Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal
ISBN: 9781433581823Noted Attorney and Seminary Graduate Matthew T. Martens Answers the Question: Does the Design and Operation of the American Criminal Justice System Reflect Christian Love of Neighbor?
Jesus told his followers that the entirety of the Old Testament's law is encapsulated in the commands to love God and to love their neighbors as themselves. In Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal, Matthew T. Martens argues that love of neighbor must be the animating force for true reformation of the criminal justice system, obligating us to seek the best for both the criminally victimized and the criminally accused.
Using his theological training Martens reveals how Scripture provides several guideposts (accuracy, due process, accountability, impartiality, and proportionality) for loving our neighbors as it relates to criminal justice. Then, drawing on his near quarter century practicing criminal law, he examines how America's justice system falls short of the biblical standard. By understanding how our current system operates and considering how love of neighbor relates to issues of crime and justice, we will be better equipped to seek true Christian reform of the justice system.
- A Biblical Perspective on Criminal Justice: Offers a biblical framework for thinking about the concept of justice for both the victim and the perpetrator
- Examines the History of the American Criminal Justice System: Surveys the evolution of the criminal justice system in the United States with a focus on its misuse from the time of the Civil War to the civil rights movement
- Assesses the Criminal Justice System: Examines the operation of the American justice system today, including plea bargains, assistance of counsel, the death penalty, and more
- Foreword by Derwin L. Gray: Pastor of Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina, and the author of How to Heal Our Racial Divide and Building a Multiethnic Church
Author:
Matthew T. Martens (JD, University of North Carolina School of Law; MABS, Dallas Theological Seminary) is a trial lawyer and partner at an international law firm in Washington, DC. He has spent the bulk of his more than twenty-five-year legal career practicing criminal law both as a federal prosecutor and as a defense attorney. He served as a law clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the US Supreme Court and also as a political appointee in the criminal division of the US Justice Department under Attorney General Ashcroft. Matt and his wife are members at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and have two sons and a daughter. Endorsements: "Before you even go to trial, you could be held legally in jail for years. More shocks like that are in this book. In it, the author informs in order to transform. Matt Martens is a Christian, the son of a pastor, a husband and father, a church member, and an accomplished lawyer. He has worked in both the private and the public sectors for decades. In these pages, he takes the reader on a tour of what really happens when a crime is alleged. Martens provides definitions and historical context for terms familiar to the average reader, gives examples of current challenges, and raises concerns about how we actually practice justice. This book is more than informative-it is engaging to the point of being disturbing. Martens is trying to serve us by helping us get in 'good trouble.'" "Reforming Criminal Justice is a book for our polarized times. Guided by classical Christian sources and a biblical vision of love's relation to justice, Martens draws on his considerable legal experience to offer a critical yet constructive evangelical approach that is at once theologically sensitive and historically informed. Highly recommended for the church and anyone concerned about the lived realities of the American criminal justice system as an urgent moral and political issue." "A book like this is long overdue and vitally important. Combining theological training, many years of legal experience, and authentically evangelical convictions, Matt Martens is just the person to write it. In part 1 he provides a biblical framework that connects criminal justice with Christian love in light of just war reasoning. In part 2 this framework helps us to appreciate certain features of America's criminal justice system while identifying an urgent need for reform. As a result, this book will make us better citizens of both Christ's kingdom and our earthly cities." "Matt Martens's book represents careful research and is an excellent primer on the biblical view of justice. I found the claim that true justice is love in action particularly insightful and well argued. Martens explains well the biblical view of justice, comparing and contrasting it with current practices in the United States. We know these matters are complicated and lack easy answers, but Martens's research helps us chart a way forward as we consider what it means to enact justice in the United States."
--Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC
--Eric Gregory, Professor of Religion, Princeton University
--Daniel J. Treier, Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Theology, Wheaton College; author, Introducing Evangelical Theology
--Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Additional Information:
| Cover: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 385 |
| Publisher: | Crossway |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |