My theology professor, Addison Leitch...
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My theology professor, Addison Leitch, told of an event in Russia around 1870. A group of people, headed by a man named Schamel, set about to overthrow the Czar. Because the group was small, with only a few resources, the people decided they would need to adhere to some specific rules. One rule read, "Thou shall not steal." Anyone caught stealing from the small cache of food would receive 100 lashes at the post. Things went along well for some time. One day, however, Schamel discovered that someone had stolen some food. Much to his anguish, he discovered his mother as the thief. Now, his dilemma. She deserved the hundred lashes. Should he have them administered? He decided, in order to preserve his mission, that she would have to bear the consequence of her action. So he had her tied to the whipping post. The executioner began to administer the lashes. One. Two. Three. And Schamel cried out, "Stop!" But Schamel knew that someone had to pay for disobeying the law. So he untied his mother, had himself lashed to the post, and then took the other 97 lashes. -- Keller
