How Shall We Judge?
I've been thinking a bit lately about capital punishment and justice, mostly as it relates to Saddam Hussein. In my opinion, Saddam is an extremely evil man, and I don't pretend to use the term evil lightly. A friend recently wrote about the evilness (or lack thereof) of Saddam on his blogsite, and although I think that Saddam is more evil of a person then my friend seems to, I greatly appreciate his fair approach.
However, I'm wondering if the magnitude of how evil a person actually is, really matters when we are talking about choosing how and when to end a person's life.
Does God, and God alone have this divine responsibility to carry out when and how He so chooses, or can you and I, mere humans take this responsibility into our own blood stained hands?
Do we have the right to end the life of even the world's most evil person? I don't believe that we do.
I believe that we are called to forgive even the most violent and evil of persons. Does forgiving always mean forgetting? No, it doesn't. Does forgiving mean not punishing? No, it doesn't. But does punishing have to equal killing? No, it doesn't.
If there is a person alive today that deserves the death penalty I would say that person is Saddam Hussein. However, I struggle to see how the killing of someone is justified, no matter how many atrocities they have committed. Furthermore, I can't seem to reconcile how another sinful person can condemn a fellow human to death. We all deserve death. None are righteous, no, not one.
I might be radically oversimplifying the situation, and as someone with a very strong sense of justice and right and wrong, this further complicates my stance on capital punishment, [whether carried out by the State, or by other means]. I've often asked myself what I would do in a situation where my own act of evil could potentially save the lives of many and bring to justice the person or persons committing the atrocities. Would I go down the path in which Dietrich Bonhoeffer chose to go, as he entered into the resistance movements against Nazism and a plot to assassinate Hitler? Because of the strong sense of justice that I have, I often times think that I would.
This however I can't seem to fully reconcile with Jesus' words spoken to the Scribes and the Pharisees who brought the woman who had been caught in adultery to him.
M. Pascal
However, I'm wondering if the magnitude of how evil a person actually is, really matters when we are talking about choosing how and when to end a person's life.
Does God, and God alone have this divine responsibility to carry out when and how He so chooses, or can you and I, mere humans take this responsibility into our own blood stained hands?
Do we have the right to end the life of even the world's most evil person? I don't believe that we do.
I believe that we are called to forgive even the most violent and evil of persons. Does forgiving always mean forgetting? No, it doesn't. Does forgiving mean not punishing? No, it doesn't. But does punishing have to equal killing? No, it doesn't.
If there is a person alive today that deserves the death penalty I would say that person is Saddam Hussein. However, I struggle to see how the killing of someone is justified, no matter how many atrocities they have committed. Furthermore, I can't seem to reconcile how another sinful person can condemn a fellow human to death. We all deserve death. None are righteous, no, not one.
I might be radically oversimplifying the situation, and as someone with a very strong sense of justice and right and wrong, this further complicates my stance on capital punishment, [whether carried out by the State, or by other means]. I've often asked myself what I would do in a situation where my own act of evil could potentially save the lives of many and bring to justice the person or persons committing the atrocities. Would I go down the path in which Dietrich Bonhoeffer chose to go, as he entered into the resistance movements against Nazism and a plot to assassinate Hitler? Because of the strong sense of justice that I have, I often times think that I would.
This however I can't seem to fully reconcile with Jesus' words spoken to the Scribes and the Pharisees who brought the woman who had been caught in adultery to him.
They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The Scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." John 8:1-11Peace,
M. Pascal
posted by Matthew Pascal @ 10:12 AM
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