Thanks to Trevor Stiles, leader of the Christian Legal Society group at Northwestern, and Garrick Menlo, the president of the St. Thomas More Society, for inviting me. The organizers, in my humble opinion, were better than the panelists for the most part.
Here are the questions with which they framed our discussion:
Overview: Is there such thing as a Jewish/Christian/Atheist justice theoretical system? How has your faith background influenced the development of our American justice system?
1. Is justice a human or divine in origin? If it’s in fact divine, how should a secular society resolve to undertake its administration?
2. God’s justice, by definition, is perfect justice. Men fall somewhat short of that. How imperfect is our justice comparatively? How close can we get to the ideal? Should we even try?
3. The real differences between your point of view might be one thing, but your perceived differences might be something else altogether. Could you comment on what you might think the differences are between your own religion’s take on justice from other religion’s takes on justice.4. Historically, God’s justice has always been a bit of an equalizer. People could say that, yes, they are oppressed now, but in the end justice will be served. Without that concept, is the world a much less just place? How far should civil society go, then, to make life on earth more “just?”
5. Justice is not just about punishment. It is also about mercy? What does your faith background do to explain, encourage, or understand acts of mercy?
6. What is the place of repentance, atonement, and forgiveness in a faith based justice system? Should a civil justice system treat it similarly?
This is a nice framing of key issues related to how we operate within the cultural institutions concerned with law and justice. I'll address these questions on the blog over the next several weeks.
Thanks, again, to Trevor and Garrick.
No comments:
Post a Comment