You are really misunderstanding the basis of Christian theology. Christian theology is not a “balancing act.” What is good is good and what is wicked is wicked; what is wicked must never be done to try to attain a “good.”
Everything you mentioned in “A” is a potential mitigation. It is fairly irrelevant from the point of view of Christian ethics.
As to point B, yes religious leaders criticize the policy on religious grounds. Not sure what else thay are supposed to do.
Sessions, rather than ceding the religious ground— which would have at least been honest— tried to counter in kind. And did so terribly.
I am afraid there is more to understand.
Christianity is not a balancing act, and yet, is not a world of absolution. There are clear right and wrong moral decisions, there are complex decisions, and there are ones meant for -personal- and as a -church- pursuing moral greatness, and a world that is in search of low, worldly things - money, power, title. (There are a lot of good books about this, but the seminal tome is The City of God.)
- Ask a common man how he understands the Trinity.
- Ask an educated man how he understands the Trinity.
- Ask a studied theologian how he understands the Trinity.
- Ask a serious religious philosopher how he understands the Trinity.
All different answers, all valid in knowledge or in nativity, and none will prevent one from "knowing God" in a Christian sense, or however one wishes to see that psychologically.
To be a Christian and to follow Christian principles adapts to the culture, and in a rather intriguing way was designed to be that way. (Where say Islam will force the culture to adhere, Christianity gave us the greater concept of liberalization along with Greek, Roman, and some other scattered ideas.)
They will all give you what they consider to be well founded spiritual answers, and, those answers will not amount to anything because the concept of the God of Abraham and the meaning of that to people is vast and deep.
Whether fanciful fairy tales or part of a greater understanding, as pointed out many, many times Jesus would be the first to say not to judge, to remedy in a merciful but wise way, to consider all the possibilities to be thought of as well as the emotions, the want.
Which brings me to a singular question, one that you can really help me understand, no sarcasm at all:
What is evil here, what is the full situation as you see it, and why is Jeff Sessions acting on evil in a Christian way, and not just doing what rulers do for their subjects? Then I can try to give a modest theological answer.
