Dan Z wrote:That was the gist of my thinking Bootstrap. In my Letter I said that “ justice demands that Jeriah Mast face the international consequences for his actions.” Having firsthand experience with the Haitian prison system, I simply raised a sincere concern that his life might be in danger in that setting. The Haitian courts won’t sentence him to death - but because of the inhumane prison system in Haiti his setting might very well be a death sentence.
Something about this statement does not sit very well at all with me (nor did it with Wade), probably in light of our cultural backgrounds. Something about this statement does sit just fine with most of the rest of the people on MennoNet.
It's probably worth exploring why that is. Dan, I completely get where you're coming from and why you say it; at the same time, the statement triggers an emotional reaction from me (and from other people) that's probably worth considering.
I'm just going to throw a twist into this to do some thought provoking. Before I do I want to emphasize that I think JM needs to be held accountable to the law for his crimes.
Lets place ourselves in Saudi Arabia or Nazi Germany where homosexuality is against the law. Assume we're confronted with a situation where a member in our church is exposed as a homosexual. It's a grievous sin and it's against the law. Exposure to authorities is likely a death sentence. How should we respond?
We can look at the Bible, where we should always start our thinking. So Acts 25, Paul is facing a death penalty, his own Christian prophet friends have informed him so. Verse 11:
"For if I be an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die..."
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Take the position that you're wrong, and your goal is to be less wrong over time. --Elon Musk
Josh wrote:Something about this statement does not sit very well at all with me (nor did it with Wade), probably in light of our cultural backgrounds. Something about this statement does sit just fine with most of the rest of the people on MennoNet.
It's probably worth exploring why that is. Dan, I completely get where you're coming from and why you say it; at the same time, the statement triggers an emotional reaction from me (and from other people) that's probably worth considering.
Josh...I really appreciate this honest response. Believe it or not, I feel some of the same gut reaction.
It is interesting - as I mentioned earlier, my post was probably over 500 words, many of them calling for justice to be carried out, consequences to be served. But my brief parenthetical aside about being concerned that Jeriah, as a predatory homosexual pedophile missionary, might very well not be allowed to live long in a Haitian prison got the most visceral response. Honestly, I'm not surprised - Jeriah is a child rapist...there may be no more detestable title for a human to bear - and perhaps none more worthy of punishment. So when I speak a word of concern that his life be spared, that seems to be an affront to justice. There is a sense that in order to fully pay for his detestable crimes and set things right he ought not to be spared any of the consequences related to his crime...even if he runs the risk of torture or death in a Haitian jail. Let the consequences of his actions play out without interference.
I understand - that perspective would certainly be easier for most people to abide by - but for a number of reasons (mostly grounded on my understanding of the non-resistant/enemy-love teachings and example of Christ) I can't be at peace with the potential loss of life - even if my gut wants to.
Instead of hypotheses about what might happen to Jeriah IF he was to be put in a Haitian prison how about we pray for his victims in Haiti who are receiving death threats? Can we focus our attention on them for a bit instead of on Jeriah Mast?
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No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly. --J.R.R. Tolkien
When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't crawl - when you can't do that...you find someone to carry you. --Firefly
Aslanhasheard wrote:Instead of hypotheses about what might happen to Jeriah IF he was to be put in a Haitian prison how about we pray for his victims in Haiti who are receiving death threats? Can we focus our attention on them for a bit instead of on Jeriah Mast?
Has anyone indicated that they aren't praying for the victims? Isn't it possible to do both?
Aslanhasheard wrote:Instead of hypotheses about what might happen to Jeriah IF he was to be put in a Haitian prison how about we pray for his victims in Haiti who are receiving death threats? Can we focus our attention on them for a bit instead of on Jeriah Mast?
This...
Fact of the matter is that at this point the criminal justice process is going to work its way through without taking into account church opinions on the matter. I seriously doubt CAM or the Mennonite Church has enough clout to affect the outcome of this case in any meaningful way. Should they even wish to. The Justice Department and State Department will work with the Haitian government and they will all come to an agreement as to how the case will proceed. Unfortunately, American pedophiles committing crimes abroad is a common problem and this case is nothing unique. Based on similar past cases it seems he will most likely be tried in the US for crimes committed abroad. Which is probably the outcome the Haitians will want also as they are unlikely to want to have to deal with trying and imprisoning a high-profile American and keeping him safe in a Haitian prison.
