Facing Grace

Facing Grace is a short book (110 pgs) written by a man who is a newspaper sports editor by profession and a minister by calling. It is the story of a reporter's struggles in faith leading up to the execution of a man convicted of murdering an elderly lady in her home.

The story is a fictionalized account of real-life events in a small town in North Carolina. The victim was real, the murderer was real and the execution was real. Although I don't know for sure, I can see the writer and his conflicts being real also.

The writer is a man of great faith. His review of the case and thoughts about the upcoming execution tear him from his deep seated support for the death penalty. The Bible is the rock upon which he bases his life, and therein he finds guidance for both sides of the question. "Thou shalt not kill" appears in the same book as "the wages of sin is death".

After much spiritual groping, the writer finds a path that clears his mind and reinforces his faith. A spiritual mentor shares with him that men and God have different views of sin. Men tend to see sin in degrees, moving on a vertical scale of increasing seriousness from "little white lies" to murder. God views sin as a binary value - either you have sinned or you haven't. The little white lie condems you as quickly as murder.

The book uses the example of a cop who dies saving a young child, but without a relationship with God and Christ. He would be bound for hell, whereas the murderer who asks for forgiveness is allowed into heaven.

I guess I look for justice in this world, but according to the author I should instead be seeking salvation. To me, it doesn't seem right that the cop in the example would suffer a worse fate than the murderer.

The book dwells on the reporter's struggles with the execution. I know it works for the story, but those struggles somehow ring hollow when I think of other professions where death is an all-to-frequent part of the job. Police officers, paramedics, emergency room personnel, soldiers - they all have the occasion to be touched by death with an unpleasant regularity. For me, the greatest reason for pause is that an execution is carried out by the State, rather than being a random act of accident or malice.

The book is thoughtfull and thought provoking. I recommend it to anyone who is prepared to think about, rather than simply react to, discussions regarding the death penalty.