Is it rational to praise the good thief?

Not David

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The good thief was dying on the cross and defended Christ. He said he deserved punishment and Christ did not.

My gut tells me the good thief is "better" than your typical non criminal, my gut does not seem rational
Well, the thief recognized he deserved punishment and he didn't try to convince Christ to free him. Maybe that's why you like him.
 
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Rusviking876

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The good thief was dying on the cross and defended Christ. He said he deserved punishment and Christ did not.

My gut tells me the good thief is "better" than your typical non criminal, my gut does not seem rational
Saint Dismas? Yes, he’s praiseworthy and his repentance was true.
 
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Aussie Pete

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The good thief was dying on the cross and defended Christ. He said he deserved punishment and Christ did not.

My gut tells me the good thief is "better" than your typical non criminal, my gut does not seem rational
"Good" in relation to men is a word God does not use, ever. There are honest sinners and dishonest sinners. The self righteous rich young ruler went away disappointed. There is no hint that his wealth was gained immorally. He is anonymous. Zachaeus was a legalised stand over merchant, who bullied people into making him rich. Yet he repented and was saved. Neither of the men were good. Zac was honest. So was the thief on the cross. Who knows what he had done to bring the sentence of the cross on himself. It was no petty theft. He was convicted of his sin, asked to be saved, and God accepted him on that basis. We can be way too formulaic in how we think people should come to Christ.
 
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perplexed

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Whoops, I am not being clear about my exact issue so I will rephrase it

I do classify everyone I know morally
I think some people are good
I think some people are bad
most people I need more information to make a judgement

This is not intentional
I think some people are clever, I think some people are attractive, and I don't think my judgements about peoples morality are that reliable.

However if I find out someone has done a bad thing and feels bad about I tend to elevate them morally. Not just because I find out that they feel bad about doing bad things.
 
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durangodawood

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...However if I find out someone has done a bad thing and feels bad about I tend to elevate them morally. Not just because I find out that they feel bad about doing bad things.
You might look at their repentance and understanding as the ticket back into the world of ethical citizens rather than some promotion beyond it.

And think of the ethical citizens as people who actually care about doing right by others rather than would-be criminals who are just deterred by the prospect of punishment.
 
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