Legal Decision Making - A Christian Perspective

Through much of the record of Jesus' teachings and interactions in the gospels, there are a number of altercations which occur between Jesus and Pharisees. Being the keepers and administrators of the Law within Judean society at the time, the Pharisees were extremely universalistic and rigid in their view of how the Law should be applied. The gospels record that Jesus took much issue with the rigid approach taken by the Pharisees, preferring a much more balanced approach to legal decision making which considers whether there is the case to suspend a rigid application of the Law in order to ensure a fair outcome in a given case. This article asses the lessons in legal-decision making which can be learned from Jesus' approach.