Death Sentence?

[GodDreamer]

Hey everyone! i was just wondering what are your view points on the Death Sentence? is it biblical or not? i'm not really sure how i feel about it...i know there are scriptures that people use to support both sides of it....should we sentence someone to death with out giving them the chance to recieve salvation? and if they do recieve salvation, should we put them to death seeing they could do so much for the body of Christ? now i understand that people can fake getting saved...however i also know that God is big enough to change people's hearts.

 

[davebuckley]

I'm not sure either. There is the eye for eye, tooth for tooth thing, because the death penalty is justice for murder. But I can't get past the awful thought of sending someone to hell for all eternity. You're not just ending the life of the person, but also sending them into the next, and if they're not saved then we know where theyre going. I couldn't condemn anyone to death myself. I think life imprisonment is a good idea, because then the person is away from the public and also has plenty of time to come to God.
I think the death penalty can be good in earthly terms, for example the case in Lithuania, or somewhere near there in the early nineties. The former rulers of the country were on trial after the end of communism, they were found guilty, and as i remember it on the news (I was only about 5, it was the very early 90s), the guards took them outside and just shot them. That was that. End of. Whereas nowadays there would be an appeal, and it would all have to go through the blasted, awful, (expletives needed) European Court of Human Rights, taking years and costing millions. So I think it is useful from that perpective, but hell is still there!
I noticed you're Amrican, so please don't take offence at this, but I think the way the Americans use the death penalty is an absolute abomination. I should imagine Bloody Mary did it more humanely than that! Don't you think it's awful the way they leave the condemned for 10-20 years awaiting death, and then when they get into the execution chamber, seconds away from being injected, they are told they can have another six monts. The six months becomes a year and so it goes on, reprieve after reprieve after reprieve. Battery chickens are better treated. Anyway, rant over.
I honestly don't knowwhether the death penalty is right or not, although personally, I wouldn't advocate it. Heinous crimes are better treated with life imprisonment, which is terrile for the person's earthly form, but does not condemn them to eternal death.
When using the life sentence however, LIFE SHOULD MEAN LIFE!!! In Britain it's not unusual for murderers and paedophiles to get out after 5 years, which is a total disgrace!


Hope this helps.

Dave

 

[lismore]

Hey everyone! i was just wondering what are your view points on the Death Sentence? is it biblical or not? i'm not really sure how i feel about it...i know there are scriptures that people use to support both sides of it....should we sentence someone to death with out giving them the chance to recieve salvation? and if they do recieve salvation, should we put them to death seeing they could do so much for the body of Christ? now i understand that people can fake getting saved...however i also know that God is big enough to change people's hearts.

Hi there

There have been too many miscarriages of justice and innocent people executed for a crime they did not commit. I dont think the system is 100% infallible so no we cannot setence a person to death.

Thats the reason the death sentence was stopped here..............too many innocent people being killed.

 

[Svt4Him]

But that is also why the Bible says it has to be carried out only if there were two or three witnesses. No one could be killed if there weren't eye witnesses to the crime. And if someone lied about it, they would be killed in place of the accused.

 

[foadle]

The Bible was all for it in old testament times after that the Bible tends to leave it in the hands of the presiding government.
It is for this reason that I feel little pity for those who go to say Asian countries smuggling drugs because they know the consequences.

 

[Alpine]

I think a death penalty is ok as long as there is absolute proof that someone commited a severe crime. Now with DNA testing there is almost no doubt when it can be proven.

No one can tell me that Jeffrey Dahmer who killed/ate 16 people in my city shouldn't have been put to death for what he did.

 

[JEBrady]

Scripture makes it plain that God authorized the death penalty.

Romans 13:2-4 (English Standard Version)



2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

 

[pimorton]

Scripture makes it plain that God authorized the death penalty.

Romans 13:2-4 (English Standard Version)



2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

God authorized the death penalty long before this.

Gen. 9:9 (NIV)

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man."

And please don't say that this doesn't apply because Jesus did away with the Law. This is from Genesis and the Noahic Covenant. It predates the Law.

Capital punishment was God's idea, not man's. Without it your redemption could not have been made.

 

[Judy02]

God authorized the death penalty long before this.

Gen. 9:9 (NIV)

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man."

And please don't say that this doesn't apply because Jesus did away with the Law. This is from Genesis and the Noahic Covenant. It predates the Law.

Capital punishment was God's idea, not man's. Without it your redemption could not have been made.

And on the other side of the same coin, Cain murdered his brother Abel, and God protected Cain from being killed. He left a mark on him, so he wouldn't be killed. (Gen 4: 15 - 16). I think at the very least, it shows this isn't a simplisitic and black and white situation here of, 'lets kill all murderers.'

