Opinion: Bible instructive on dealing with crime

The topics of prison and police reform are hot items, nationally. Lots of people are giving their opinions, whether solicited or not; but, no one is asking if the Bible gives us any guidance about these things. For the record, it does.

As a bit of background, remember that the Mosaic law regarding the kings in Israel (found in Deuteronomy 17) kept the ruler on a tight leash. He was not allowed to veer from the commandments, to the left or the right. He couldn’t make it up as he went.

If God did not tell him to do a thing, then it wasn’t allowed. In this respect, the law of God is similar to the U.S. Constitution, both of them being “limited powers” documents.

With that in mind it is instructive that the Scripture never allows for either prisons or police forces. (It acknowledges the pagan use of such things, but makes no allowance for them in God’s nation.)

There are no prisons under biblical law, because caging and confining are not biblical punishments. In fact, it could be argued that taxing a victim of crime, so that her oppressor can be supported for years in prison, is another crime. Scripturally, criminal acts are dealt with through restitution (paying back what was stolen or destroyed) or punished in the actual body of the criminal (as in, indentured servitude, public whipping, or capital punishment).

What about police? Under the law of God, neighbors were supposed to help protect neighbors. Heads of households were charged with protecting their own families. When the need arose to capture a bad guy, citizens got the job done.

I realize how fanciful that sounds to modern, American ears, so completely have we delegated these jobs to third parties. But, a quick read in American history will show that this is exactly how it worked in the early years of this nation.

French observer, Alexis de Tocqueville, reported in his 1840 work, “Democracy in America,” that almost every crime in America was punished, without much of a police force (at least compared to France) because the people worked together.

The first police departments in America (as distinct from a small sheriff’s office) were formed for the purpose of enforcing runaway slave laws. For documentation, see Dr. Joel McDurmon’s massive, historical research in the book, “The Problem of Slavery in Christian America.”

In fact, the biblical prescription for Israel’s government was a very minimal system. It was centered on individuals practicing self-government under the simple, moral commands of God, with a court system that was only “activated” to deal with actual disputes or crimes.

Again, I know this sounds insane to American ears, ears which are used to hearing government commands issued that cover literally every human activity from bringing babies into the world, to how to bury the dead.

Real liberty sounds crazy — crazy scary. We might as well admit it. We are that people that Ben Franklin scolded for a willingness to trade freedom for security.

Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:

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