BILLY BUDD was a novella by Herman Melville (MOBY DICK), published after his death. The eternal theme of BILLY BUDD resonates with everyone and anyone who has ever had a whiff of command; it is easy to punish  bad people, or people you don't like, under your command, who have broken the rules. It is extraordinarily difficult to punish good people or people you like, under your command; when they have broken rules. BILLY BUDD is a tale of  a sailor, in the British navy, during the Napoleonic Wars. He is  more than a sailor; he is a  handsome angel on earth; beloved by all, a man of absolute purity, who commits an act, inadvertently; which is such a dangerous  violation of military discipline, that the  punishment is hanging.   "Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!" What would Jesus do? Obviously, forgive the angel who slipped; but then again, unless you are a Sunni Muslim, committed to Sunni   Apocalyptic eschatology , one never imagines Jesus the war