Put simply, people who unlawfully destroy life, DO deserve to die. I used to be vehemently for the death penalty by the way. At the same time, God isn't at the moment, simply acting on what we deserve. According to God, we also all deserve death, we're all a fallen sinful race. We didn't all DESERVE Jesus to come down to earth in human form, minister to us, be brutally torrtured and killed on a cross, provinding a simple way of salvation that all who believe in who he said he was, and realised their sinful state shall not perish but have everlasting life. We far from deserved to receive that, but God did it anyway - because as well as a God of righteousness and justice, he is also one of great love, and mercy. Scripture says God is low to anger but rich in love. God wants to give people plenty chance to turn to him, and receive everlasting life. In all honesty, I really don't know whether I'm for the DP at all, or not, but I really don't think its such a black and white situation as some people make out. There will always be mistakes and errors made in a human system. What concerns me about the DP is that u cud be sending somebody to hell, without knowing for certain God is saying 'kill them off immediately. there time is up.' especially becauser a lot of these people carrying out aren't even christians anyway, and not even filled with the holy spirit.

For the record, I'm not judging DP supporters, or saying your wrong, but I can see problems, and just expressing why there are concerns with it as well.

 

[jesusmysaviour76]

I personally don't agree with the death sentence, but what I do believe is if you commit a crime in a country or county that has the death sentence, and you become a Christian while on death row, then it's tough.

As Christians if we do something wrong we are still held accountable and have to be punished, ie if we break the law. So if you suddenly become a Christian that punishment should remain. You did the crime you have to do the time, and if that is death then that is death. It's unfortunate, but at least you will get to live eternally if you truly repent for your sins and accept Jesus into your life.

So yeah thats Sam's soap box rant for this beautiful Tuesday night. Over to you next poster.......

 

[Judy02]

Somebody once told me that a lot of people who are for the death penalty would be unwilling to carry it out themselves... seems slightly hypercritical.

I could never feel comfortable killing someone, no matter what they've done. I would never be able to live with myself if I sent them to hell!

I wouldn't wish hell on anyone, and I mean ANYONE. Hitler, sadaam huessin, etc. The reality of hell, ETERNAL torture, just sounds too awful to comprehend, eternally seperated from God. Even if they were unbelievably evil, I would never want hell to happen to anyone.

Oh, there was a discussion on this not so long back in the social justice section, if anyone wants to check it out: http://www.christianforums.com/t2310269-the-death-penalty-is-perfectly-ok.html

 

[BroGinder]

I believe in the death penalty. I do not believe placing someone in prison for the rest of their life is a responsible, or reasonable thing to do.

If someone has committed a crime that is so bad that they are a menace to society and can never be re-introduced to society what purpsoe does it serve.

the scriptures cover it clearly. Cain was marked in order to live with what he did.

The fulfilling of a death sentence does not send a person to Hell. The death sentence only deal swith the physical body, has nothing to do with the spiritual aspect of man.

I do agree that there have been many a person put to death for a crime they did not commit. However, I do not think any of them were innocent. I am sure there were plenty of crimes they had committed just as heinous as the one they were put to death over and would get the penalty had they been caught.

You do not get arrested if you have not put yourself in a situation that would tie you to something as such. Its not as lop sided a system as some think.

I am not saying it is a flawless system because I have seen where the system needs alot of work. I was a Police Officer for over 10 years and retired due to an injury.

So I have seen the system work in a negative aspect on both sides of the coin.

Now do not get me wrong, I found some of the biggest problems not to be crime in the street but the attitude and total ignorance of other Cops. I found the stressful side of the job to be the other cops.

So anyway, thats how I see it.

God Bless

 

[Judy02]

Cain was marked in order to live with what he did.

Yeah, but arguably, that's the reason people say to imprison murderers. To let them 'live for what they did.' Prison is by no means a nice place (my dad's worked in one for 25 years, the largest one in Europe at that). Arguably, life imprisonment is a very harsh punishment.

The fulfilling of a death sentence does not send a person to Hell. The death sentence only deal swith the physical body, has nothing to do with the spiritual aspect of man.

True, but as a result, if they weren't a christian, they would go to hell as a result of another person killing them. How can we know for sure it was God's will to kill off that person. Maybe God still needed to work on them - and thought they might get saved later down the line. At least behind bars there's opportunities for repentance. I thought that was one of the aims of punishment, to bring people back to rightousness, not just killing them off and hiding the problem. Are all people in charge of the DP really so spiritually discerning, they can really know for sure God is saying 'yeah kill em off please.' Quite a few people were guilty of murder and didn't automatically get killed as a result. I really don't think its this black and white. Saul would have been guilty of the death penalty, and instead of God demanding his life, he became Paul. Wasn't David also guilty of muder/manslaughter?

