unction of the state" (Budziszewski). The New Testament imbues judges with a god-given authority to administer justice: as St. Peter declares, "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right" (1 Peter 2: 13-14).
Society can only be ordered in a just manner when every person living in that society receives his due. Criminals upend the just order of society by taking away the lives, peace, liberty, and worldly possessions of a society's citizens in order to benefit undeservedly. Meting out punishment is a way for society to restore the just order by making the transgressor pay a price equivalent to the harm he has done, as per the famous "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" saying in the bible. This societally administered punishment represents retributionùnot revenge, as some allege. Retribution is sp
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