PDF Format – 1999 Voters Guide

Side Bars – Who We Are – The Name – Christian, not Conservative – A 19th Century Christian Theologian’s Comments on Secular Conservatism – Crime and Restitution – Juries: Past and Present – The Notorious Ox and Safety – Self-Incrimination and the Bible – Judges versus Computers – Open Pits and Paying Your Own Way

Ballot Recommendations Summary Measure 68 Measure 69 Measure 70 Measure 71 Measure 72 Measure 73 Measure 74 Measure 75 Measure 76

Crime and Restitution

For over two centuries, America has struggled under a criminal justice system that has its roots in bad theology. In 1796, the Walnut Street jail in Philadelphia was converted from a jail (a temporary holding place) to become America’s first modern prison or penitentiary. The idea behind the move away from corporal punishment and the death penalty to incarceration was based, in part, on the theology of William Penn and other Quakers. They rejected the Biblical doctrine of total depravity. Penn and his followers believed that all men are basically good, and that man’s environment, not his sinful heart, was to blame for his crime. If they were left in a “cell” (like the monastic “cell”) to read the Bible and pray, it was believed that they would become “penitent,” hence the term “penitentiary.” Obviously, this system is broken, irreparably so. Both crime and prisons abound.

God’s way is far different. The basic truth behind Biblical criminal justice is restitution, which has several excellent aspects.

First, restitution in cases of theft is multiple. When a thief steals from someone, he should be required to pay back two-fold for what he stole.

Second, this restitution is restorative. This multiple restitution means the restoration to the victim of wholeness, and then some, for his trouble and distress.

Third, multiple restitution is punitive. It means punishment to the thief. He experiences what his victim would have experienced if his theft was successful – loss.

Fourth, because of this, Biblical restitution is merciful. It brings the thief to a realization of his sin, and provides the grace of God unto repentance for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see.

Fifth, biblical restitution is personal. Restitution is made to the victim, not to the State. Prisons tax the rest of society to pay for the prisoner’s food and shelter, because modern man thinks the environment is to blame for the crime, not the sinner’s heart.

In like fashion, the prisoner is often forced to make restitution to the community, because the community, not the individual, is seen as the victim. Biblically, the criminal is responsible for his own actions, he is punished for his sin, and the true victim is made whole. Now, that’s a criminal justice system to work and pray for!

This voters' guide produced by Parents Education Association, PAC.