To the Editor:

Reading Noah Rothman’s excellent piece on social justice brings to mind a sermon I heard years ago (late 1960s) in my youth (“The Attack on Luck,” February). That, of course, was a socially turbulent time in America and perhaps that’s why my pastor’s words left an indelible imprint on my mind.

His sermon was on Exodus 23:3 and Leviticus 19:15—two significant biblical passages that tell us not to show partiality to the poor in a court of law, that it’s irrelevant who shows up in court, and that it’s only the facts of the case that matter in rendering a decision. We so-called moderns would do well to heed the following instruction from Leviticus: “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.” 

Phillip Ruland

Newport Beach, California