 

[Tenebrae]

we are all sinners and without Christ we would all be getting a death sentence

The torah also says that if a woman is raped within a city and doesnt cry out, she should be put to death

How many of you who are pro death penalty would be lining up to stone the rape victim

 

[lismore]

I believe in the death penalty.

With miscarriages of justice though, the innocent person has been executed and the guilty have gone free.

The legal system has flaws.

 

[JEBrady]

A lot of folks are lining up to second-guess God. The Bible's pretty plain about stating who gave the authority of the sword to the established powers. Do some abuse it? Who do you think set Pharoah in power? Or Hitler?

My suggestion is to accept God's word on the subject rather than one's own opinion.

 

[Judy02]

A lot of folks are lining up to second-guess God. The Bible's pretty plain about stating who gave the authority of the sword to the established powers. Do some abuse it? Who do you think set Pharoah in power? Or Hitler?

My suggestion is to accept God's word on the subject rather than one's own opinion.

They're not just mere opinions. Not everyone deemed guilty to receive the death penalty did receive the death penalty. Are u really so arrogant u think u know God's word and the issue perfectly? People are perfectly free to discuss the situation. Some people's consciences' do ring alarm bells when it comes to killing people off. God didn't kill off all murderer's in the bible. Some are given a chance of repentance, which is one iof the aims of punishment. In fact, I'm sure the bible ALSO teaches that somewhere, there is no chance of repentance in killing them off. And yes, like I already said, we all DESERVE the death penalty. God is not sending everyone to hell now is he? He's giving people the chance to repent and turn to him. Part of me thinks as stewards of Christ should be doing the same.

I'm not disrespecting people who believe the death penalty should be used, but it'd be nice if others could do the same, and be open to discussion rathern than a closed mind of 'im right ur wrong.' Whether the DP should be used in some situations or not, I don't know, but I'm sure its not that black or white.

 

[JEBrady]

They're not just mere opinions. Not everyone deemed guilty to receive the death penalty did receive the death penalty. Are u really so arrogant u think u know God's word and the issue perfectly? People are perfectly free to discuss the situation. Some people's consciences' do ring alarm bells when it comes to killing people off. God didn't kill off all murderer's in the bible. Some are given a chance of repentance, which is one iof the aims of punishment. In fact, I'm sure the bible ALSO teaches that somewhere, there is no chance of repentance in killing them off. And yes, like I already said, we all DESERVE the death penalty. God is not sending everyone to hell now is he? He's giving people the chance to repent and turn to him. Part of me thinks as stewards of Christ should be doing the same.

I'm not disrespecting people who believe the death penalty should be used, but it'd be nice if others could do the same, and be open to discussion rathern than a closed mind of 'im right ur wrong.' Whether the DP should be used in some situations or not, I don't know, but I'm sure its not that black or white.

You've presented an opinion based on your own reasonings, not something that illustrates the principles in the Word of God. What I said in my post is that all these reasonings aren't based on truth. Below I quote a passage from the NT that directly speaks to this question and states that God instituted the death penalty. To ignore that and go on postulating otherwise is to ignore what God said directly on the subject.

God stated through Nathan to David concerning the murder of Uriah that He had taken his sin away. David committed capital crimes but God spared him from death. God is able to do that today. Is God's arm short in salvation? If the innocent are sitting on death row is God not able to save them? Didn't He protect Moses against Pharaoh? A Christian needs to be able to believe that God can protect him.

If Christianity is outlawed by the government, and it may be in my own country, then who do we obey, God or man? Jesus stated that some of us will be put to the sword for being Christian. The passage below is to the Romans, under which government Christians were slaughtered just for being Christians, and yet Paul tells these Romans to obey the government. Don't you find that interesting?

How do you read this passage of scripture? What does it say to you?

Romans 13(NASB)

Be Subject to Government

1Every (A)person is to be in (B)subjection to the governing authorities For (C)there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
2Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
3For (D)rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;
4for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an (E)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.
5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also (F)for conscience' sake. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

 

[BroGinder]

I am pretty sure that I acknowledged the fact that there have been errors. What kind of life ar eyou living if you are arrested for a crime that calls for the death penalty (American law that is) and you are truly innocent of that crime. You are hanging with the wrong people and doing the wrong things.

I hope that makes sense. It is very hard to articulate the message I am trying ton convey.

 

[msbojingles]

There are quite a few things in the bible that I don't understand, and so many things about God's ways that I don't understand.

Who can forget Ananias and Sapphira? Did the Lord not execute the death penalty on them?

Sometimes my heart breaks over what the Lord declares must be. I don't understand it all, for I am but a human, for as Paul very correctly stated :"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12)

God's ways are much higher than mine, and one thing I do know and can trust in is this; that He is a Just God, He loves Justice and He makes no mistakes.