These are my concluding thoughts to a series of posts that begin here.
I believe that I am incapable of executing my life without the presence of sin. What I mean is, I feel as though a universal code of conduct exists that creates peace within me when I follow it and creates distress within me when I do not. Furthermore, I have projected this belief about myself onto all people. Onto you, even. It is accurate to suggest that it forms a load bearing wall in my worldview.
One of the things I respect about the Christians is that they are acutely sensitive to the tension between justice and mercy. Because of their belief in the “sinful nature” of all men, including themselves, this issue gets more than mere depthless, fleeting consideration. This tension is thoroughly pillaged and crops are routinely harvested. It should be noted, however, that it can look foolish to the rest of the world if they happen to peek in during the sowing season.
One of these crops is compassion.
Right now you’re probably thinking that I’m talking about the compassion that you, and I mean you specifically, feel on a regular basis. But I am not. Oh sure, some of you know what I mean, but I’d wager that the rest of you are clueless now in exactly the same way that I was clueless before. The kind of compassion I’m talking about does not tug at your heart and captivate your attention. It is not the soft compassion reserved for poverty-stricken orphans or leukemia patients or quadriplegics. No, the compassion I’m talking about smells like beer and hasn’t shaved in weeks. It is hard and calloused and abrasive to your sensibilities. If you don’t look for it, you will not find it.
Some of the most rewarding experiences available to us in this life will not come naturally. They will carry risk and have personal cost. Pardon me for a moment while I talk to my children.
Sydney and Savannah:
As you make your way through this life I hope you recognize two forms of compassion exist. The first kind will seek you out unexpectedly and come easy to your heart, the second is the kind you have to seek out for yourself and work for once you’ve found it. I believe that if you feed either of these they will grow and if you starve them they will wither. I also believe that the greater of these two is the one you have to earn. Inherent in the process of chasing down and working through the hard compassion is an undeniable truth. While pursuing either may afford you the opportunity to change the heart of the world, focusing on the hard compassion carries the added benefit changing the heart of you.
You can’t force yourself to feel compassion, but you can earn the privilege.
I love you both,
Daddy
Here I am, a man in his early 30s with 2 young daughters writing letters and sending books to a confessed pedophile. When I stand back and look at it in those terms I think to myself, “To whom, exactly, does this make sense?” But when I look at it the other way, my doubts scurry. The folks at Deadly Viper have a campaign called People of a Second Chance and they believe that a second chance is a human right. I’m a little divergent about the wording but I am 100% behind the spirit of the message.
Are some crimes, and consequently some people, beyond compassion? Do you believe that compassion can be earned, and if so, to what benefit or folly?
Next: My Arrest Was The Best Thing That Could Have Happened To Me
Once again, I have to take offense at the special status you give to Christians in implying that they alone feel the "tension between justice and mercy." Dude, everyone feels that. Or maybe not everyone, but it surely transcends religious preferences. There are surely plenty of sociopaths who don't feel this, and I'd wager that their religious leanings are as diverse as they are in the general population.
But, I agree with you on the "everyone needs a second chance" thing, but it's hard to be the one who is responsible for providing that second chance… not really because of some need to mete out justice, but more in that if the second chance gets abused, you're stuck holding a large part of the blame. So, I think it's more "mercy versus fear" than "mercy versus justice." I think that it's almost always a good idea to take the risk and offer that compassion and a second chance (combined with appropriate educational and support resources), but the possible downside often (as in your case with Bill) seems severe enough to make fear win out. As you say, it's tough.
You are 100% correct that everyone feels that tension. Without a doubt it transcends religious preference. I felt that tension before I was a Christian.
Since I've been on the inside, though, I've noticed a disparity between the amount of attention and raw effort spent by Christians and non-Christians. And I think it harkens back to the worldview thing. My speculation is that since Christians feel like they need compassion themselves, because they consider themselves sinners, they are more likely to extend it to others. Televangelists and fundy media coverage, aside.
I love your point about "mercy vs justice" and "mercy vs fear."
peace|dewde
I'm still not buying the disparity between Christians and non-Christians on this. I think it's just confirmation bias. Maybe you just weren't in the right crowd in your pre-Christian days. Minor point in the bigger picture of the article, though!
Are some crimes, and consequently some people, beyond compassion? I would say yes. We must always keep compassion to victims and their families front and center when showing compassion to those who are criminal. Yet many criminals were themselves victims. But I see degrees of good and evil on a scale and believe there are those who have given themselves over so completely to evil it is beyond our finite selves to show any degree of compassion. In fact many would say we should seek and pray that God's justice and vengance be carried out – see http://www.theopedia.com/Imprecatory_Psalms Is it possible for the human will to be so inclined to evil it can not bend back? Many Christian philosophers I know would argue yes. Do you believe that compassion can be earned, and if so, to what benefit or folly? Compassion comes from understanding and therefore can not be earned.
