advent: can we hope for tookie williams?

it is so remarkable to hear terms like grace and redemption being tossed about in the media this morning. and the question, of course, is can someone really be redeemed, and if so, can we really confer grace, or at least a human approximation of it, in the case of those who have committed horrendous wrongs?

here is a thoughtful journalist reflecting on some of the key theological issues at stake in the debates over the fate of stanley "tookie" williams. and it is from the bbc so it has the virtue of pointing out how hypocritical we look as a highly christian nation seemingly unwilling to admit the possibility of a role for grace and redemption in our public life.

one of the key points in the article is that the issue in the case of mr. williams, from a christian perspective, is not how good he is or how useful to the effort to stop gang violence. rather, he raises the question of if we can politically accept the fundamentally religious truth of the possibility of human redemption, and if so, defer the work of final judgment to god while in this world leaving open that door for change.

i think it is a profound issue, and perhaps the most significant issue, from a christian perspective, with regard to the death penalty.

here's the beginning of the article:

Can a murderer ever be redeemed?
By Alex Kirby
Religious affairs analyst, bbc

The arguments over the fate of the convicted murderer Stanley "Tookie" Williams challenge us to decide whether we are all capable of change.

Whether Williams should die for murder now rests with California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Los Angeles district attorney's office has said of Williams: "There can be no redemption... and there should be no mercy."

His supporters say he should be spared to continue trying to persuade young people not to join the urban gang world, as he did.

Everybody redeemable

Oddly, for a country as obsessed with religious observance as the US, the Christian argument seems almost an afterthought.

If it were central, the district attorney's statement would have to be withdrawn, because in traditional Christian theology everybody is eligible for redemption.

By this yardstick even such icons of loathing as Hitler, Pol Pot and Osama Bin Laden can be redeemed.

And Williams' supporters would have to change tack as well, and stop arguing for him to be spared on grounds of his utility alone.

In Christian teaching redemption is free, but it is not automatic

It does not matter, in the teaching of Catholic, Anglican and many other churches, how "useful" or "deserving" anyone is.

All of us are on a journey towards redemption, towards being the people we are capable of being.

And God, the churches say, has done everything that is needed to redeem us. All we have to do is to accept redemption.

But it does come at a price. In Christian teaching redemption is free, but it is not automatic.

read the rest here

Comments

[joshua]

Thanks for this article and all your thoughts on this tragedy (no matter how you view it). arnold has denied clemency and it appears tookie will die tonight/this morning. mercy on all involved!

[A Christian Prophet]

The Holy Spirit's message on The Christian Prophet blog today says that as long as Tookie lives on earth he pays the price for his mistakes, but when no longer living on earth he is totally forgiven and free.

[christian Scharen]

to the Christian Prophet, my question is largely about the role of the state in making what to me is a judgment reserved for god. in st. paul's words, christians are to do this: " 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord.

st paul sums up this section with this commnent: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I don't think this is proof texting but rather one of many places where paul suggests that our living ought to take on the shape of god's redeeming measures, taking the form of a servant and suffering on our behalf for the sake of our redemption.

peace, chris