What are the Teachings of Christians and Jews towards Justice and Punishment?
What are the Teachings of Christians and Jews towards Justice and Punishment?
The main aims of punishment, in this country, are to reform the criminal and therefore make them a normal addition to society. It should deter criminals from committing a crime in the first place, and it should protect society from the criminals. In addition, it should vindicate- uphold the law, and punish the criminal for their crime.
Christians are told not to judge, as only God is just enough to judge. In Genesis 1:26-28 we can see this: 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and then let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds in the air, over the livestock, over all the Earth, and over all the creatures that make along the ground.' This extract could mean that if you judge someone, God would judge you. Also, in Matthew 5:9 ('Happy are those that work for peace; God will call them his children') we can see that Christians believe strongly in peace and happiness for everyone, and that if you are peaceful you will be seen as Godly. Christians also believe that everyone should at least have the chance to reform, and that is what is wrong with the justice system today- It does not reform the people that it should be helping. Christians believe that this is why so many re-offend.
In Jewish scripture, we look to Deutronomy and Leviticus to find teachings toward justice and punishment. In here, it is said that Capital Punishment is not to be frowned upon, but the death penalty is seen as the just punishment for certain crimes. In Exodus 21:24, it says that punishment should be judged by the belief of " An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," This basically means that if someone commits murder, they deserve to have the same done to them. This is to portrait the idea that the punishment should be fitting with the crime. It is almost telling Jews that punishment, however severe, is needed to maintain the covenant with God. Although in the Torah it describes the death penalty as being a good idea, Rabbi's did not really carry out executions, as it was very unpopular in the Jewish community.
Regarding corporal punishment, they believe in "Spare the rod and spoil the child". This means that if you do not punish someone when they have done something wrong, they will then become worse and worse because they know that nothing will happen when they do something wrong. This saying does not just apply to children though. This saying tells me that to teach someone the right from wrong, they have to be punished when they have done something wrong, and that if you do not punish them when they do wrong, they will never know the right from ...
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Regarding corporal punishment, they believe in "Spare the rod and spoil the child". This means that if you do not punish someone when they have done something wrong, they will then become worse and worse because they know that nothing will happen when they do something wrong. This saying does not just apply to children though. This saying tells me that to teach someone the right from wrong, they have to be punished when they have done something wrong, and that if you do not punish them when they do wrong, they will never know the right from wrong.
R.S. 2: How Might The Teachings of a Religion on Forgiveness Affect a Believers View Towards Criminals?
Forgiveness is the act of forgetting the wrongs that someone has committed. If you are to forgive someone you can not allow sins in the past, which have been forgiven, influence your feelings towards that person. Once you have forgiven someone you should not go against that forgiveness and treat him or her any differently to anyone else.
Christianity teaches forgiveness. A Christian would feel forgiveness for a criminal, and try to reform them. Christians believe that reform is better than condemning someone, because everyone deserves a chance to reform. Jesus tried to turn people from their sin, and Christians today would try to do the same. If a criminal sins against someone by burgling their house, a Christian would forgive the criminal for what they have done, and they would try to find the root cause behind why that person robbed him. A Christian would feel sorry for the burglar and try to help the burglar by finding out why he was burgled by this person, and then help them reform. If it were because of poverty, a Christian would help the criminal to find work so that he/she does not need to steal to get money. A Christian would never feel anger towards the sinner, because they would be judging the sinner, and judgment is reserved for God. In addition, if anger is felt, the sin has not been forgiven, and if you do not forgive someone else's sins God will not forgive your sins. A Christian would never want retribution, because retribution shoes a lack of forgiveness.
The best example of forgiveness in the Bible is where Jesus was faced with the woman caught in adultery. Instead of punishing her, he forgave her, but also told her to make sure that it did not happen again. Jesus was surrounded by people who were ready to judge the woman, and Jesus said to them that if they had never sinned, they could judge her. Jesus believed that only someone as just as God is able to judge, and so the people surrounding Jesus could not judge the woman, and she was forgiven. Another example of Jesus showing his forgiveness is when he is on the cross and he forgiveness the people who put in on the cross. He says a prayer, in which Jesus asks God for their forgiveness because they do not know that this is wrong. Jesus is forgiving the very people who want to put him to death.
Jews believe that crimes should be punished, as they believe that punishment is the best way to reform the criminal. A Jew would look at a criminal and punish him/her because they believe that punishing the criminal works best at reforming the criminal. A Jew may see forgiveness as allowing the criminal get away with it, and that criminals will not learn by their mistakes if they are not punished, as punishment teaches the difference from right and wrong. Jews believe in capital punishment because they feel that killing someone is the only punishment fitting the crime. Everyone is afraid of dying, so having capital punishment is a good deterrent to other people thinking of committing crimes. In the Old Testament, it states that punishment should be given on "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" basis, so the punishment for murder is murder.
Jews also believe in forgiveness, because throughout Exodus God forgives his people when they turn to him after sinning. Jews believe in forgiveness after punishment. Once you have done your punishment, you should be allowed back into the community, not condemned. This is shown in Genesis when Adam and Eve sin the garden, and are punished, but not condemned.
R.S. 3- The Debate: "Should Capital Punishment be re-introduced to this Country?"
I do not feel that capital punishment is necessary in this country at the moment. I say at the moment because no one knows what the future holds, and if the crime rate soars out of control, we may need the death penalty, mainly as a deterrent to the criminals. I believe that the death penalty is an effective deterrent, but the drawback to this is the slaughter of fellow human beings. At this point in time, the prisons are adequate as punishment, taking into account the severity and number of crimes being committed in this country. I also believe that life emprisonment is actually worse than a quick painless death. The trauma of spending a lifetime in prison is probably one of the worst things to endure, because you can not get away from it. At least with a quick death you do not know anything about it, but spending time in prison can leave you with memories for a lifetime. This could mean that time in prison is a more effective punishment than the death penalty.
In the Old Testament, It states that punishment should be judged by: "An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth". This carries the idea that if someone murders, it is not sinful to kill him or her as punishment, as the punishment is fitting the crime. This is why Jews believe the death penalty to be a just punishment for some crimes. Therefore a Jew may believe that the death penalty would solve the problem of severe crimes in this country, and therefore feel that the re-introduction of the death penalty would be a good idea. In Jewish history, the Rabbis used to have to commit the execution of the criminal, which was very unpopular with the Rabbis and the public, so hardly any executions were carried out. This shows how much power is placed in the Rabbis from God. God has given the Rabbis the power to judge another human being, and have the option to kill, without being seen as sinning. This story also shows that if something was not popular with the "normal" Jews, (i.e. Not Rabbis), the Rabbis were afraid to practice it. This shows how much power the majority has.
In the New Testament, there is a passage that goes along the lines of: Forget what I said about an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; the way to please God is to forgive those who sin. This passage tells Christians to forget what is written in the Old Testament, and follow what is written in the New Testament- The idea of forgiveness.
Therefore, no Christian would believe that capital punishment should be re-introduced into this country. They would believe in forgiving the criminals and would try to reform these criminals.
Both Christians and Jews believe in The Sanctity Of Life. This is the belief that life is sacred, and God gave us life, so only God has the right take it away, and by taking life, you go against God. Also, in Genesis God created man in his image, and by killing someone you are defacing the image of God, which is a great sin.
