Forgive me if this is a little choppy...Im trying to put things in a nutshell that can barely fit in station wagon! Unpopular as it may be, at least give it some thought.
WHY I AM AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY:
Let me start by saying that I work in a branch of Federal Law Enforcement. I have been face to face with Timothy McVeigh, rapists, serial killers, murderers of entire families and just about every other violent crime you can think of. Aside from the families of their victims, I have great reason to support the death penalty. Ive known them. Ive been threatened by them. Ive fought with them. Ive spoken at length with them, and I know what the rare, but truly evil are capable of.
I consider myself also to be capable of debating the death penalty issue Biblically from BOTH points of view. I know the scriptures in support of it, and I know the arguments given about Jesus. I lean heavily towards the belief that Jesus came and paid the price of death that we all owe for our sins, and I think its without this consideration that we feel obliged to do it again. I think Jesus death covered death the first time and I couldnt do it any better. If anyone wants to go into this part of the Biblical debate, Id be happy to. However, I believe that if we go a little deeper, we find that we cannot, as Christians, be in support of the death penalty regardless of the above debate.
My support for this statement is this. Now dont panic here, just keep reading. Even IF the Bible (hypothetical here), in both the old AND the new Testaments condoned the death penalty...I would STILL be against it as it is today. Note as it is today. I submit to you that there is nothing Biblical about the death penalty in America today. If the Bible does indeed support a death penalty, it is NOT the death penalty currently in place. The death penalty of today is a cry of anger, vengeance and an effort by our leaders to please the angry crowd and a grieving family. True, this is not the case with everybody. But in general, that is what is bred by it. When people cheer at 12:01am for the death of someone who has done horrendous things...that isnt of God. That isnt Holy. Families are consistently surprised to find that there is no consolation in the deaths of these people. I believe that if the Bible supports a death penalty, it would be one of reverence, prayer and sorrow for the potential loss of a soul....not one that appeases the masses thirst for blood.
The level of crime is not an issue, either. Get this...I believe that I myself have committed multiple murder in my life. I believe that we are capable of murdering someone in our own minds. When we refuse to forgive, when we kill someone in our hearts. I believe the sixth commandment includes this as a type of murder. Im not going to pretend that in the human sense, I dont see the difference...I absolutely do. But Im not sure God does. What happens is, the level of anguish, evil or whatever in the heart of violent criminals is reflected in the crime. Or, the level of crime dictates to us the state of a persons spirit. That is how WE judge it, as humans.
The problem is, at its root, that todays version of the death penalty in general is not only in support of vengeance and anger, but breeds it and encourages it in its nature. I cannot support it because it feeds peoples hunger for justice apart from God. It is a human answer, and not a Godly one. When we execute someone today, there is no Godly spirit ANYWHERE in the process. On the contrary, Satan has people cheering and saying things over coffee like they need to fry him or Id like to do it myself. If these things are truly felt, they are not of God. I have felt them myself and it makes me want desperately to believe in the death penalty in some cases. But examining my heart, I find it is out of anger and vengeance and nothing more. I can candy coat it, but thats the bottom line for most people. I believe this is the nature of the death penalty as it is today, and I cannot support as such. If there is a death penalty that the Bible condones, I believe it is certainly not the one we have in place today. God has been given no place in it.
WHY I AM AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY:
Let me start by saying that I work in a branch of Federal Law Enforcement. I have been face to face with Timothy McVeigh, rapists, serial killers, murderers of entire families and just about every other violent crime you can think of. Aside from the families of their victims, I have great reason to support the death penalty. Ive known them. Ive been threatened by them. Ive fought with them. Ive spoken at length with them, and I know what the rare, but truly evil are capable of.
I consider myself also to be capable of debating the death penalty issue Biblically from BOTH points of view. I know the scriptures in support of it, and I know the arguments given about Jesus. I lean heavily towards the belief that Jesus came and paid the price of death that we all owe for our sins, and I think its without this consideration that we feel obliged to do it again. I think Jesus death covered death the first time and I couldnt do it any better. If anyone wants to go into this part of the Biblical debate, Id be happy to. However, I believe that if we go a little deeper, we find that we cannot, as Christians, be in support of the death penalty regardless of the above debate.
My support for this statement is this. Now dont panic here, just keep reading. Even IF the Bible (hypothetical here), in both the old AND the new Testaments condoned the death penalty...I would STILL be against it as it is today. Note as it is today. I submit to you that there is nothing Biblical about the death penalty in America today. If the Bible does indeed support a death penalty, it is NOT the death penalty currently in place. The death penalty of today is a cry of anger, vengeance and an effort by our leaders to please the angry crowd and a grieving family. True, this is not the case with everybody. But in general, that is what is bred by it. When people cheer at 12:01am for the death of someone who has done horrendous things...that isnt of God. That isnt Holy. Families are consistently surprised to find that there is no consolation in the deaths of these people. I believe that if the Bible supports a death penalty, it would be one of reverence, prayer and sorrow for the potential loss of a soul....not one that appeases the masses thirst for blood.
The level of crime is not an issue, either. Get this...I believe that I myself have committed multiple murder in my life. I believe that we are capable of murdering someone in our own minds. When we refuse to forgive, when we kill someone in our hearts. I believe the sixth commandment includes this as a type of murder. Im not going to pretend that in the human sense, I dont see the difference...I absolutely do. But Im not sure God does. What happens is, the level of anguish, evil or whatever in the heart of violent criminals is reflected in the crime. Or, the level of crime dictates to us the state of a persons spirit. That is how WE judge it, as humans.
The problem is, at its root, that todays version of the death penalty in general is not only in support of vengeance and anger, but breeds it and encourages it in its nature. I cannot support it because it feeds peoples hunger for justice apart from God. It is a human answer, and not a Godly one. When we execute someone today, there is no Godly spirit ANYWHERE in the process. On the contrary, Satan has people cheering and saying things over coffee like they need to fry him or Id like to do it myself. If these things are truly felt, they are not of God. I have felt them myself and it makes me want desperately to believe in the death penalty in some cases. But examining my heart, I find it is out of anger and vengeance and nothing more. I can candy coat it, but thats the bottom line for most people. I believe this is the nature of the death penalty as it is today, and I cannot support as such. If there is a death penalty that the Bible condones, I believe it is certainly not the one we have in place today. God has been given no place in it.
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