Greg Stevenson reviews Magna Carta Unlocked (DVD, 2015).

This time two years ago, we were celebrating a major anniversary of the Magna Carta, the document which founded so many of Britain’s Christian legal principles and freedoms. In view of the election, this week we are highlighting a resource released then which is still extremely pertinent now to Christians wanting to better understand the Judeo-Christian foundations of our nation.

This DVD set is a five-part documentary released by Sceptred Isle Productions. It examines the politics, science, society, law and warfare related to the Magna Carta, especially in areas of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. It is written and presented by Philip Quenby, who was a partner in an international law firm.¹

The DVD was issued to mark the 800^th anniversary of this powerful document of democracy, sealed on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede. Magna Carta established the basis for no man being above the law, for limiting the power of the king, for laying down the principle that punishment should be in accordance with the law and for assuring access to justice for all accused.

The document to which King John attached his Great Seal was the 48 paragraphs of the 'Articles of the Barons', later re-issued as 63 clauses by Henry III in 1217 and named 'Magna Carta'. Although the Charter focused narrowly on the concerns of a small elite, it established free men's rights to justice above the will of the king, and was a bulwark against oppression.

The English Battles for Freedom

The DVD throws us in at the deep end - in 1643, the middle of the battles of the English Civil War. This was the only English 'revolution' that re-affirmed the primary aims of the Charter, and established that the king (Charles I) could not rule by divine right with no opposition. It defined the limits of feudal rights of the Crown, brought an end to the sale of justice, protected the privileges of the church, and addressed due process of law.

As 'native rights' there was to be freedom of conscience, freedom from conscription into the armed forces, and equality for all before the law. Authority was to be vested in the House of Commons rather than the King and the Lords. The cost was the lives of 5% of the population (equivalent to 3 million of today's population).

Magna Carta established free men's rights to justice above the will of the king, and was a bulwark against oppression.

The freedom for which men fought was enshrined in the 'Agreement of the People' argued out by Cromwell's men in 1647 at St Mary's Church, Putney Bridge. When President Adams (USA) visited the site in 1786, he said: “Do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbours and your children that this is holy ground; much holier than that on which your churches stand”.

But the battle for freedom was not over. The DVD moves through James II’s attempt to suspend laws against Roman Catholics, the transfer of the Crown to the Dutch Protestant Prince William of Orange, the Bill of Rights (1689) which further confirmed free elections and the rights of Parliament, and the impacts of these developments on the most famous written constitution of all, drafted in Philadelphia in 1787.

Two Different Champions for Liberty

Finally, the DVD gives examples of two champions of liberty, both fighting against the Establishment of their day, but with very different results: Wilkes and Rousseau.

John Wilkes, born in London in 1727, argued for religious tolerance and scorned the vested interests, bribery, and corruption he saw in England. In spite of a scurrilous lifestyle, he succeeded in removing the Crown's unfettered control over judicial appointments. Thus the freedom which Magna Carta sought was fought for in the courts.

In a Wilkes trial for outlawing, he prompted the famous comment by Lord Chief Justice William Murray (Lord Mansfield): 'Fiat justitia ruat caelum' - 'Let justice be done, though the heavens fall' (regardless of the consequences). This sentence was inscribed in American courts, though many are being removed in these present secular humanist times.

The Foundation for These Freedoms

Unlike the American Declaration of Independence, English political settlement did not rest on 'In the Name, and by the Authority of the (good) people of these colonies…' but acknowledged a higher, Divine, authority.

This principle goes back even earlier than Magna Carta, to the Legal Code compiled by King Alfred the Great (the Doom Code, c.893 AD), to which he prefixed the Ten Commandments, together with rules of life from the Judeo-Christian code of ethics. This is the connection between English law and God's laws; Christian values have thus a key role in English law.

Christian values have a key role in English law.

As we have seen in America, the idea of law having an objective standard derived from the Bible was not to everyone's taste, however. In Europe, Jean-Jaques Rousseau believed that Man had been corrupted by civilisation, and published his 'social contract',² arguing that man has only one authority to which he should submit – 'the General Will of the people'. Contempt for convention in France led quickly to rebellion and revolution (1789) and a new humanist constitution, to which Edmund Burke commented that the moral code of the law was then irrelevant.³

Thus law can override personal opinion, if the general will decides that it disturbs public order, and there is no freedom of conscience (as we have recently seen in Northern Ireland). All supposed protection of the law is thus worthless. Rousseau's brave new world was soon seen in the 'New Republic' (1793) and led to brute force, terror and totalitarian revolution, with no restraint or accountability. Even though in England there was loss of life, at least Cromwell prevented this tyrannical result in our sceptred isle, for which we must be thankful.

Rights, Justice and Security Based on God's Law

The DVD's conclusion is that Magna Carta set up some principles for a sense of law based on right and justice (albeit at that time for a very limited section of the populace) and was in accordance not with royal or parliamentary prerogative, nor with ‘the general will of the people’ who espouse their own sense of right (or none), but with God's laws (cf. Deut 12:8; Jud 12:15).

Overall, it gives a well-presented, balanced view of the fight for justice, although this struggle is far from over, for the world is not clear of revolutions or totalitarian governments. But God's word will stand (Isa 40:8). With no vision, the people will (and do) cast off restraint (Heb. let loose, perish); happiness is found in keeping the law (Torah means teaching/instruction for life) – Proverbs 29:18.

In areas of right and justice, God's word is our yardstick and our security, and Philip Quenby's presentation in this double DVD set underpins this truth.

Magna Carta Unlocked is available from the publisher to stream for £5 or to buy on DVD for £12.50 (also available from Amazon). Rated 12. Click here for more details.

References

1 Philip Quenby. Magna Carta: The missing link in the EU debate. Heart of Sussex and Surrey, June/July 2016, p15.

2 Jean-Jaques Rousseau. Principes du droit politique, 1762.

3 Edmund Burke. Reflections on the French Revolution, 1790.