This is my presentation for the Jan. 19 American Government class, week 2 of the semester.

1. Types of Law Revealed Law = that which is found only in the Bible, given to us by revelation Laws of Nature (Natural Law) = revealed by God to us through our conscience and reason, an objective source of what is true as observed in the world around us – See Romans 1:19-20, 2:15

2. Types of Laws Municipal or Political Law = developed through legislation & enacted by civil govt; valid only as it conforms to Revealed & Natural Law. Includes Civil Law: deals w/ legal rights of private citizens Criminal Law: deals w/ crimes that are prosecuted by the govt Rules & Regulations Case Law = system of evolving law based on precedent-setting decisions of judges on a case-by-case basis or stare decisis ; includes Constitutional Law

3. Types of Law Common Law = the body of precedents based on Natural and Revealed Law set by judges over many years in England (and in many other places as well); began in the church & developed largely independent of govt although much of it has been incorporated into civil law over time Note: America adopted most of England's common law and was strongly influenced by Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, which gave precedence to revealed & natural law. These are foundational concepts to our Constitution. What are the advantages of common law? p. 388 For more on this, see Richard Maybury's Whatever Happened to Justice.

6. 3. Republic: a state in which the supreme power rests in the people and their elected representatives or officers. Is there really a difference between # 2 and # 3? Is there any problem with majority rule? (p.33)

8. 1. Autocracy = rule by one person; Monarchy, Dictator, Warlord

9. 2. Oligarchy = rule by an elite group

10. Lord Acton: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

11. Note: God is not elected; He is King of kings.

12. Anarchy: lack of government

13. Why does this never last?

14. Any comments on the video “What is America's True Form of Government”? Are there really only two types of govt?

16. More on this later

17. Presidential v. Parliamentary

18. Given that America is in the minority here, do you think we'd do better with a parliamentary system like most other representative democracies so that the executive & legislative branches would work more closely together? What is gridlock?