Law and Governance

Throughout history, Israelite and Christian communities have been shaped by holy laws. In the Old Testament, there were around 613 Jewish laws. Some were civil laws for the culture and social governance of the Israelites; some were ceremonial laws for holiness and worship, and some were moral laws related to justice and judgment. In the New Testament, Jesus continually confronts the Pharisees for their legalistic adherence to these laws. Pointing instead to spirit, intent, and heart of the Jewish laws, Jesus boils these down to two commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all our mind; love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40). He further illustrates this commandment in the story of the Good Samaritan, crossing cultural animosity to show mercy to an Israelite in need, and instructs his followers to ‘Go and do likewise’ (Luke 10:25-37). In the time of the ancient Israelites, and through today, these laws have created a system of governance that guides society with culturally-shared values and rules about appropriate relations, behaviour, and social order.

The hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking Musqueam people recall within their oral histories the teachings of χe:l̕s, the transformer, who came more than 9,000 years ago when Tsawwassen was an island, and taught them empathy, charity, compassion, forgiveness, sharing the land, and other responsibilities. Stories of those who refused to learn are ‘written in the earth’ in stones and place names, making these lands core to the sniw̓ (teachings) of their ancestors. This ancestral knowledge is not only wisdom, but law that is lived out through practices, responsibilities, and social governance. Learn more. It is through these teachings that I am recognized as siyey̓e, kin, even though a settler, and through these teachings that individuals like Elder Kwes’ Kwestin commits to living out the hard call to forgiveness, where none should be expected for the immense harms carried out by settler siyey̓e.

Indeed, all Indigenous nations have sophisticated, complex systems of law embedded within their oral histories, and lived out from generation to generation. The very term ‘First Nations’ emerged in the 1970s-80s to reclaim recognition of this rich heritage of self-governance. Systems such as chiefs, clans, and houses differed from nation to nation, and each reflected community-held values such as kinship and generosity. Between nations, there was also a rich history and sophistication of socio-political relationships with traditions of conflict resolution, diplomacy, law, peacemaking, and trade, marked by ceremony and symbolic acts to affirm mutual commitments and trust. In fact, the Iroquois/Haudenosaunee ‘Great League of Peace’, founded in 1142 and governed by a Grand Council of Five, and then later Six, Nations in eastern Turtle Island, is said to be the oldest participatory democracy that still exists to today. It was these traditions of peacemaking that created the early relationships of benevolence and generosity towards early settlers to Turtle Island, and that laid the foundation for future settler-Indigenous relations and Canada’s much-loved peacemaker identity. (Read this excellent book for more).

Questions to consider:
  • How have teachings and law that emerge from Biblical narratives guided my behaviour and relationships?
  • How has my community been shaped by these teachings?
  • Who is my neighbour? Who is my kin?


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