7th July 2026 Question box

Today’s question is:

Are we degrading people’s dignity by rehabilitating as opposed to punishing? (See “The humanitarian theory of punishment” by C S Lewis).

Punishment and cure

According to the Humanitarian theory, to punish a man even though he deserves it, is mere revenge, and, therefore, is immoral. C S Lewis argues that the Humanitarian theory negates the fundamental premise of justice that “the punishment must fit the crime.” When we remove the punishment fit for a crime and replace it with rehabilitation or cure for the crime, we remove the offender from the sphere of justice all together.

The Bible says that we are all created in the image of God. One of the attributes of being created in the image of God is our intrinsic quest for justice. That’s something that separates us from animals and defines us as “higher order beings.” We as humans have a quest for justice, and justice demands punishment. That’s why God says after giving the 10 commandments in Exodus.21:24-25 says …. “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, blow for blow … etc.” It is not personal revenge as some would make it out to be, but a reinforcement of the principle of “the punishment must fit the crime.” C S Lewis maintains that punishment is essential for us as higher order beings created in the image of God, because we ought to have known better. Otherwise, we are only degrading the dignity the offender.

Mercy and Justice

So, what if the humanitarians say that those who follow the Biblical principles of punishment are not merciful in their approach? It raises another important question whether anyone can rightly show mercy without justice. For example, what would the community think of a Magistrate who pardons criminals because he wants to be merciful towards them? The community will be outraged because it goes against their collective consciousness of justice, however imperfect it may be.

If we look at the cross, there you see Jesus taking upon Himself the punishment due to the sinner before He shows mercy, forgiveness, and restoration. Mercy is not good without justice, and it cost God the death of His own Son to show mercy on us. So, the conclusion is that we devalue people created in the image of God when judges fail to punish those who commit crime or show mercy at the expense of justice.

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This question was originally answered by Edwin Thambyaiyah in our evening service on 3 May 2026. I’ll aim to post another question and answer next week. You can read about how our question box works here.