Christians and Justice

Greg

Micah 6:8 says: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

While some people have been conditioned to think that the State is the indispensable provider of public safety, others view the State as an evil institution that lives off the resources of its subjects and is more concerned with maintaining control than with actual safety or justice. The State in its various forms has caused more harm for humanity than any other entity on earth through its wars, manufacturing of weapons of mass destruction, starvation blockades, economic intrusions, and unjust imprisonments, to name a few of its destructive means. To back the claim that the State is mostly concerned with its monopoly of force, consider these facts: if someone steals from another person it is theft, and if someone steals from another person and threatens to use force if the other party does not comply, it is robbery.  However, the State does the same and calls it taxation.  If a person does not “pay taxes” on property that he “owns”, he can be thrown into prison or have his property taken away.  If someone takes someone’s children from him or her it is rightfully called kidnapping.  When the State does this, it is called conscription.  If someone invades another person’s home and kills him and his family, he is a murderer.  When the State does the same, it calls it “service to the country.” If someone locks another person in a cage for doing something he does not like, even though it was not an act of violence, he is wrongly holding someone against his will. When the State does the same, even when it is for an act that was not violent, it is called criminal justice.
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It is not that the State never gets it right.  When the State holds a murderer accountable for his actions, this is a valid function that upholds natural law principles, however this does not legitimize the State itself, for the State operates on the basis of theft, coercion, and violence, just for the purpose of maintaining its power. The State often makes mistakes and condemns people for merely disagreeing with State policy, then a representative of the State claims to be the sole arbiter and enforcer of justice and forbids alternatives to to the State's methods and practices. Its decisions are final, and we have no recourse.  The ruling class has a monopoly over our lives in this way.  All practices, in every realm of society, must be approved and regulated by the State, but in reality, morality and legality do not always tread the same path (Isaiah 5:20-21).
 
As someone who has worked and studied in the criminal justice field, I believe that I am in a position to make the claim that the State is woefully inconsistent in its laws, its application of those laws, and that the State prison system causes more trouble than it alleviates.  Though prisons have become a mainstay in the modern world, ancient Israel is an example of a society that did not have prisons. However crime is handled, the point is, prisons are not the solution that some people might expect.  They create a concentration of evil that has negative effects on the prison staff, the community, and the prisoners themselves.  State prisons in the US are overcrowded, they cost a lot of money to operate, and they are ineffective at deterring crime.
 
In principle, I believe the death penalty is appropriate (though not necessitated, as God himself handled these matters in various ways) for the crimes referenced in Genesis 9:6 and Deuteronomy 22:25-26 (though I am against it being in the hands of the State), with corporal punishment being appropriate for other crimes, and restitution for others (it worked for the ancient Hebrews).  For all three categories, there must be a tangible victim; someone who has had violence committed against him/her or someone whose property has been damaged or stolen.  Vices, such as drug abuse, while dangerous, should not be considered crimes. The so-called “War on Drugs” is a failure in that it does not remove drugs from society, it drains resources that should be used in dealing with real crime, and it results in non-violent individuals being incarcerated, which is costly, and it separates families unjustly.
 
I am not suggesting that anyone should seek to take these matters related to justice into their own hands, for obvious reasons.  Furthermore, in our current legal context, we as Christians are not called to overthrow the State system, but we should be seeking to intervene in people’s lives by offering Christ-centered solutions to communities as we “do justly and love mercy.”
 
Drug abuse is a major issue in our day. Followers of Jesus have the message of hope these people need, the State does not.  Churches that are using their resources to try to prevent these people from entering into the State system, trying to reach those that are already in the system, and helping them to get on their feet once they have exited the system, are doing a good work. I believe we should be trying to help all of these individuals through substance abuse counseling, job searching programs, family resources, and other appropriate means.