Religion, crime and punishment 👩⚖️ Flashcards
Crime
An offence punishable by law
Punishment
something legally done to someone who has been found guilty of breaking the law
Good actions outside of the law
- Charity
- Being kind and compassionate
Evil actions
Inside - death, injury, suffering
Outside - Adultery, abortion
Christian responses to evil actions
- no person is evil
- human are not perfect
- original sin from Adam and Eve
- created good so there must be a reason
7 reasons for crime
poverty
upbringing
Mental illness
Addiction
Greed
Hate
Opposition to an unjust law
Preventing poverty quote
‘Focusing on poverty and sacrificing for the poor are at the heart of the gospel’ - Pope Francis
Poverty christian view
Society should ensure that no one needs to steal food.
In this way, they support food banks.
Upbringing christian view
Parents should teach their children what is right and wrong.
Mental illness christian view
Treating the causes of the illness is the most loving thing to do.
Addiction christian view
Support rehabilitation, they permit alcohol but not to excess.
Greed christian view
10 commandments forbid envy and this is what often causes greed.
Hate christian view
Jesus taught to love everybody, including your enemies
Opposition to unjust law christian view
Some may agree - only if violence is not involved.
3 aims of punishment
Retribution
Deterrence
Reformation
Christian attitude to lawbreaker
- hate the crime not the criminal
- should be treated fairly in the court of law
- Parable of the sheep and goats show that helping prisoners is a good thing.
Quote for retribution
‘life for lie, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’
Quote for reformation
‘Do not take revenge my dear friends..On the contrary…Do not be overcome evil but overcome evil with good.’
Quote for suffering
‘We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.’
Christian attitude towards suffering
- it is wrong to blame God fro suffering
- God gave humans free will so God cannot stop them from doing wrong.
3 types of punishment
- Prison
- Corporal punishment
- Community service
2 forgiveness quotes
- ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’
- ‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.’
forgiveness defintion
To show mercy and pardon someone for what they have done wrong.
Arguments concerning the death penalty
- Innocent people may die
- The principle of utility
- The sanctity of life
Sanctity of life teaching
- Only God can take a life as all life is holy and created by God.
