In Justice

Fiction is a story that describes imaginary people and events. After reading through this captivating legal thriller penned by Alan Sears, President, CEO, and General Counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), you will walk away wondering if you have actually read a fictional work, or just pulled yourself away from current events. . In Justice begins with the appointment of an ambitious young attorney, John Knox Smith, to head the newly created Diversity and Tolerance Enforcement Division (DTED). The DTED is an organization within the Department of Justice that carries the responsibility of enforcing what it believes to be equality and tolerance by ridding the U.S. of supposed hate speech. The DTED has a multipronged approach in accomplishing their end that will penalize individuals, non-profits, and businesses alike who adhere to any form of conservative Judeo-Christian values. The protagonist standing in the eye of this new storm is a former collegiate friend of Mr. Smith, Pastor Pat Preston. Pastor Preston ministers at a mega church, Rogers Memorial Church, in TN, and his weekly messages are heard around the country on the radio and internet. As his peers, board, and even his wife, succumb to this tide of pressure, Pastor Preston finds himself nearly standing alone in his struggles with Mr. Smith, the DTED, and preserving religious freedom. During these difficult times Pastor Preston reaches out to another former collegiate friend working within the Department of Justice, Matt Branson. After growing despondent of DTED's policies and tactics, Matt decides to resign from his position in order to provide personal legal counsel for Pastor Preston. With the support of Larry Jordan and the Alliance Defense Fund, a Legal Organization that affirms religious liberty, protects life, and defends marriage, will Pastor Preston, Matt, and religious freedom survive an attack of secularization that is claiming more than their conscience, but perhaps their very lives? This fictional fight and struggle over religious freedom is one that is very real today. People from all walks of life are presently facing such secularization and the erosion of religious freedom. We are readily observing this in various sectors, such as hospitals where Doctors and Nurses have to question their vocation; Catholic Adoption Agencies being inhibited from placing children, and students being inhibited from using the name of Jesus Christ during graduation commencement. With keen insight and a mastery of his topic, Alan Sears navigates the tumultuous seas of secularization and provides us with a glimpse of what may be if we surrender to its torrent of ideas and practices. You can find more at [...]

This was a fantastic, yet scary book. Though fictional, it is a all-too believable scenario of what could happen right here in our free USA if liberals and organizations like the ACLU keep pushing their agenda of hate speech and try to do away with our freedom of speech. In the book, which IS fiction, that is exactly what happens. Preachers are hauled off to jail. Christian broadcasts are taken off the air, Christian organizations are shut down, and properties belonging to people guilty of hate speech suddenly become the property of the US government. Some churches and pastors give in, and preach a watered down Gospel that would offend no one, instead of facing fines and imprisonment. What made the story all the more believable and scary for me are the credentials of the author. He isn't some random author who knows nothing about these things, but is the CEO of the Alliance Defense Fund,a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. A group of people who are out there fighting for the freedoms of Christians across this land. This book reminded me of how important it is for Christians to vote, and to vote people in who will preserve our freedoms, not destroy them. My one complaint about the book is minor: the story doesn't really end, but leaves the reader hanging and awaiting for the sequel: In Justice - America On Trial.

As I have often noted, I do not typically read fiction and do not in any way consider myself a literary scholar. Thus, I am unqualified and will not make an attempt to review this work on the basis of literature. To do so would be unfair to the author and those who actually know of such things. Rather, I want to convey the compelling nature of this book's storyline and the need for those who are endeared to freedom - Christian or otherwise - to consider the current path of our out-of-control-politically-correct culture. The story begins in 2015, a date which appears to be carefully selected to distance itself from individuals or organizations presently active, but which conveys the urgency that such a course of events could quickly arise from our present socio-political climate. The plot opens upon an old minister, wearied by the demands of ministry in a shrinking congregation while holding out hope in the gospel which he has served for so many years. An unfortunate and coincidental series of events leads to the accidental death of a U. S. Marshal, and the old man himself. It is from here that the narrative opens up into a discussion of religious tolerance and the fruit of many years of attack on religious and political speech. Drawn into events which never escape the shadow of the accidental shootings, the story follows the paths of two prominent men: Pat Preston, a megachurch pastor who must sacrifice everything for his public commitment to a kingdom message; and John Knox Smith, a rising star in the Justice Department who is using his political power as a means of silencing any speech or activity which is determined to be 'bigotry' and intolerant. What makes this particular story so powerful is that it weaves together threads that are already in existence today, taking current legislation, debate and popular sentiment within our political system and drawing logical next-steps of possibility. In other words, the possibility of losing our opportunity to exercise free religious speech may be closer to probability than we care to recognize. The world which this book envisages might not be so different than what we have today. Of special note for those of us who are in full-time ministry is the situation in which Pat Preston finds himself: unable to exercise his peaceable faith, but unwilling to compromise his commitment to the kingdom of God. By following his journey, the reader is confronted with all of the 'what-ifs' and 'what would I decides' which should be present in any discussion of faith and culture. This fictional pastor must learn the sacrifice of his faith, something that (sadly) many Western believers are able to handle. (This last point makes the response of so many other pastors in the narrative so believable - they balk in their message at the first sign of government opposition, watering-down instead of standing boldly.) There is plenty of room for discussion throughout this story. One should be prepared to think as you read,

"In Justice" is a novel about an America of the future, a place where basic religious freedoms and rights of conscience have come under vicious attack by hostile government institutions, including the Department of Justice and a new federal agency, the Diversity and Tolerance Enforcement Division. Pastors, ministry leaders, and ordinary believers who dare to express traditional religious values are relentlessly persecuted, perp-walked in high-profile law enforcement take-downs, even killed in overzealous raids gone awry, all in the name of ending "discrimination." And the only hope standing between our last remnants of religious liberty and the powerful Alinsky-inspired forces of secular oppression is a small group of dedicated and fearless Christian lawyers. The premise of "In Justice" is believable, but perhaps too believable. Perhaps the emergence of this frightening future is inevitable, or perhaps the story is being overtaken by real world events? The recent comments of a sitting state attorney general and U.S. Senate candidate that "you probably shouldn't work in the emergency room" if you're a Catholic, the unprecedented ongoing expansion of federal government powers, and the population of the Obama administration with a multitude "czars" pursuing various radical agendas, all make the book read almost like an immersion in current, rather than future, events. Either way, Sears knows his stuff. He's been fighting in the trenches of the battle for American religious freedom for decades, and he understands the players inside and out. "In Justice" offers lawyers valuable insight into the real life world inhabited by legal advocates for liberty, like the Alliance Defense Fund, and it exposes the strategies, tactics, and mindsets of those aggressively seeking to snuff out that liberty. About the reviewer: Stephen Bloom is a Christian lawyer and author of The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues, an entertaining and engaging plain English guide to legal issues for non-lawyers.