How can you call yourself religious and be okay with the death penalty?

Question

Why would anybody feel joy or even peace from someone else's death? tyrant or not, murderer or not, deserve to live or not, if your God says that he's the only judge and the only one who can decide when life ends, why does the US who brags about being a "christian" nation, feel like they have the right to take someone's life ( even if they deserved to die)?

PS: I'm atheist and I still feel it's wrong.

an eye for an eye is not justice...it's revenge. And that makes us equal to animals.

And isn't taking someone's life to show that life is valuable defeating the purpose?
You can't teach me to believe that life is the most precious thing if some people have the right to make laws that can take it away.

Answer 1

What's wrong with the death penalty? Why should should the taxpayers have to support murderers and rapists for all their lives after the elected to kill another human being?
The Constitution does not prohibit the death penalty.

Answer 2

I think that that people should pay attention to the facts before reaching a conclusion about the death penalty. Many people just call for revenge. Revenge should not replace common sense based on the facts. Here are some of them.

One mistake that a lot of people make is about the costs.
The cost of a system with capital punishment is much higher than one without it. A huge part of these costs come before a death sentence is even handed down- extensive pretrial investigation of the defendant, not only into the crime(s), takes much longer and is much more complicated to choose a jury, prosecution team much larger and where the money is available, so is the defense team, many more pre trial motions which must be answered, two trials- one to determine guilt and one to determine the sentence. Once a death sentence is pronounced, the cost of locking someone up on death row is much higher. We could spend the extra money on crime prevention methods that work, such as the sophisticated police methods used in New York City, and on victims assistance programs, which are underfunded.

A few other things to know are- Over 120 people on death rows have been found to be innocent and released. It is human nature to make mistakes and there is no reversing the execution of an innocent person. Another thing to keep in mind is that once a defendent has been executed, the case is closed. If the wrong person was executed the killer is still out there.

Life without parole means what it says. It is available in more and more states.

Homicide rates are higher in states with the death penalty than in states without it.

Death sentences can be very hard on the families of murder victims. The legal process takes a long time and puts them through unnecessary pain at each step. Life without parole is sure and swift and rarely appealed.

People who call for revenge should read the amazing statements of murder victims familiy members who supported the death penalty in principal but oppose it because they have seen the pain it causes to families like theirs.


Last of all, opposing the death penalty does not mean that you condone brutal acts or excuse the people who commit them.

Answer 3

I'm an atheist as well and frankly I just don't understand those of religion at all, be they Muslim, Christian or Jew.
It's the Christians that need a list of rules that they are supposed to live by, you know those ten commandments they are always trying to put where they don't belong, like in front of court houses? It's funny but it's their list of rules yet they still can't understand what, “you shall not kill” means. Maybe there is a reason Christians need rules written out for them while the rest of us simply understand it’s common sense that you shouldn't kill. Remember they are the ones who helped to put Bush in office twice starting all these killings. The big problem with theists is they seem to lack the ability of independent thought. Being unable to think for themselves they are incapable or unwilling to question the authority of leaders like their pastor, their parents (even after they reach maturity) or their government. They still don’t understand that even after Vietnam, Nixon, Iran-Contra, Bush 1, Iraq and Bush 2 that the government doesn’t always think of the American people first and authority must be questioned. When authority goes unquestioned we end up with fascism and with that comes the loss of rights and freedoms.
So now the government, lead by a Christian evangelist, tells them that it’s ok to kill someone because they are doing gods work, by punishing someone by killing him while they ignore their god's commandment not to kill in the first place under the sixth commandment. Oh it’s all very confusing isn’t it?
The bottom line is there is no logical answer to your question because they are not logical people.

The atheist’s guide to life-
1. You can do whatever you want, just don’t hurt someone else physically or mentally.
2. Advance the human race anyway you can.
3. Remember you do not own this earth, you are only borrowing it from your grandchildren.

Answer 4

We discussed this at church. There is no joy in putting a condemned person to death. The only joy or peace is IF the person truly found God before being executed. I would ask you this. You oppose the death penalty. How many CPs (condemned persons/prisoners) have you really met and come to know? How many of the victims family members did you meet? Prison today isn't like the old time prisons. Prisoners now have a lot more rights. Judges are feeling sorry for them. But, somewhere along the line, the victims and their gruesome deaths have been forgotten. The men that did the killing are not sweet little misunderstood choir boys. They have no conscience. They don't care about anyone but themselves. These men are professional cons. Many have more money on their accounts than you or I put together. Why? Because they know how to con. They write letters claiming their innocence. They even con their families. But, when the doors are shut on them, they all brag on their latest conquest. Having worked with a religious organization that stood up for them and their rights, and living in a prison town, I got to know a lot of people related to, and friends of, prisoners. I know of one prisoner who spoke of people as being disposable. He spoke to a victims' group and even had them in tears, proclaiming his innocence. Want to meet him in a dark alley? He's good at his lies, and one judge believed him and gave him a chance to actually get out of prison! Let's see how you would react if someone in your family met up with him on the outside. Let's see how you would feel if he brutally murdered someone you love. To be treated like a human, you first have to act like one. The men/women on death row haven't.

Answer 5

I am an American and I can call myself "religious" if I choose to because I am privileged with freedom of speech. I believe in the death penalty because there are some individuals that are just plain evil. They are not worth the expense or trouble of jailing them, the chance or rehabilitation is very slim. I feel a kinder death is appropriate even if it is not deserved.

Answer 6

God himself mandated the death penalty many times. It was for the better good that he would do so. Today, this decision is left up to Governments, which are all God ordained. (This is a complex subject, but yes, the Nazi's were just as God ordained as the United States. Basically, God allowed them to exist in that place, at that time).

Also, I don't think any 'feels joy'. I certainly don't feel joy in Saddams death. But I feel that he was given his day in court and he is paying the price for his crime. I have no problem with it.

Answer 7

i do no longer help it for many motives, yet it is the main compelling. people are fallible and, no remember how stressful we attempt to do away with the possibility of executing an harmless guy or woman, it is going to by no potential pass away. homicide expenditures are larger in states (and in any different case comparable international locations) that have the loss of existence penalty than in those with out it. As for deterrence, it has by no potential been shown to be to any extent further powerful in deterring potential criminals than different punishments. for individuals and not applying a feeling of right and incorrect, the suited deterrent is the terror of being caught. existence with out parole additionally keeps the worst criminals off the streets. It potential precisely what it says. Its important benefit: If we detect an harmless guy or woman in penitentiary he may be released.

Answer 8

I'm religious, & I believe the people of Iraq deserve to see this cruel, ruthless doctator be punished for crimes against humanity.
What about the people he tortured, or the rapes of little girls by his permission? Can you quietly turn your head away & pretend that punishment is not needed?
The only thing needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.

Answer 9

How can you say I feel joy over a death? That's assuming a lot. How am I bragging? Do you realize we vote, have laws, and men and women that create them.

Answer 10

Easy !!

God says send murderers to Him.

The victim/s is with God.

Murderers have no salvation in the flesh.

First the victim/s must forgive the murderer.

It is written, have you read?

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