “have a copy of the book of God’s laws and teachings made from the original copy kept by the priests. He is to keep this book near him and read from it all his life, so that he will learn reverence for the Lord and to obey faithfully everything commanded in it. This will keep him from thinking he is better than his fellow Israelites and from disobeying the Lord’s commands.” If this was expected of a God-chosen monarch, how much more does it apply to any ruler chosen through our messy election process.

One of the common refrains in the “Book of the Law” was the declaration that there was to be “one law” for both foreigners and natives (Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Leviticus 18:26; 19:33; 24:22; Numbers 15:15; Deuteronomy 1:16; 10:19; 24:14, 17; etc.). As a nation of immigrants, we too should remember where we have come from as we make decisions about how to treat “the stranger.” We cannot justify the torture of Moslem terrorists on the basis of their “non-citizenship.” While it may be appropriate to make certain distinctions between the legal rights of citizens and “enemy combatants,” it is evil to ignore our enemies’ humanity or to trample their human rights. “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow. And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’” (Deuteronomy 27:19).

When God commissioned the establishment of the cities of refuge as shelters against wrongful punishment, he specifically declared these refuges were for aliens and native-born alike (Numbers 35:15).

This biblical appeal for even justice for nativeborn and foreigner alike stands in stark contrast to the move to revoke the right of Habeas Corpus for detainees at Guantanamo. So far the courts have not released any prisoner from Guantanamo in response to Writs that have been filed. This shows that the courts appreciate the threat being battled by the administration. There is no risk that court supervision will lead to a reckless release of dangerous detainees. But to completely remove the activities at this American prison camp from court scrutiny is morally dangerous. It takes us closer to the lawless exercise of power that we so lament in our enemies.

No doubt many of the people detained in the secret prisons operated by the CIA in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are dangerous and evil. The US must act against these potential terrorists. But to do so outside the bounds of law subverts the very character of our nation. By using torture and lawless detentions, we lose our moral standing. If we win the war against Al-Qaida by becoming lawless like Al- Qaida, it would be better to lose the war.

As Nathan challenged King David and Elijah rebuked King Ahab, so our church must say to the President of the United States, “Mr. President, torture is wrong. Lawless, unregulated detention is wrong. In every war there are tragic casualties. It is one of your responsibilities to make sure that in the current war, justice is not one of the killed or wounded.”

p.2 adventist today | vol. 13 issue 6