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Archive: August 23, 2009 - August 29, 2009
What Is Justice for Lockerbie?
All the moral choices are cloudy and tangled in this case. When you go inward you see in yourself all the elements that clash here: mercy, anger, compassion, revenge, high-mindedness, impartiality, bias, and fairness exist side by side.
By Deepak Chopra | August 27, 2009; 8:03 PM ET | Comments (6)
A Global God
The newspaper isn't a prayerbook, but it does offer an up-to-the-minute outlet on what we need to do to make a difference.
By Erica Brown | August 27, 2009; 10:14 AM ET | Comments (5)
Myopic Mercy Cannot Undo Bad Karma
Vindictive punishment by mere mortals can too saddle those inflicting punishment with negative karmas, even if they seem justified. Behold the importance of ahimsa, or non-violence, in the Hindu ethos.
By Aseem Shukla | August 26, 2009; 11:04 PM ET | Comments (4)
Teddy Kennedy's Search for Meaning
Whatever Teddy Kennedy's personal devotion to his faith, the evidence is that he followed basic tenets of his Christianity and his Catholicism that taught him to serve others, and that is what gave his life the meaning he had been seeking for so long.
By Sally Quinn | August 26, 2009; 3:47 PM ET | Comments (32)
Forgetting How to Forgive
We show mercy to those whom we regard as scumbags because we are better than them. We forgive those who trespass against us because we do not wish to stoop down to their level.
By Arun Gandhi | August 26, 2009; 2:47 PM ET | Comments (15)
Senator Kennedy's Hope, and Heart for the Good Fight
Who now will speak for the powerless, the voiceless and those disregarded by the powerful? Who will fight simply for what is right?
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | August 26, 2009; 10:12 AM ET | Comments (12)
Ignorance About Sexually Transmitted Diseases
No, this is not the usual subject for an "On Faith" column, but the nonsense about sexually transmitted diseases purveyed by a blogger on my thread needs correction. Ignorance about STDs is one of the main reasons for their easy...
By Susan Jacoby | August 26, 2009; 9:09 AM ET | Comments (96)
Misdirected Compassion?
While I personally support the UK's banning of capital punishment, the Scottish legal system needs to rethink what compassion means and to whom it should be directed.
By Ramdas Lamb | August 26, 2009; 5:25 AM ET | Comments (2)
Compassion, Politics and Senator Kennedy
With the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy, I am reminded that a precious few can carry both: a passion for politics shaped by a belief in justice and guided by deep compassion.
By Susan K. Smith | August 26, 2009; 4:26 AM ET | Comments (7)
Lockerbie: Justice, Mercy, and Reputation
Only God is capable of setting things right after wrongdoing. Our jurisprudence can only approximate justice. But our vengeance, in violating love and forgiveness, is in itself unjust.
By Willis E. Elliott | August 25, 2009; 5:32 PM ET | Comments (5)
Scotland's False Compassion is No Compassion At All
The Scottish government took the path of least resistance; the one of least responsibility and the one which made them feel best about themselves. That is neither compassionate nor is it just.
By Brad Hirschfield | August 25, 2009; 4:04 PM ET | Comments (7)
The Angel of Death Lives Also in Libya
The freeing of terminally ill criminals can have only one justification: to save on the cost of medical treatment. It does seem strange that elements of compassion should emerge in these cases.
By Adin Steinsaltz | August 25, 2009; 2:40 PM ET | Comments (4)
The Limit of Mercy
The limit of mercy is the limit of faith.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | August 25, 2009; 12:53 PM ET | Comments (2)
Mercy a Commandment, Not a Legal Requirement
We people of the Book are commanded to show mercy. That is a given. But we have to be very careful about moving too quickly from mercy as an individual disposition and pardon as a legal act.
By Richard Mouw | August 25, 2009; 12:30 PM ET | Comments (2)
Scotland: Mercy Without Empathy
Governments cannot, and they should not, aspire to the heights of religious transcendence. They should make decisions that are accountable, and part of Scotland's accountability was to the magnitude of this crime and the suffering of the victims and their families.
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | August 25, 2009; 12:21 PM ET | Comments (3)
A View from Scotland's Next-Door Neighbor
I haven't fully made up my mind about the release of the man convicted but I sense that the reaction in America may not fully understand how many people here see things.
By Nicholas T. Wright | August 25, 2009; 11:04 AM ET | Comments (4)
Islamists and the Future of Democracy in the Arab World
The threat of global terrorism has provided a convenient excuse for Muslim autocrats and some Western policymakers to backslide or retreat from the promotion of democratization, to limit or control civil society and the rights of non-government organizations.
By John Esposito | August 25, 2009; 9:59 AM ET | Comments (1)
Shame on Scotland
Scotland has made a mockery of justice. Ask the families of the 270 people al-Megrahi murdered.
By Charles "Chuck" Colson | August 25, 2009; 9:58 AM ET | Comments (133)
When Vengeance and Compassion Collide
The fact is that neither execution nor the amount of time the Lockerbie bomber spends in prison will make the least difference to any of the dead.
By Herb Silverman | August 25, 2009; 4:47 AM ET | Comments (13)
Immoral, Unthinkable and Unforgivable
The release of the Lockerbie bomber was immoral, unthinkable, unforgivable.
By David Wolpe | August 24, 2009; 6:51 PM ET | Comments (13)
Serving Neither Justice Nor Mercy
An unrepentant mass murderer doesn't need to be released from prison to be shown mercy.
By Matt Maher | August 24, 2009; 6:20 PM ET | Comments (1)
The Real Motivation: Mercy or Money?
Even when mercy should be shown, it is not the usual way of governmental action. So, when Scotland's MacAskill kept talking about mercy, I kept wondering what was really up.
By Susan K. Smith | August 24, 2009; 4:37 PM ET | Comments (5)
Health Care: Commodity, Necessity or Responsibility?
Each human being has a moral responsibility for the health needs of the class of persons Jesus defined as "the neighbor," namely, the person in need.
By Willis E. Elliott | August 24, 2009; 2:19 PM ET | Comments (2)
Dying A Natural Death: Sufficient Mercy For A Mass Murderer
The Scottish justice secretary was wrong. The Lockerbie murderer deserved to die in prison, not to return home to be greeted as a hero.for participating in the murder of 270 people on Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988.
By Susan Jacoby | August 24, 2009; 8:40 AM ET | Comments (57)
