Certain images of the recent riots in our cities will stick in my
mind for a long time: the burning furniture store in Croydon, the
Malaysian boy being robbed by youths pretending to help him, the woman
in Tottenham who had been burned out of her home and had lost all her
possessions, and the many scenes of rampaging mobs smashing the windows
of shops and running off with looted goods. When I first saw these
images it was difficult to accept that they were happening in Britain,
sometimes in places I knew; they were truly shocking and evil.
In the weeks since the riots there has been much anguished and heated
debate on the reasons for these disturbances, what should be done about
them and how the perpetrators should be treated. Politicians have
rivalled each other in trying to sound tough. There has been talk of a
‘sick society’, the breakdown of family life, and too much stress on
people’s rights rather than their responsibilities. Stiff penalties
have been demanded for the rioters, not just long prison sentences but
the possible withdrawal of benefits and even the ending of tenancies.
What should our reaction as Christians be to all this?
It seems to me that there are a number of things we need to bear in
mind when considering the riots and how we should react to them:
1. In the heat of the moment we often forget that
reaching simplistic conclusions and making knee-jerk reactions seldom
helps in the long run. Recently Tony Blair has commented on how he now
regrets his reaction to the James Bulger murder. It might have been
good for him politically but, as he now acknowledges, it did not lead
to good policy. Present day politicians take note! We need to take a
good, hard and very considered look at the situation before making
important policy decisions. True wisdom is more likely to make itself
known to cool reflection rather than emotional reactions.
2. A Christian response to talk of a ‘broken
society’, the growth in selfishness etc., as reasons for the riots
should be to point out that the whole of human society at all times and
in all places is affected by the sinfulness of human beings. The recent
riots are just one symptom of something that affects all of life and
manifests itself in many different ways. We are all capable of doing
terrible things in the right circumstances.
3. When it comes to how we deal with the rioters as
individuals perhaps we need to ask ourselves how Our Lord would deal
with them. We see from the Gospels that whilst he never condoned sin he
never rejected the sinner. The way in which he dealt with the woman
caught committing adultery is an example of this. He did not condemn
her but his very presence brought her to repentance and to a new life.
It would be naive to think we can apply this directly to those
responsible for the riots but it may lead us to wonder if very harsh
punishments are more likely to lead to reformation or perhaps more
likely to a deeper alienation from society.
I can’t hope in a letter to deal properly with this complex subject and
in any case I don’t have all the answers. All I can do is to help the
debate by suggesting certain basic principles which might aid our
thinking. At all events we need to pray that God will enable the
healing and rebuilding of the communities so badly affected and to
bring those responsible to an awareness of the evil they have committed
and to the possibility of a new life.
