Casting the First Stone

John 8:7 (American Standard Version)
But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

A controversy is happing in Canada. Dr. Henry Morgentaler, a man who fought for the right for women to get abortions on demand, is receiving the Order of Canada. Many are unhappy with this.

First, the argument is being made that the Order of Canada is a positive award to unite the country, not to create division, as his appointment has clearly done.

Second, many feel that abortion does not protect the rights of the unborn, whose lives begin at conception, not at birth. Our legal system calls an unborn human a fetus to strip it of its identity.

Get into a discussion with people who condone abortion and you hear the “what ifs” come out of the box. What if the woman was raped, and even worse, by her father? Guess what? I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, but I can counter with a few “what ifs”.

What if the only reason the woman wants an abortion is that she doesn’t want to look fat? What if she wants to terminate a life so she can go out partying and potentially get pregnant again? What if the reason is that she doesn’t want to give birth is that it is the wrong gender? This is happening in countries like India and China where sons are valued more than daughters.

However, I want to get back to the casting the first stone business. Many letters to the editor of the Toronto Star today accused a Catholic priest of casting the first stone. What right did he have to protest Morgentaler being inducted into the Order of Canada when the Catholic Church had committed so many of its own sins?

Personally, I don’t know that one Catholic priest can be held responsible for all of the sins of the Catholic Church. I find that a bit unfair.

People often use the “casting the first stone” argument because they want the other person to stop telling them they are doing something wrong. They want to silence him, and usually because the arguments are cutting a bit too close to the bone. “What right do you have to tell me that I am doing wrong when you have flaws, too?”

First, let’s get something straight. The men who confronted Jesus were about to kill this woman. They weren’t merely trying to slap her on the wrist. In fact, they were setting him up by quoting the Law of Moses, which meant that a woman caught in adultery should be stoned. They conveniently forgot that the man caught in the act should have suffered the same fate.

This is when Jesus said the words about the person without sin should cast the first stone. He saw through the purpose of their confrontation. It was to try to discredit him, not to deal with the woman.

Next, while Jesus did not condemn her, many forget that he told her to go and sin no more. In other words, he said, “You are doing wrong. Stop it!” He certainly didn’t condone what she did and he didn’t say, “Look, I realize that you are only human. What you are doing is quite natural and it is love (in once sense of the word), so I will keep on forgiving you without any consequences, because I understand the temptation.” How convenient is it to forget his response.

If I take the suggestion that because I am not perfect I shouldn’t pass any judgement on anyone, then as a schoolteacher, I should not try to stop the bully from picking on others. I shouldn’t try to prevent any behaviour that will hinder learning in the classroom. And why? Because I have made mistakes, too, and I shouldn’t cast the first stone. I have no right to do so.

As far as I am concerned, stating an opinion is not casting the first stone. My intention is not to kill somebody, nor condemn him or her. However, I do not intend to sit idly by and allow injustice to occur, either.

I accept that people don’t like others to tell them that they are doing wrong. I don’t like them telling me I am wrong either, but that’s the chance I take with people I really love. I don’t condone things that may potentially hurt them. Granted, I need to work on my delivery at times, but I did mention that I am not perfect either, right?

Clare Hoy, a Canadian journalist, once said that just because you accept something happening in society doesn’t mean you have to condone it.

If I raise my voice in protest (I am a product of the 60s), though, please don’t accuse me of casting the first stone. By making that statement, are you not casting a stone at me? And feel free to try to correct me of my wrongdoings. I may snarl a bit if you try, but I can’t think of a true friend who hasn’t tried to steer me in the right direction occasionally.