Why would a rapist be punished much more severely than someone who stole a pencil if these offenses are equal?

Question

And by "punished", I mean in the legal, court-of-law sense of the word.

Supposedly our legal system is based on Christian morality, and since most Christian responses to my last question indicated that Christian morality recognizes no varying degrees of transgression, no moral hierarchy, why the harsh punishment for one and not the other?

Folks, I know that court proceedings are the same as eternal judgment, but it was explained to me quite clearly that all offenses are equal to God, and the US system of law is supposedly based on God's morality, so... should not the law reflect how God feels about all offenses (and offenses in the law, again, are supposedly based almost entirely on Christian doctrine and the Bible)?

P.S. I'm not asking you to explain to me why rape is worse than stealing a pencil. I'm asking why our courts concern themselves with such distinctions if our system of law is based on God's morality, and God's morality ISN'T concerned with such distinctions.

SO many people didn't get this question.

Answer 1

There are degrees to sin. Some sins are worse than others. At the same time, in regards to both eternal consequences and salvation, all sins are the same. (Romans 6:23). All sin, no matter how “small,” is against an infinite and eternal God, and is therefore worthy of an infinite and eternal penalty. Further, there is no sin too “big” that God cannot forgive it. Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for ALL of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). Are all sins equal to God? Yes and no. In severity? No. In forgivability? Yes.

As for US law ... I'm hardly an expert on this subject, but it appears to me that the US constitution is based to a great extent on the English Bill of Rights from 1689. This document was formed by English parliamentarians wanting major reform around the time of the crowning of William of Orange and Mary of York. Its not based on "God's law" per se. If it did why did they leave out Adultery? or Using the Lord's name in vain? For that matter the 10 comandments have no mention of guns, freedom of speech, or keeping religion out of the government.

Answer 2

I did not see the question you are talking about, but I assume your talking about the phrase "all sins are equal." Some people get confused about this, but what it means is that sin is sin in God's eyes, no matter how big or how small. However, this doesn't mean the punishments for sins are equal. Killing someone constitutes a much greater punishment than stealing a pencil, because the 1st offense affects many people and causes much more grief. Same with raping.

Answer 3

If our legal system were based upon Christian morality, there would be alot more grace in the courtroom lol.

We do in fact recognize varying degrees of transgression, but God sees all sin as blackness. To God, the sin is in the heart and puts a black stain there; it can only be removed by His Love.

But here on earth, we have to discipline according to the degree of the crime. Stealing a pencil is not as bad as rape, in that it is easier to restore the victim to wholeness. The perp, however, has the same problem, a blackness in their heart.

Answer 4

Our legal system is surely not based on Christian morality. Although we use Christian morals within our system, we surely cannot compare the laws of man with the laws of God. I often wonder why an eastern Muslim woman can be stoned to death for committing adultery while the man gets no punishment for the same crime...those laws are surely not of God.

Answer 5

In my opinion, Church and State have different moral laws. The Court system is man-made, and therefore, have different levels of man's ideas of what is wrong and right. A rape is theft and violence to another....the theft of a pencil, which is low in monetary value (usually, lol, a diamond stuuded one or one made of pure gold, etc would be another matter) is a low key violation....

The distinction in the Bible is an object lesson for Christians whom are judging others even though they themselves have sinned one way or another....all are weak in some area, and Christians are to hate the sin, love the sinner, and let God be the Judge and jury....

Sorry I missed your last question....will have to look for it

Peace be with you! :)

Answer 6

For most of us, like you and I, the answer is obvious. I wonder if we see an answer about 'free will'. Or about man's law compared to god's law. The biblical god was not very harsh on rapists. They were punished by having to marry their victim. Oh yea, lets punish the woman some more, that makes a lot of sense.

Answer 7

All sins are equally irritating to God. An unrepentant sinner, regardless of the list of sins accumulated in his or her life, will not be accepted by God.

The Bible says that the wages of sin is death.

They are talking about the eternal death that befalls us by being rejected by God.

They also speak of redemption from sin by accepting Jesus, and following His commands to become acceptable to God once again, regardless of sin.

Now, that is God's set up.

Humans, on the other hand are not as good at forgiveness. Humans set up the legal system, and dole out punishments for the various transgressions. Humans deem what is a big crime and what is a small one, and concoct various punishments for each.

In the Old Testament, we see God teaching humans, the Jews in particular, about right and wrong. He was teaching them to recognize wrong, and make it right. He was teaching them about paying for sin, sacrificing for sin, and making things right again. Once they got the hang of all that, and understood that because of all the unrepented sin they had accumulated they were unacceptable to God, he taught them the final lesson.

This was that He would send one Man, His very Son, to clean up the whole sin mess once and for all. He would become the final and ultimate sacrifice for all sin. This opened the door for us to come directly to God and repent of whatever sins we had. There was no need for us to sacrifice anything any more, as that piece was already done.

When we accept Jesus as the final sacrifice, and agree to follow His commands, we are found to be in an acceptable state once again, and we are welcomed by God to his home, which we call Heaven.

Answer 8

different crimes different punishments. They are based on classifications.
Rape is not the same as stealing a pencil. stealing a pencil does not violate ones body. human life is more valuable ,then a piece of wood. common sense. what would you consider worse. If someone raped you, or your daughter or wife. which is more important to you?

Answer 9

You are asking a good question, but transgression against man's law, and transgressions against God's laws, do not have equal consequences.

Sin on earth has eternal consequences if not repented of, and covered by the blood of Christ.

You can repent of your transgressions against the law on this earth, but you'll still get put in jail, most likely. One is temporal (this earth) one is eternal.

Not the same thing. And hon, we got the question. You're not hearing the answer.

Answer 10

Weeellllll.....if we look at the examples in the bible - there were different punishments for different crimes. When someone stole, they were to give back what they stole and then some. If someone got raped, they were to be put outside of the city and stoned to death.