Just To Give You An Idea

Last updated on: April 11, 2022 at 11:00 am by C. Don Jones

Just To Give You An Idea 2022-04-11T11:00:46-06:00 C. Don Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The guide said it over and over again. “Just to give you an idea.” An idea is definitely not an experience. It is impossible to hand over one’s own experience to another person. Our guide was a former inmate in the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. It once housed James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. It was a maximum security facility. The former prison is now a museum and distillery. Tourists like me show up and learn the outlay to the place. Even though the buildings are deteriorating, one gets a glimpse of the conditions the state housed its’ worst of the worse. But, as the guide said, we only got just an idea.

Just Deserts

“I don’t think we should be giving prisoners luxuries,” says the cashier in the gift shop. In other words, the punishment should be exacting, humiliating, and dehumanizing. Or what we hear called “just deserts.” (I know the word is pronounced as ‘desserts.’ But the spelling is correct)

For people who idolize Joe Arpiao and his cruelty to prisoners, nothing hinting at leniency should be allowed. Brushy Mountain was once also a coal mine. The state of Tennessee exploited the “involuntary servitude” of criminals loophole in the Thirteenth Amendment. Once Reconstruction ended former slaves were convicted and leased by the State to mining operations. The use of slave labor for the mines was a cause of the Coal Creek War between free miners and the Tennessee Coal Company in Anderson County.

Brushy was constructed to be a mining operation after that in 1896 until the 1960’s. “It was just slave labor,” our guide said, “that’s all it was.”

In 1969, it was reclassified as a maximum security prison and the “end of the line” for most state prisoners.

Cruelty As A Goal

Brushy is a good example of the human capacity for limitless cruelty. Cruelty is not just. Some crimes cause an almost instinctive revulsion in most of us. The Alt-Right’s labeling of everyone with whom they disagree a “pedophile” plays on this. Religious conviction, since it is deep-seated in a person’s psyche, is often a cover for the desire to commit acts of cruelty. Politicians speaking to religious conservatives often quote scripture to justify “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Why does cruelty become a goal? Our guide paused during the tour to talk about Ukraine and Vladimir Putin. In his outrage, he said, “they ought to put him in here.” Many in our group agreed. So, at least in his mind, there are people to whom it is just to inflict the suffering he and others unjustly endured. This feeling is similar to that which says, “my parents beat the tar out of me and I turned out all right.” One does not recognize the suffering itself caused the warped attitude toward others. Our culture accepts cruelty as normal.

Right And Just?

Churches are approaching the end of Holy Week. We read the passages of the Bible that illustrate the suffering of Jesus. Preachers are tempted to describe Jesus’ suffering as unique. This is a mistake. Such preaching only makes cruelty to one another more justifiable. People get the idea Jesus suffering unjustly and worse than anyone else before or since then makes our cruelty lesser than the worst. But Luke makes it clear that Jesus’ suffering was not worse.

When one of those crucified with Jesus asks him to save himself and them, the other says, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And indeed we have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:40b-41) Then he makes his famous plea, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (v. 42) At first blush it appears Luke is only talking about how the suffering of the two criminals is just. But note that Jesus’ suffering is not any worse than theirs. Jesus dies in the way of “common criminals” of his day.

Jesus answers, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” The “justly condemned” criminal will be among the righteous in the next world. I wonder what the family of his victim thought of these words. That statement is just as scandalous as the one made earlier, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (v. 34b) The textual provenance of verse 34 is disputed and the topic of repentance is important for our interpretation.

Abuse of Another

Abuse is never justified. When we suffer abuse, we often wish it to return on the heads of those who abuse us. Just to give them an idea of our experience. The point of the golden rule is not to do unto others what has been done to you. We often cannot visit retribution on those who abuse us. What we do is pass that abuse on to other people. Jesus does not expect the criminal next to him to suffer because he has. The man next to him decides, in reverence to God, he will not wish his suffering on someone else.

Christians should stop and think about the desires we have to inflict suffering on other people no matter what they have done. This consideration is the most important part of “bearing the cross.” Injustice must stop. But are we practicing justice toward another person by wishing them evil? I often feel the criminal who berates Jesus was so warped he wanted everyone to suffer as he did. Jesus takes the opposite approach in that moment. He claims those demonstrating cruelty have no idea of what they are doing.

Previous Post

April 7, 2022

Translation of a Recently Discovered Fragment

Next Post

April 16, 2022 Highway Out of Hell

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Afghanistan Anxiety Ascension Sunday Baptism Barack Obama Biblical Interpretation Bigotry Book Banning BSA Buddhism Choice Christmas Church Discipline Community Conscience Conspiracy theories COVID-19 Culture Wars death cults deconstruction Devotional Divine Judgment Donald Trump Earth Day Election Day empathy Environmentalism Evangelism Exploitation of the Poor Faith False Claims fascism Fear Forgiveness Genocide government Grace Gun Violence Halloween Hate Health Hillbilly Elegy Hindu Holy Communion Holy Week Homelessness Hope Identity Integrity Islam Joe Biden John Hagee Kamala Harris Labor Lent Liberation Theology Lies Love Love as action Neurological disorders Non-Christian Religions Online Worship Original Goodness Pandemic Peace Pentecost Philosophy Preaching Progressive Christianity Racism Redemptive Violence Myth Resentment Saint's Days Satire Sobriety social media Spiritual Self Care Spirituality Technology The Kingdom of God The United Methodist Church Theology Transfigurations Sunday Transgender persons Truth Uncategorized Violence Wesleyan Working Class

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 October 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 February 2018 January 2018 August 2017 May 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 February 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the first miracle performed by Elisha?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Healing Naaman’s leprosy Parting the Jordan River Multiplying oil Raising a boy from the dead