Punishment for a crime should be weighed in terms of danger for the
general public and the infringement on the rights of others. The types of
crimes that fit into this description would be crimes like murder, rape,
stealing, and other crimes that directly affect the livelihood and peace of
others. This has to be the way crime is punished due to the
ineffectiveness of the prison system to prepare or equip a criminal to
become a productive member of society. I am in agreement with
McQuilken and Copan when they stated that rehabilitation is the primary
purpose of punishment for crime, but the current system does not
function that way.[1]&The goal of any punitive system should be to restore
peace and order in society, which includes helping all of the people in that
society live up to that standard. If there is a criminal who is disrupting
peace and order in a society and has shown they are unwilling to abide by
the rules of society, then they should be removed from the society
through a prison system of some sort. Unfortunately, a temporary removal
from society is an inefficient method if that temporary removal does not
include some type of reconciliatory method to encourage this individual to
truly change their ways. This can be worked on through counseling as well
as other options that the authors mentioned, like Bible study and
mentoring relationships.[2]&Christians cannot be in the business of
throwing troublesome people in society away, because this is in direct
contradiction to the ministry of reconciliation Jesus called us to in 2
Corinthians 5:18-19. If there is a criminal who is not disrupting the peace
and order in a society, removing them from that society serves no
purpose with no specific benefit to the individual or to the society at the
end of their prison sentence. Minor drug offenses fall into this category. A
person that gets drunk or high in the privacy of their own home and does
not harm anyone else should not be punished the same way that murder,
rape, and theft crimes are punished because the effect on the health of
the overall society is not the same. Petty offenses should be dealt with
through fines as a deterrent.[3]&Another option could be mandatory
counseling and rehab for certain drug offenses, because confining
someone in jail does not fix the problem. As the authors mentioned, some
people need treatment instead of punishment, but sometimes criminal
action is simply the result of sin.[4]&Whichever the case, these minor
offenses should be a sign that help is needed to improve our society by
building up and strengthening the people that make up the society.
Word Count: 504
&
Bibliography
&
McQuilkin, J Robertson, and Paul Copan.&An Introduction to Biblical Ethics:
Walking in the Way
of Wisdom. third ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, an imprint of InterVarsity
Press, 2014.
&
[1]&J Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan,&An Introduction to Biblical
Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom, third ed. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP,
an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2014), 441.
&
[2]&Ibid., 441.
&
[3]&McQuilkin and Copan,&Introduction to Biblical Ethics, third ed. (Downers
Grove, IL: IVP, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2014), 433.
&
[4]&Ibid., 429.
