From: Elizaphanian (Elizaphanian@members.v21.co.uk)
Date: Sun Oct 20 2002 - 22:28:20 BST
Hi Platt,
Well here I think we come across something where Christianity goes one way,
and standard practice (and possibly the MoQ) go another. Darrell referred to
it in slightly different words, but a common expression in Christianity is
"condemn the sin, not the sinner".
Speaking personally, I think it is possible to have a justice system within
a Christian moral framework; I think that the social order has both the
right and the duty to protect itself (indeed, Scalia pointed out in that
article some of the elements of such an order), but that doesn't necessitate
personal condemnation in the sense you describe. At the heart of Christian
awareness is the sense that 'we are all sinners' and 'there but for the
grace of God go I' - and it is difficult to sustain righteous indignation
when that is a dominant part of your consciousness. Justice becomes
something done 'more in sorrow than in anger' - although it needs to be
practically effective for all that.
In MoQish, and relevant to how this thread started, I suspect it is part of
the DQ breakthrough which saw individuals as having importance above and
beyond the social role in which they were embedded. If you see human
beings - *all* human beings - as made in the image of God, then it carries
the implication that they should be treated as inherently worthy of respect.
(Which is where much of our 'human rights' language has its origin of
course)
Sam
www.elizaphanian.v-2-1.net/home.html
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