The Woman caught in adultery and us

I am an Adjunct Professor in a course called Religions of the World at a state university. It is a freshman level course and is usually taken by people who simply want to learn about other religions. Frankly, some students take it looking for an “easy pass” hoping that the course does not require much coursework. Some are Christians who are really looking for a course more like a missiology course. But, generally, all are people with an interest in religion who would consider themselves to be good people. Since, by default, most are Christians, most at least know the story of the woman caught in adultery, and most would say that they would never be like those people who wanted her publicly punished. I trust you remember the story:

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

This particular semester, I am facing a sad situation. Our students are required to write a weekly post on an online board accessible only to the students and I. It is supposed to be original thought. However, one of the students simply appears to post a summary of what one other student has already posted. This has been noticed by the other students, who have already made a couple of comments. In reply I commented that I had noticed this and said no more. (I have taken additional steps with that student in private.)

However, two students have now written me basically asking me why I have not condemned that woman student on the discussion board. One even said that if I took no action that he would contact the Online Office to complain about my failure to enforce the Academic Honesty guidelines. In other words, if I do not condemn in public, then I will be turned over to my bosses, essentially for failure to properly carry out my duties as a professor. (I have submitted an academic advising form on this student, but the other students do not know that. They also do not know that I have graded her submissions very low.)

It struck me yesterday that the situation is much like that of the Samaritan Woman. The students have apparently been talking among themselves and are expecting me to publicly condemn her. But I am quite sure that these same students would say that they would never be like the people who brought the woman in adultery to Jesus expecting a public condemnation. To the students who have written me I have commented that a professor always hold the Last Judgment in his/her hands. After all, we are the ones who issue the final grade, and that is at our discretion.

And yet, somehow that is not enough. I wonder what sin is in us that makes us delight in the public punishment of others, especially when we would much rather be disciplined in private for our own sins. This experience, which is not yet over for me, has been a real eye opener. I wonder how often I have desired the same thing and not realized that I was desiring the public humiliation of another person.

There are times when a person must be publicly disciplined. But, I suspect that that is far less often than we imagine. Do pray for me and the class as we continue to work through this situation.