Christians and the Casey Anthony verdict

Posted by Josh Howerton on Jul 5, 2011 | 3 comments

Yesterday when the Casey Anthony verdict was issued, I half-jokingly sent out the following tweet…

I was driving when the verdict was announced on 104.5 The Zone today and, to be totally transparent, my gut-reaction was simple anger.  To a largely-uninformed observer, it at least seems like a openly-dishonest mom killed her toddler for no greater reason than so she could party more freely and got away with it.  A few hours later, it seems like there are basically two ways Christians are responding to the verdict…

• People who feel justice was not served and are very angry. To be honest, this was my first response.  Many Christians with what appears to be a strong sense of justice are very angry and internally “in knots” (as one person I read put it), feeling that something must be done.

• People chiding other Christians for being angry. Many other Christians with what appears to be a strong sense of grace seem frustrated that Team A would want justice to be served.  ”After all, you didn’t get justice but were forgiven for your crimes”, they seem to be saying.  ”Who are you to want justice!?“

6 thoughts after some processing and prayer…

• I’m not saying that we know Casey Anthony killed her daughter. We don’t.  But that possibility at least appears most likely to people wrestling with emotions so I’m speaking in those terms.

• Christians should care (a lot) about our emotions toward events like these. Cultivating a heart that feels what God feels toward people, things, and circumstances is CENTRAL to following Christ.  This is what Scripture means when it praises David as being “a man after God’s own heart”.  His holiness was bound up in having emotions like God’s own emotions.

• Grace and Justice are on the same team. Many people seem to think that there are “justice people” who desire crimes/sins to be punished and “grace people” who don’t.  The last bullet will make the relationship between grace and justice most clear, but the concept of “grace” can ONLY be understood where there is a concept of “justice”.  If someone doesn’t feel that wrongs should be punished (justice), they’ll never feel anything needs to be forgiven (grace).

• It is not wrong to desire justice. As we pointed out in the Osama Bin Laden post, being people who love justice is one of the most often-repeated commands in Scripture and the proportionate punishment of the wicked is part of justice.  One of the God-appointed roles of human governments is to “be a terror to” bad conduct (Romans 13:1-7) and to “punish those who do evil” (1 Peter 2), ensuring that justice is done for the oppressed, or in this case “murdered”.

• It is utterly offensive to the gospel NOT to pray for and desire Casey Anthony’s salvation above all else. If our primary thoughts are “I hope she gets what she deserves” instead of “God, please save that girl who needs you“, it betrays us as having hearts that are not captivated by the gospel of grace in Christ.  Startlingly, this attitude is more offensive to God than physical murder (Matt 5:21-26).

• If Casey Anthony did murder her daughter, our hearts can rest because justice either already has been done (at the cross) or will be done in the future (hell). Christian forgiveness isn’t a cheap “Ahhh, that’s no big deal, buddy!” forgiveness.  It’s a deep and grave forgiveness based on a just God who forgives at the cost of his own Son’s life.  Because God is just, all wrongs will be recompensed.  If the murderer of Caylee Anthony trusts Christ, then God’s wrath for this murder was poured out on Jesus at The Cross and justice was done.  Or if the murderer of Caylee Anthony resists God in unbelief, God’s wrath for this murder will be poured out in the eternal, conscious torment of hell.  A deep faith in this God of Justice should give us hearts that can forgive others and rest.