I'm a big fan of Aaron Sorkin. At least I was before Studio 60. Sports Night and his years on The West Wing are some of my favorite TV ever.
The end of the episode has the president speaking with his childhood priest, Father Cavanaugh (the president is Catholic). He offers the president two nuggets of advice:
A few minutes later, the president says he has prayed for wisdom but none has come. In response to that, Cavanaugh replies:
Both are examples of standard folksy wisdom I heard a hundred times growing up in church. God is the sole arbiter of justice, and "the Lord helps those who help themselves". I doubt very many Christians, or other theists for that matter, would disagree with either sentiment.
I've been re-watching the first season of The West Wing on DVD lately. I just watched a season 1 episode titled "Take This Sabbath Day", which is basically Sorkin's take on the death penalty and the relationship of religion and politics. Most of the episode involves the president and other White House staffers having deep philosophical discussions with each other and their religious leaders about capital punishment.
“‘Vengeance is mine,’ sayeth the Lord.” You know what that means? God is the only one who gets to kill people.
You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety. Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. “Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?
But it wasn't until this last viewing that I realized how completely contradictory they are.
The first says, let God decide who lives or dies. Don't interfere, he can handle it. The second says, God is active in your life, but he often works through others. A man in a rowboat is as much the hand of God as an angel swooping to your rescue.
So, if God does want to kill someone, why wouldn't he work in the same way? Why would he not use, for example, the U.S. judicial system?
Of course, when any people of faith decide to kill, whether it's capital punishment, or war, or ethnic cleansing, they always think they're doing God's will. So, "vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord" is catchy, but it's a lame argument against anything.
In the end, the president chose to put his own feelings on captial punishment aside and not interfere with the legislative and judicial branches. Not a bad episode, but not one of Sorkin's strongest. Still, the 1st 4 seasons of The West Wing rock - you should watch them if you haven't.
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You're right about this, of course. Then again, religious thinking is riddled with such contradictions.
Speaking of Sorkin, did you see the fictional encounter between Jed Bartlett and Barack Obama?
You're right about this, of course. Then again, religious thinking is riddled with such contradictions.
Sure, but usually the contradictions aren't juxtaposed so nicely.
The Bartlett meets Obama sketch is pretty good.
The whole world is full of these contradictions. Does Love and Mercy contradict with Justice and Correction? Does acceptance of what life gives live in contradiction to creating your own fate and luck? Life is full of contradictions.
I think justifying Capital punishment by using it as a deterrent is just awful. I think capital punishment is just awful. However, I would be ok with some limited hard labor as a deterrent. Especially if it also taught some useful skill outside of jail.
The whole world is full of these contradictions.
No, it's not.
Does Love and Mercy contradict with Justice and Correction?
No. Why would it? It's not always easy to decide between mercy and punishment, but they're not incompatible.
The inconsistency I pointed out in the West Wing episode was not that the characters were trying to be compassionate while meting out justice. It's that the priest simultaneously claimed that:
(1) God decides who lives and who dies.
(2) God's decisions are carried out through the decisions of people.
(3) People can't decide who lives and who dies.
Either humans should be empowered to deliver the will of God, or they shouldn't. To claim both is a contradiction.
Does acceptance of what life gives live in contradiction to creating your own fate and luck.
Again, no, why would it?
Well this is easy to explain. It's about Boundaries. Knowing when it's your responsibility and when it's time for God to act. Lets take a job search. To get a good job, you should
1. get a good education,
2. get training on how to interview and write a resume
3. send out resume, attend interviews
4. wait for the job offers to come in.
But sometimes despite all you can do they don't come in. But you try to control what you can and influence what you can, where you have power. Then wait for whatever to happen.
This is the way all of life is. That is what those teaching are. Do what you can, there is no excuse not to do what you can to accomplish what needs to be done. But also learn that there are things you can not change. Accept these and focus on what you can.
There are also things you may have the power to effect but maybe you shouldn't change. We want to deter crime. At one time the most effective way to deter crime was capital punishment. that was hundreds of years ago. Today, it doesn't work. Therefore I think we should let a persons life play out and let whatever happens happen. So you have to balance to opposing view points. That is what religion tries to do. Should I be merciful or should I be an agent of justice. Is there way to be both? That is what religion is trying to teach the whole world. Let the apparent contradiction live in harmony together and you will discover God.
The specific teachings you talk about deal with doing what you have the power to do, effect what you should effect and let the rest work it self out.
The is fundamentally the Serenity Prayer from AA
God give me the courage to change the things I can,
The Serenity to accept the things I can't
and the wisdom to know the difference.
One more thing
Either humans should be empowered to deliver the will of God, or they shouldn't. To claim both is a contradiction.
First you don't get to tell God how to run his universe. If you don't like the way he is running it, then find another one. Oh wait!!! you don't have the power to do that.
God gives us the power and authority to do certain things. He does not give us total authority and power. Nor should he. We do not claim that we are completely in charge of executing God's will. We have the mandate to spread God's love, his good will and what knowledge we have of him. However, he does not want us to go around and kill people anytime we think God wants us to. It's ok to care for the poor at any time. It's not ok with God to kill people for being poor. So God Gives us work to carry out his will but he decides where the work is and what it is. We are not given free reign to do anything we want.
Again it's a boundary issue. Carry out God's will on this earth where he has indicated for us to do. Do not take over the work he is to take care of.
Well this is easy to explain. It's about Boundaries. Knowing when it's your responsibility and when it's time for God to act.
No. "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord" is very clearly stating that people should not take the responsibility of deciding the difference between when to act, and when to let God act, when it comes to taking another human life.
Again it's a boundary issue. Carry out God's will on this earth where he has indicated for us to do. Do not take over the work he is to take care of.
That all sounds lovely, but it doesn't address the issue. Should humans kill other humans? "Its a mystery" and "life's full of contradictions" don't add much to the debate.
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