The blog, god-of-small-things is no more.
At least for awhile.
Bob Smietana had one of my personal “A” list blogs.
It wasn’t on my personal “A” list because it got lots of traffic, or made all the right noises to move up blog ranking lists.
Bob lives what he writes and he writes very, very well.
He has set the blog aside for all the right reasons, and I harbour the hope he’ll return.
He left with a post that disturbs me to the core.
It starts with this:
One last post before I go.
Jimmy Ray Slaughter was executed Tuesday. There was no hue and cry from conservative Christians. Dawn Eden was silent. As was The New Pantaguel , Media Culpa, Mere Comment , Peggy Noonan, and almost every other commentator now trying to save Teri Schiavo’s life.
God speed Bob.
Published 3 years, 8 months ago
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I guess I have a different definition of murder as being the intentional killing of innocent life.
I have had the pleasure of working with inmates in a Canadian maximum security facility. I must admit that it seems there is one part of the text of Matthew chapter 25 that many of us who are Christian fail to take seriously: the care and concern for the prisoners. Jesus does not make the distinction between whether the prisoners are innocent or guilty. And if they are the latter, then they are all the more in need of our care.
Brad Drell, an Episcopal lawyer who is involved in prison ministries, calls the death penalty a kind of “retroactive abortion” on his blog:
http://descant.classicalanglican.net/index.php?p=49
Wow. That is a uncomfortable, hit you between the eyes post.
Doug: Even the law allows for murder sometimes being unintentional.
I wouldn’t call that murder.
dh,
Apart from Christ, none of us is “innocent.”
I believe that God has moved us away from vengeance as the basis for punishment. To me, executing a person is similar to saying that God is incapable of redeeming their life.
If the idea is that capital punishment is Christian because of what the Old Testament says, consider that by that standard every murderer must be executed — as well as adulterers and homosexuals.
But all governments are not Christian. Their job is to protect us and also promote an incentive for less crime. They are also not individuals. Much of what Christ said was to individuals or to a group of individuals. I won’t get into the NT perspective on adulterary and homosexuality. I think that opens pandoras box on your side.
Doug: I can only speak as a Canadian. We do not have the death penalty. It has been proven it is not a deterrent. It has also been proven (here in Canada also!) that innocent people have been imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.
I understand others may believe that the state has a responsibility to kill those who have killed. Since the individuals upholding law are imperfect, and no government can protect us or provide full justice, I believe the flaws do not merit giving government authority to execute.
I’m not going to get into the whole capital punishment debate; I just want to ask a couple of questions: Why does it seem to be so hard for some people to see a moral distinction between the execution of a convicted murderer and the intentional starving to death of an helpless innocent woman? Even if you disagree with capital punishment, isn’t there a distinction to be made here? If you can see the distinction, then why act surprised that some people speak out against the one, but not the other?
Finally, some sauce for the goose: Where is the “hue and cry” from the people who usually speak out so vehemently against capital punishment regarding Teri Shiavo? If they’re so against the killing of a convicted murderer, shouldn’t they be even more against the killing of an innocent woman?
dh,
I grant that we differ on many issues, but I would hope that we wouldn’t see everything as simply “sides.” In many ways we’re on the same side — that is, faithfully trying to discern God’s will.
Good questions Roy, and I don’t know that I see people as either/or.
Captial punishment isn’t an issue in Canada, I’m bringing up some good posts I’ve found on US blogs.
I’m not surprised at what people are speaking out about at all.
As for your final questions, I’ll leave them to my southern friends, because I don’t know who is speaking out and it is not a left/right dilemma for me personally.
Roy
Eric Zorn’s column on Terri Shiavo made the point I was trying to make about the her case, and the case of Jimmy Ray Slaughter. In listing ironies about Terri’s case, he lists this one:
“Ironic that social conservatives, who are usually enthusiastic about consigning sentient human beings to death based on court rulings, are so dubious of the legal outcome in this case.”
If the courts are wrong about Terri’s condition, couldn’t they be wrong in death penalty cases?
Bob,
On what evidence do you base the assertion that social conservatives are “enthusiastic about consigning sentient human beings to death based on court rulings?” Support for the death penalty does not necessarily mean one is “enthusiastic” about it. I’m not “enthusiastic” about sending someone to prison, but I’m dead set against tearing them down.
As far as being dubious of the legal outcome of the Shiavo case, there is plenty of reason to be. I’ve linked to just one summary of that evidence in another comment thread here; I’d be very interested in your take on it.
With the resent tragedy in the news the questions should be asked about Death with Dignity. Here in Oregon we legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide to help such people. The question that we are polling are should there be a national “Death with Dignity act?” Should the laws about pain medicine be relaxed? Should there be Universal Health Care so that money would not be a factor? You can vote on the poll here. http://christianityandtheconfusion.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2005/3/22/464295.html