I do believe that some people are beyond compassion. I think it has to do with a desire to not be the person that you wouldn't have compassion for. Look at it this way. We are sinners, but we are trying not to be. If we had to never be a sinner to get compassion from God, than we are lost. But even the bible says that there are some people so hardened (scorners) that they are not to be preached to because it is throwing pearls at swine. You have to pray and look hard at the heart of the matter and decide if the person you are struggling on compassion with is someone who wants to change, is struggling with who they are, or is incapable of change OR if that person is capable of change but perfectly happy with where they are and at the same time abhor everything you stand for.
I think someone who lives in a way that is opposite of what you believe and is happy where they are and continues to thrive in where they are and ON TOP OF THAT openly scorns and mocks they way you have chosen to live deserves neither your compassion or your ministry. You can choose to give it to them, I'm just saying you don't have to feel bad if you don't.
Just my opinion.
I disagree with the previous two comments. While the pearls before swine idea and the others in Christian philosophy (primarily the double predestined group) might lead you to think that some people are beyond compassion that would seem to violate the overall reading of scripture. Throughout scripture there is punishment, but punishment is not about a lack of compassion, it is in order to bring about repentance. God is continually seeking to bring us back to repentance.
The idea that you can completely dismiss those that disagree with you negates Jesus's commands to love your enemy and pray for them. Yes you don't have to be abused by them, but praying for them and seeking the best for them is part of our role as Christians.
As to Chris F's comments. I don't know. I have been a Christian too long to be able to have an objective response. I believe that Christians should have a better response at compassion, but I know too many Christians that are bad at compassion and too many non-Christians that are good at it to believe that it is universally true.
In response to Adam S or others – what does this "compassion" look like when it's directed at someone who doesn't and never will care about compassion nor has any remorse about their crimes. As someone whose father was in law enforcement for 20 years I can promise this is the case with many. There are plenty of pedophiles, rapists, etc. who would like to continue to keep on doing what they've done with no regard for the victims. Bernie Madoff is a recent case that comes to mind. How many concentration camp guards would have liked to have continued filling the ovens with Jews? I think too many are unwilling to face up to the reality of how ugly and widespread evil can be.
I don't think we have any exemption when people are not repentant. Sure it is harder to love people that are unrepentant. But that is true of many similar things (it is easier to give to someone that has a good story and you think will use the money well, it is easier to spend time with a kid that has a good home life and is well behaved and obedient, etc.) Just because someone is un-repentant does not mean that we are any less bound to be compassionate to them. It is often long term compassion to people that are unrepentant that actually brings about repentance.
The Bible explicitly says that believers should care about, remember, and visit those in prison. (Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25:36, 2 Timothy 1:16-18
One conclusion with Bill, in spite of all your compassion is….Nothing.
The may have a lack of empathy and guilt for all his actions, but that does not mean you should stop trying.
1 Corinthians 2:12-15
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
I think in context, those scriptures were referring to members of the Christian faith who were in prison due to religious persecution, weren't they? I'm not saying we shouldn't visit those in prison. just asking the question.
Yes…..i feel like the open door is that Bill contacted you first. His reaching out was a big effort on his part, and probabley not done easily.
Dewde… What the heck are you doing trying to interpret the bible *in context*? You're missing out on a lot of good quote mining when you actually consider the situation in which the quote was applied!
I can't argue with this. In fact, it just makes me lament your absence from our side all the more. We need thinkers like you!
I suppose if it was an attempt to mislead…However my mistake was not intentional. I stumble and fell on my face with that one. There is the letter of the law and the intent. Difficult to describe buy my intentions are honorable..
I'm definitely not trying to implicate Joe in any nefarious attempts to deceive anyone. It's just a pet peeve of mine when people quote their favorite scripture out of context, particularly when it doesn't really apply to a situation. You use the term "explicitly" in your reply to Dewde's post, which implies to me that you want to assert that the text is authoritative here. Dewde's response about context indicates that not only is the text not authoritative here, it's not even especially relevant in this situation. This overuse and misuse of biblical passages to justify points is common, unnecessary, and misguided, IMO. Despite the best intentions, this is really just spreading incorrect information.
I think that Dewde is wrong in his contextual analysis. I believe that Joe was referring to Matt 25 and I do not believe that there is any assumption that those that are being helped are other Christians. In fact, I believe that the activities mentioned (feeding hungry, visiting sick and prisoners, clothing the naked) are to be done because the person is in need. And our reward is that we get to serve as if the person being served were Jesus Christ himself.
As to Chris F's comment, I agree we should be on topic and in context when to quote scripture. And I also agree that the authoritativeness of a text is only valid to the extent that you believe the text. So if we are talking to someone that doesn't view the scripture as authoritative, then reference to scripture should be limited. For instance, when I talk about the reasons that I believe that torture is inappropriate, with Christians I will talk about the concept of Imageo Dei (the fact that I believe that all people are created in the image of God and therefore deserve respect and proper treatment because of the image of God that is in them). But if I am talking to a secular group I will be much more pragmatic about the reasons that I believe torture is inappropriate (doesn't work, bad information, reciprocal treatment, etc.)
The problem comes when talking about ethical reasons for doing an activity where there are very few reasons that come outside of scripture or Christian belief. Then all I can really do is say why I believe that I should do or not do something and point to my own reasons, with the understanding that those reasons may not work for the person I am talking to.
I hope that isn't too far off topic.