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[1] This issue of JLE uses four different methods to explore the ethics of punishment and incarceration. In order to encourage discussion about the issue, we have picked a quote from each essay that highlights the method used. Each quote is followed by discussion questions that a small group might engage.<\/p>\n
[2] Method One: Close Reading of Luther\u2019s Own Biblical Analysis.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tapio Leinonen takes a close look at Luther\u2019s Lectures on Deuteronomy.<\/em>\u00a0 He writes,<\/p>\n \u201cThe other part of Luther\u2019s teaching focuses on how to follow and interpret the Law \u2013 on how to rule and judge in a godly way. For this, Luther established a conceptual tool that borrows the concept of fairness or evenhandedness from Aristotle\u2019s Nicomachean Ethics<\/em>.This concept, epieikeia <\/em>in Greek becomes aequitas <\/em>in Latin and Billigkeit <\/em>in German. Luther uses the concept as an interpretive means to understand laws and statues with the goal of a just and equitable outcome. Importantly, Luther uses the concept of charitas<\/em> (love) synonymously with epieikeia<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0Leinenan says later, \u201cA fair commonwealth does not operate by vengeance but promotes justice and peace. Epieikeia (fairness)<\/em>, or charitas (<\/em>love), can guide us in interpreting and applying the laws.\u201d<\/p>\n [3] Method Two: Systematic Theological Consideration.<\/strong><\/p>\n Lauren Larkin explains how Lutheran understanding of justification changes the way Lutherans conceive of a criminal. Quoting theologian, Eberhard J\u00fcngel, she writes,<\/p>\n \u201cAn essential element in living out of the righteousness of God, <\/em>justification by faith alone, is that the person <\/em>has total and unconditional precedence over their work<\/em>.\u201d Neither good deed nor ill will be used to define the \u201cI\u201d of the person. One cannot become more <\/em>human or less <\/em>human based on good and bad deeds, respectively. The doctrine of the justification of sinners \u201cdemythologizes the myth of super-humans who surpass themselves with their successes\u2026.[as well as] demythologizes the myth of unhuman beings who have become non-persons through the atrocities they have committed.\u201d<\/p>\n [4] Method Three: Considering Personal Experiences in Ethical Deliberation<\/strong><\/p>\n Pamela Gustafson starts where Larkin ends: \u201cPrayer and worship place the believer in right relationship to her Creator and Sustainer.\u201d\u00a0 Gustafson shares her own experiences praying and worshiping with prisoners. She writes about the services,<\/p>\n \u201cOur worship is designed to help those of us involved to see each other and learn from each other. Our worship is different from traditional church services. It is designed to empower the imprisoned and to make them feel they are not \u201cthe least of these.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n [5] Method Four: Using Church Teachings to Discover Ethical Norms<\/strong><\/p>\n Tessa Faust uses ELCA church teachings as well as Scripture to assert a clear ethical command. She writes,<\/p>\n \u201cBeing silent or brushing off the injustice being done to immigrants should not be an option. We must remember that what is being done in detention centers is being done to the least of these in society. The church must be louder in its support of immigrants whether that be preaching from the pulpit or marching in the streets. Our church members must not only be aware but be active in speaking out against ICE detention facilities and the abuses going on. Any failure on the church and its members’ part to speak out against injustice is an act of injustice in and of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [1] This issue of JLE uses four different methods to explore the ethics of punishment and incarceration. In order to encourage discussion about the issue, we have picked a quote from each essay that highlights the method used. Each quote is followed by discussion questions that a small group might engage. [2] Method One: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,84,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congregational-discussion-guide","category-criminal-justice","category-immigration-refugee-issues"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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