LiTKRATURK.— Butler, Serm.. viii. ix. ; Seeley, Ecce Homo, chs. x.\n. xxni. ; Dykes, Manifesto of the Kinci, 287 ; ExpT iv. [1893] 256, VI. [189.5] 338, vii. [1896] 145 ; J. B. Mozlev, Leading Ideas
in Early Ages (1877), 180, 201 ; C. F. Kent, Israel's Lawgivers (1902), 59 ; W. H. Hunt, Sermons on Social Subjects (1904), 196.
R. Bruce Taylor. RETICENCE.— See Reserve.
RETRIBUTION.— We shall understand by this word the operation of the Divine justice, reward- ing and punishing, in this world and the next. (For human justice see art. VENGEANCE).
1. The doctrine in our Lord's time. — As is well known, the primitive religious consciousness of the Jews expected earthly happiness to correspond strictly to merit and demerit. Facts made it im- possible to hold such a theory, and we have the l^roblem of the Divine justice as it is raised in the Psalms, Job, etc. The remarkable thing is that the next life is nut, at least with any consistency of belief, called in to redress the balance of this (see, e.g., Kirkpatrick, Psalms, p. xciv. ). Later Jewish thought, developing the doctrine of immortality, found in it the natural answer to the problem, as in the opening chapters of the Book of Wisdom. But the conception of recompense moved mainly on external lines ; the rewards and punishments which did not come in this life Avere expected in the next, or in a Golden Age on earth. And so in our Lord's day —
' The religious relation between God and His people was a legal one, upheld by God as righteous Judge, in the way of ser\ice and counterserviee, reward and punishment.' Pious Jews here and there might remember that forgiveness and free grace were part of the character of Jahweh, ' but with most Jews this mode of view was overshadowed by the legalistic con- ception, whereby every act of obedience was regarded as having an exact recompense, and every blessing to be obtained as re- quiring previous service.' ' Desiring to earn a Divine reward, and as great reward as possible, they sought to practise a strict legal righteousness, and, wherever possible, to exceed what the law demanded. But j'et again, anxious to attain that reward on the easiest possible terms, they wished to do no more than was absolutely necessary for attaining their purpose ' (Wendt, Teaching of Jesus, i. p. 39 ff.).
The charge that religion is only an enlightened selfishness, is valid against this position and the popular conception of Christianity. The object of this article Avill be to show that it is not valid as against the teaching of Christ.
2. The teaching of Christ. — (1) He shoived 07ice for all that there is no invariable connexion be- tiveen individual suffering and sin in this world. The Heavenly Father bestows His gifts on evil and good alike (Mt S'*^, Lk 6^^). Lk IS^"'- is decisive on this point. ('Ye shall all in like manner perish' refers to the special doom of the Jewish nation, and falls under the exception mentioned below). It is true there may be a connexion between suffer- ing and sin, but it is undefined (Mt 9'-, Jn 5'^), and it must not be assumed in any given case (Jn 9^). There are in the Gospels no 'poetic justice' par- ables, no limelight scenes of .sensational punish- ments of evil - doers or dramatic vindication of virtue. There is no hint of any special doom on tlie Herods, Pilate, or the priests as individuals (cf. jier contra Ac 12^"). Judas is an exception, though Christ Himself never speaks of his punish- ment in this world. The treatment of nations and cities is also an exception (Jerusalem [Mt 2\*^ 2??-\ Lk 19«-«], Chorazin, etc. [Mt 10'^ ll^"]). The life of the nation or city is long enough to show the inevitable results of moral decay. Further, all desire for personal vengeance now is forbidden (Sermon on the Mount, Lk 9'"^-)- There is nothing of the spirit of the imprecatory Psalms or the Apocalyptic literature.*
The clearest and most decisive proof of the truth Ave are considering is Christ's OAvn death and the
* An exception is Lk 18^, which is closely akin to Rev 610 and to the frequent prayers for vengeance which meet us in Enoch. But the vengeance in this passage is that of the Last Day, and is part of the final consummation, which is the real object to which the prayers of the elect are directed.
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sutlerings and persecutions promised to His fol- lowers. Suti'ering amy be a mark of (iod's love no less than of His anger (cf. He 12) ; the grain of vvlieat must die to bring fortli fruit (Jn 12-^), there- fore death and all that leails to it cannot be re- garded as retributive. The cup of suti'ering which the disciple drinks is the cup of Christ, not the wine of tiie wrath of (iod.
(2) Christ teorhes equdlly decisiueli/ the fact of ntribittion in the ne.ct v-orUl, and uses freely tlie language of reward anil punishment. Tiie doctrine of personal responsibility is indeed fundamental to Ciiristianity, and it is necessary to refer to only a few typical i)assages : Parables (Mt 13^-' 18-^ 22^ 25, Lk I2i« 16), Rewards (Mt 19-**, Lk 14^^), Punish- ments (Mt 5-« 10-« 12-'«, Mk 9^- 14-1, j^ 529^^