Amnesty

Amnesty is something that a lot of people do not like. Well they don’t like it when it is applied to other people. It doesn’t seem fair that it lets people get away with something that I can not get away with. Amnesty differs from a pardon in that a pardon grants release from punishment while amnesty forgets the crime. A governor or president has the power to grant amnesty to people convicted of a crime and sometimes even before they are convicted. President Ford granted former president Nixon amnesty for any crime he may have committed during his time in office. I did not like that at the time.

There are times when amnesty makes sense as when a violation of the law is committed for a good cause. Other times it happens for political reasons. I am happy that God grants me amnesty for my past sins. I do not have to earn it for it is part of grace and forgiveness in Christ.