Christian Punishment
What they believe
people commit crimes out of the desire to please ourselves
there are 2 key principles in the bible
justice
mercy
justice is about making things right for the victim and the offender and usually means that the offender must pay back to the victim- recompense
mercy says that people should be spared what they deserve fro the crime they have committed. God is the main example of mercy
the thought of humility is very important when thinking about crime
no one is perfect and we all commit crimes against each other so we should help each other instead of punish
the bible
there is a lot of retribution in the bible which means to pay someone back after you have committed a crime against them
In Leviticus 24:19-20, it says:
“If anyone injures his neighbour, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for an eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured, so he is to be injured”
to link in with capital punishment, in the book of Deuteronomy it speaks about death as a punishment helping to deter others from crime
there are also examples of criminals being protected from their punishment as the crime was committed by accident
“Everyone will hear about it and be afraid to act so arrogantly.”
‘cities of refuge’: places where people who have committed manslaughter can seek asylum to escape vengeance
Jesus saying 'an eye for an eye' is heavily used today
Jesus and punishment
jesus teaching and actions towards crime and sin is a very influential aspect in the approaches to crime and punishment
a woman caught in adultery to Jesus and ask him whether she should be stoned to death. This was the standard penalty for adultery at the time. Jesus does not follow the letter of the law: he instead tells them that whoever is without sin should throw the first stone
no one could throw a stone as they all had sinned
Although the law had said she ought to pay for what she had done wrong, Jesus let her off the hook – but with a command not to do it again. She was forgiven and offered the chance to make things right
for Christians, even the most hardened criminal can receive God’s forgiveness if they are sorry and repent
‘Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and reform the criminal.’ (Elizabeth Fry, Christian and Prison Reformer)
She visited the notorious New gate Prison in London, to find women and children in cramped, dirty conditions. Shocked, she took steps to improve conditions and raised awareness of the need to educate and reform prisoners for the good of themselves and society.