Abstinence Teacher, Death Penalty

I'm taking books back to the library tomorrow, so I want to make some last minute comments about them.

1. Source: Tom Perrota, The Abstinence Teacher (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007). For more information, see Hard-Headed Practical Wisdom.

Ruth is a liberal sex education teacher who hates having to teach her school's abstinence-only program. Tim is a recovering addict who attends the ultra-conservative church that has persecuted Ruth. The two meet when Ruth launches a crusade against Tim because he led his soccer team in prayer.

Ruth finds herself drawn to Tim, not just because of his looks, but also on account of his vulnerability. To her surprise, he doesn't come across as a narrow-minded, judgmental, dogmatic prude, but rather as a humble sinner trying to get a fresh start and stay on the righteous path. Although Tim feels guilty that he did not "witness" to her, in a manner of speaking, he did.

This book is not Christian fiction, although the author says in his intro that he's attended Promise Keeper rallies. He makes fun of abstinence-only sex education and presents gay characters in a positive light. But his Christian conservative characters are likable as well. Not only is there Tim, but there's also Tim's pastor, Pastor Dennis, who cares sincerely for his flock. Ruth usually knew him as an angry voice speaking against her liberalism at school board meetings, but she saw his tender, human side when he came to her door, looking for Tim out of concern.

One character who sticks out in my mind is Jay, whom Pastor Dennis leads to Christ at a wedding reception. Drunken Jay tries to beat up Pastor Dennis for speaking ill of his favorite porn star, but Pastor Dennis confronts him with his need for a Savior. Jay accepts Jesus and immediately feels a sense of peace--as if he is not alone and can make a fresh start at life. But Jay eventually finds that he cannot recover that feeling, and he becomes bored with the path of righteousness. Near the end of the book, he ditches a Promise Keepers-type rally and goes to a strip bar.

That got me thinking: Is the Christian life supposed to be fun? Many people view it as an adventure, in which God uses them to accomplish something significant and enables them to bring goodness to a distressed and sinful world. It gives them meaning in life. While some may "feel" God in the course of their journey, others wonder if he's really there at all. Even a Christian as great as Mother Theresa felt this way! There are times when I feel like I've found my spiritual niche, and then there are times when I feel lost: as if I'm not accomplishing much for God, or God doesn't know my address, or I don't know what I believe, or the certainty and zeal of evangelicals appears foreign to me. Jay experiences this, as (eventually) does Tim, who relapses, ditches the soccer team, gets booted out of the house by his wife, and goes to Ruth's home.

The book is good because of the religious and spiritual questions that it raises. My disappointment was with the end, in which Tim hangs out at Ruth's house. Unfortunately, as with most stories these days, The Abstinence Teacher presents romance as the ultimate solution to life's problems!

2. Thomas Cahill, A Saint on Death Row: The Story of Dominique Green (New York: Random House, 2009).

There is a strong part of me that supports the death penalty. When I watch a movie and see a character who is so callous, so selfish, so brutal and inhumane, I shout at the screen, "Kill him!" I noticed as I looked at the program description for tonight's Lost that Kate will try to save young Ben Linus' life. Ben Linus is a sinister, manipulative worm of a person, and Sayid shot Ben's younger self. "Good thing we won't have to deal with Ben Linus anymore," I thought. So much for that wishful thinking!

In real life, there are indeed evil people, but the issue of capital punishment can be quite messy. There's a criminal justice system that isn't always just and fair, especially to poor minorities. There are prosecutors and defense attorneys who care nothing for the truth and work to suppress it. There are politicians who exploit the deaths of criminals for political gain. There are the innocent people who are executed, the guilty ones who have families and friends who care about them, and the convicts who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And, believe it or not, there are the people on death row who have goodness in them.

I didn't exactly find Dominique Green to be a "saint" as I read Thomas Cahill's book, but I still felt sorry for him. Here is a young man who had a wretched childhood, and he was executed when he was much younger than I am. Even the victim's family wanted the state to show him clemency, once it concluded that his trial was grossly unfair. When I acknowledge the humanity of those on death row, I'm reluctant to say "kill them" or to talk about "justice" with detached coldness. I don't like cutting people's lives so short, and I wonder if there's a way to give them a second chance.

At the same time, I'm not sure if Cahill's giving me the full story about Dominique Green's experience (e.g., the denial of his appeals, etc.). I felt the same way when I watched the movie Hurricane, which noted examples of the system denying Hurricane Carter a fair trial and appeals. "Surely not all of the system is racist," I thought to myself. And, sure enough, when I looked on the Internet, I saw that the system made a fairly legitimate case for its actions.

After reading this book, I am not as trigger-happy when I consider the death penalty, but I'm also not prepared to say that America should never use it. When I remember the thugs who killed James Bird, or the callous murder of Matthew Shepherd, I have a desire for justice.