At this point we have zero reason to believe that JM's case will be handled improperly or unjustly. Rather than hand-wringing about the criminal justice process, the more productive approach would seem to be:
1. Working to clean house within church organizations to prevent this sort of thing from happening again
2. Working for recovery and peace for his victims.
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A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
Josh wrote:Something about this statement does not sit very well at all with me (nor did it with Wade), probably in light of our cultural backgrounds. Something about this statement does sit just fine with most of the rest of the people on MennoNet.
It's probably worth exploring why that is. Dan, I completely get where you're coming from and why you say it; at the same time, the statement triggers an emotional reaction from me (and from other people) that's probably worth considering.
Josh...I really appreciate this honest response. Believe it or not, I feel some of the same gut reaction.
It is interesting - as I mentioned earlier, my post was probably over 500 words, many of them calling for justice to be carried out, consequences to be served. But my brief parenthetical aside about being concerned that Jeriah, as a predatory homosexual pedophile missionary, might very well not be allowed to live long in a Haitian prison got the most visceral response. Honestly, I'm not surprised - Jeriah is a child rapist...there may be no more detestable title for a human to bear - and perhaps none more worthy of punishment. So when I speak a word of concern that his life be spared, that seems to be an affront to justice. There is a sense that in order to fully pay for his detestable crimes and set things right he ought not to be spared any of the consequences related to his crime...even if he runs the risk of torture or death in a Haitian jail. Let the consequences of his actions play out without interference.
I understand - that perspective would certainly be easier for most people to abide by - but for a number of reasons (mostly grounded on my understanding of the non-resistant/enemy-love teachings and example of Christ) I can't be at peace with the potential loss of life - even if my gut wants to.
I grapple with the same feelings Dan. To take advantage of third world circumstances to sexually abuse young people is gut-wrenching to me and my first instinct is to say that doing so deserves third world "justice". Having lived in Liberia, Africa for 4 years and knowing what third world "justice" looks like, I have to temper my first instinct however and ask the question, is that instinct Christlike? What does justice look like in this case is something I don't know how to answer from a NT perspective.
As Ken said, we don't have any reason yet to think that punishment for those crimes won't happen and that is what God has ordained the government to do, so I'm simply going to leave that in God's hands and put my trust there.
I'm also going to keenly observe how support and restitution for the victims is handled and I sincerely hope that CAM and J.Mast's church prioritize that above anything else. Justice calls for that.
Here's an interesting illustrative story from our time in Haiti:
Most who have lived in Haiti know that when a thief gets caught in the act, mob justice can be swift and often deadly. This is the way street justice often works in a country with a broken civil justice system. Well, a number of years ago one such thief was discovered in the Delmas section of Port-au-Prince, and the cry rang out in the street for him to be chased down and pay for his crime. He ended up trapped by a mob of dozens of angry people on a dead-end street which happened to be in front of the Mennonite Central Committee guest house. As people picked up stones and sticks and closed in on the robber, hearing the commotion and fearing the thief would be lynched, a few of the MCC American and Haitian staff bravely placed themselves between the thief and the mob, pleading for his life. They were able to keep the mob from taking its justice long enough for the police to arrive and usher the thief away.
As a non-resistant Christian I felt a real kinship with my MCC friends who put themselves in harms way out of their conviction that they should save the life of this criminal. One could argue that any thief in Haiti knows the consequences of getting caught in the act, and that this fellow simply deserved the justice that would rightfully be meted out by the culture in which he lived. You could say he should have known better - so let the chips fall where they may - and actually by saving his life the MCC staff deprived the thief's victims of the restitution they deserved. But these missionaries knew that the teachings and example of Jesus called them to be peacemakers in the face of violence, and so they preserved the life of this undeserving thief...just like Jesus did for them. Despite what some are insisting, I have never argued that Jeriah should avoid the legal consequences for his wrongs in Haiti and the US - in fact I have argued the contrary, he should do the time he has coming to him...but my concern is that that even the life of a child rapist has value before God - and that if I am called to the non-violent way of Christ, how can I stand by and give blessing to Jeriah (or ANYONE else) being turned over to what I know full well may be the mob justice of a Haitian prison.
As Ken has pointed out, the reality is that my opinion will likely make little difference in the end, the US and Haitian justice systems will need to work out Jeriah's fate, but what I can do, for consistency sake, is to lend my voice to his humane treatment and the preservation of his life because I am committed to the sanctity of life - even if it is the life of one who has done such evil - in the hopes that even a child rapist can find redemption some day.
