Largely because of this penalty-centered view of justice, Western Christianity’s understanding of justice has become intrinsically intertwined with state law. Due to the complex and historic relationship between church and state in our nation, there is little distinction between committing a sin against God and committing a crime against the state. Christians largely see the state as morally obligated to punish offenders, exclusively responsible for criminal justice, and divinely ordained for human governance. Our criminal justice system has thereby become an ordained agent of “divine”
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