Catholics/Re: Justice

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Expert: - 4/15/2004


Question
Hello Michael,

Please give me some insight into God's justice.
For example:  Jesus saves the woman caught in adultery from stoning, yet uses a whip to chase money changers out of the Temple.  And at The Last Supper, He tells His Apostles to be ready to carry a sword, yet when He is arrested, He tells Peter to put His sword away.

Jesus also says to forgive 70 x 7 before his crucifixtion and afterwards gives these keys to the Kingdom to Peter, the first Pope.

Today, what do we do about the repetitive adulterer, drug user, criminals?  Should we not lock up prostitutes, drug dealers, etc.?

When do we as Christians use the "whip?"

...There are a lot of anti-life Catholics in the Church, pro-homosexual agendas, and a host more.  Should it be time to demand booting them out? But then again we are all sinners. So, how do we balance justice with mercy?  


Thank you,


Paul

Answer
That's such a complicated question. But it's a darned good one. I don't know where I'd begin to answer. But here's a song by a Canadian songwriter which you might find interesting:

http://cockburnproject.net/songs&music/justice.html

In the meantime, if you'd like to follow-up, and maybe give me more time to think it over, feel free to do so!

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Michael Clark, Ph.D.

Expertise

I'm a progressive Catholic--not a liberal, conservative nor a single-minded critic of Catholicism. I simply believe that adults in the 21C should use the mind God gave them and not just repeat ancient and medieval modes of thinking.

I can probably help with questions that intelligently and respectfully question those aspects of Catholicism that are not infallible. But if you're looking for someone to vigorously defend or perhaps refute Catholicism as a whole, that's not me. So please ask another expert.

Experience

I run an educational website earthpages.org and know what the web has to offer. I might suggest hyperlinks and/or book titles as I have a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and a considerable personal library.

Publications
Print Media:
My table from "Religions and Cults" at earthpages.org is reproduced with permission in L. Lindsey, S. Beach and B. Ravelli, Core Concepts in Sociology, 2nd ed., p. 157

World Wide Web:
My online article "Letter to God" coauthored with Buddhist monk, E. Raymond Rock, appears on several different spirituality-based websites, including http://tinyurl.com/db7a5o

I've interviewed, as a Christian, a self-proclaimed mystic: http://tinyurl.com/cawykr

My articles appeared at the former New View magazine nuvunow.ca and are published at earthpages.org.

Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Religious Studies
M.A. in Comparative Religion
B.A. Hon. in Psychology/Sociology
For more info, please see my CV and letters of recommendation and my blog at michaelwclark.com.

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