When the judicial system combats the evil of punishment in response to criminal acts, it is essential to recognize that this differs vastly from personal retribution; it is distinct like reason is from emotion, and constructiveness is from destruction. The judiciary rises against wrongdoing, not for its own sake, but on behalf of the innocent sufferer. Thus, it is guided not by vindictiveness but rather by the virtues of compassion, humanity, and justice. Furthermore, in a well-structured society, the court identifies the guilty, while the law carries out the punishment; however, civil law, when inspired by the spirit of Christian justice, seeks not to avenge wrongdoing but to curb and prevent it. Its goal is not to execute the murderer but rather to remove the capacity to kill, thereby shielding the innocent from harm. In this spirit, the benevolent law of our devout leaders does not impose death on a murderer, but rather grants him life, albeit a life separated from that of honorable citizens; it offers a possibility of hope, allowing him to meet death as a Christian rather than as a criminal. Regarding individuals, if every person were to claim the rights that the judiciary uses against crime, or that the supreme power invokes against threats to the State, there would be nearly as many adversarial factions as there are individuals capable of wielding power. This concept has found a curious place in the minds of some thinkers, but thankfully, through Divine Providence, it has not become reality and will not be, for it cannot align with the true nature of humanity. Therefore, if it is neither permissible nor dependable, even with the assistance of human justice, which despite its diligence cannot shield against the insidiousness of malice and deceit, the Christian principle of overcoming evil with good remains essential, both appealing in its purity and profound in its nobility.
THEOSIS