Colorado Baker Case: Baker wins

And what theological implications are there in some of our statements? The Old Testament theocracy likely didn’t have DNA evidence yet had the death sentence for many, many violations.

 

I think the words of Jesus and Paul would require us to be good citizens regardless of the legal system of the society in which we live.

I also think that Jesus wasn't kidding when he told the parable of those that visited him in prison...

 

Ok, let's parse that a bit.

What is "guilt"? If you are looking for 100% perfect accuracy in the laying of blame for a crime, then you will not find that on earth. It doesn't exist.

So, you have two alternatives.

1. You are so strict with the rules of evidence and procedure that occasionally a guilty party goes free because of doubt.
2. Or, you are so loose with the rules of evidence and procedure that many innocent people go to prison.

So you have to pick.

As a society, we have chosen that, arising from Blackstone's formula expressed in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."

The alternative is preposterous.

So, in our society, "guilt" is whatever the ultimate trier of fact, be that judge or jury, says it is.

 

You should read it sometime.

The entire criminal and civil law is only a few chapters in Leviticus.

You didn't lie to the judge. At least, not more than once.

 

"Do not bear false witness" is one of those big ones. And in OT Israel because of the punishment that may be meted out.

 

Guilt is a concept of assigning blame, and there are only two authorities, Biblically, that have that power.

The first is, of course, God, the ultimate judge. We are not, however, discussing cosmological justice.
We are talking about human justice, which means, that a court, established by a government, is the only societal mechanism for assigning guilt or blame.

If someone rapes and murders someone, and actually does the deeds, then they are, in fact, NOT GUILTY of anything under human law until someone in authority says they are.

 

No, their conscious is a different matter entirely from legal guilt, which is determined on the basis of evidence, argumentation, etc. They might never get caught and turn themselves in because their personal guilt is too much to bear; or, they might not, and never be found guilty by a court of law, but be guilty all the same of having done the act. We're talking about recognition of the reality, not the reality itself.

 

Wow. That took quite the turn.