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Christianity Today, March, 2008 |

Capital Doubts

Supreme Court mulls lethal injections as Christian support for the death penalty drops.

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra | posted 2/19/2008 08:16AM

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments against Kentucky's lethal injection procedure in January, as attorneys for two death row inmates contended that when done incorrectly, the procedure—which involves ...

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David

Posted: February 24, 2008 5:58 PM

Jesus never said a word against the death penalty for murder. However, He did note that death was the expected punishment for participation in murder, when He presented the parable of the vinyard. There is simply no Scriptural support for opposition to the death penalty for murder, while there is overwhelming support. Thus opposition to the death penalty for murder is merely a personal preference in direct opposition to the Word of God.

Donald

Posted: February 20, 2008 10:30 PM

Once God imposed the duty on mankind to execute murderers, He restated it several times. That makes it more difficult for heretics to sustain their false claim that the moral duty to execute murderers doesn’t exist. However, God’s initial requirement should be sufficient for those who don’t wish to consider themselves greater than God. In Genesis Chapter 9, God spoke directly to all the humans then living. In verses 5 and 6 God established a clear requirement for the execution of murderers: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man”. Modern heretics continue to attempt to corrupt God’s word on capital punishment. Therefore, my daughter’s King James Study Bible (page 23) must provide a brief clarifying note: “The God-given right of executing murderers involves the establishment of human government following the Flood. This right of capital punishment has not been rescinded during the Christian Era (Acts 25:11; Romans 13:4).

Julie

Posted: February 20, 2008 11:38 AM

I tend to support the death penalty because of the sentiments expressed by Aaron, but I have to admit there have been too many cases of innocent people being wrongly sentenced to death. In one example, the prosecution withheld evidence that could have cleared the person on death row; thankfully, the truth came out before he was sent to his death. If there were a way to guarantee that such things never happened, I would probably support the death penalty without reservations. But if even one person is wrongly executed, that is too many.

Kent	Posted: February 20, 2008 6:55 AM

I propose a pragmatic solution surrounding this death penalty debate: 1. In order to preserve justice for the victims of murder, the State should be completely blind (color and economic status) when it delivers the death penalty. Either there is sufficient evidence to convict "without a shadow of a doubt" or there isn't. 2. In order to allow for mercy, a person sentenced to death, may be allowed to serve life without parole only if the two conditions are met: a. The injured parties (i.e. family of the murder victims) ask for clemency; and, b. The injured parties agree to pay for, or secure payment for (e.g. foundation), ALL expenses related to the incarceration of the death row inmate. Stop paying, execute. In this way, both justice and mercy are preserved, and it provides a great opportunity for opponents of the death penalty to put their money where their mouth is, instead of using the government to force (enslave?) the rest of us to pay for their conviction.

Scott Lenger

Posted: February 19, 2008 12:12 PM


Aaron: Have you not read the Ten Commandments, or Matthew 5?

Robert

Posted: February 19, 2008 11:39 AM

Frankly, Aaron's comment "It is about JUSTICE" (caps his) is frightening to hear from a Christian. Perhaps even more so is the follow up, "The person actually deserves to die a thousand times..." Where is that in Scripture? Unless he is ready to step forward and throw the first stone, I suggest that Aaron take his foot off of the "zeal accelerator" and start braking for a less "righteous" approach.

Geoff

Posted: February 19, 2008 11:12 AM

In response to Aaron, I would say that we have "lost our way as the people of God" when we misread portions of Scripture so that we promote killing our enemies over loving them. No one is saying justice shouldn't be served, but rather that, as followers of Christ, justice for us cannot include premeditated killing, because our ultimate task is to show the grace and love of Christ to everyone, and that includes depraved criminals. This is not being soft on crime, it's taking seriously Christ's commands. God's righteousness is not ours to mandate based upon what seems "just" to us. The problems with our justice system should be dealt with so that criminals don't get off with easy sentences (a whole problem of its own!), but capital punishment should not be an option for Christians.

K.W. Leslie

Posted: February 19, 2008 11:11 AM

Too much "justice" these days is really vengeance, disguised. Is it just and equitable to take a life for a life? It may seem so. But wouldn't it be more equitable to have a murderer work, for the rest of his life, to make up for the lives he's taken? Wouldn't he be more likely to become repentant when he's forced to redeem a life? Wouldn't society be better for it? But it's so much quicker -- and satisfying -- to execute him; and he and we learn nothing by it. (Unlike Cain, whom God refused to execute.)

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