Focus on the Family

I recently discovered a news story that likely would not have bothered me if I followed my lazy custom and failed to read to the end. I really do not care that jurors bring their baggage into deliberations. The point of jury selection is to weed out the undesirable baggage with the understanding that you, as a litigant, get what's left. What bothered me most is not the judicial outcome but the response from Focus on the Family. I had heard of this group and generally thought of them patronizingly, "Oh, the poor little misguided right-wing Christians -- they're so confused and frightened."

For a bit of background, I vehemently oppose the death penalty. I think that my views are morally grounded in both Catholic tradition and my general sense of humanity. I do not oppose the death penalty exclusively for wrongly convicted felons, or excessively harsh sentences. I oppose it for everyone, including people like John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Timothy McVeigh and Osama Bin Laden. I applaud the defense lawyer for zealously finding this procedural loophole in order to prevent yet another execution.

At the end of the article, a Focus on the Family representative said that our judicial system was "bereft of morality" because it failed to allow jurors to use scripture passages as extrinsic evidence during deliberations. Considering my viewpoint on the death penalty, and the fact that I think that the confused little right-wing Christians focus too much of their energy on the Old Testament (I'm a New Testament gal, myself), I thought it strange that a Court that threw out a death penalty would be considered immoral. So, I investigated.

After reading the case, I discovered that the Court did not prohibit jurors opining with a basis in scripture. The Court prohibited citing to Leviticus as a controlling law and a justification for giving the death penalty to a convict. I wholeheartedly agree that personal experiences are in, Bible verses as evidence and/or law are out. The Bible is conflicting in a number of areas, both with itself and with the law our country has in place. For a couple of examples, look to slavery and polygamy. The Bible is a translation of a translation of a translation. Everything in there is subject to an interpretation based on historical context, textual and cultural context and practical knowledge. How does a camel get through the eye of a needle? Without biblical experts on hand to explain, I'm unwilling to trust the fate of jury deliberations to the imperfect understanding of a few misguided right-wing Christians.

Focus on the Family's response suggests a moral superiority that I cannot abide. My commentary on their website deserves its own post. In the meantime, feel free to explore, and be ill, at your leisure: According to Focus on the Family, homosexuality can be prevented.