Would Christian American allow another American to be hanged for any reason?

Question

Do you Christians not consider revenge or "justice" killing wrong not to mention a barbaric hanging.

Answer 1

I certainly do consider it wrong. I can't believe that a "real Christian" would condone it.

Answer 2

Christians are definitely divided on the issue of capital punishment. This disagreement arises because of the seemingly inconsistent Old and New Testament attitudes (i.e., "An Eye for an Eye" in the Torah vs. "Turn the other cheek" in the gospels.

Remember, however, the two verses are used in very different contexts. One is the the governance of God's chosen people (an eye for an eye) and the other is in personal relationships and internal forgiveness for wrongs (turn the other cheek).

The death penalty should not be about revenge or hatred for someone even if they have done a terrible thing (i.e., murder, rape, etc). It is about societal justice, deterrence, etc.

The death penalty is just when dealt our fairly and objectively. In America, Saddam (who I assume this question is pointed at) would have been given a dozen appeals over the course of years, could have gotten his own law degree, and pobably even could have found some legal technicality to get his sentence commuted.

In the case of this man, he has a brutal dictator who committed murder, genocide, rape, etc. over the course of his reign. His death signaled a turning of society away from his brutal society. Like it or not, Saddam was quickly put to death in a manner that many of his victims may have preferred, were THEY given an option.

Answer 3

From a Catholic point of view:

Jesus, John 8:1-11, spares a women guilty of adultery whom the Mosaic Law said should be stoned to death.

If the guilty person's identity and responsibility has been fully determined then non-lethal means to defend and protect the people's safety from the aggressor are more in keeping with the common good and the dignity of the human person.

The Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives.

However in today's modern society, the capability of rendering the offender incapable of doing harm - without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically non-existent.

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

Perhaps the swinger took someones life.
Not at all, infact iI find hangings far too leniant.
Barbaric killing woud be mass murder of helpless civilians trapped in a building, market, or club. Vengence at least requires some courage to track and take out the individual who had harmed you or a loved one. But random belt bombing to kill innocent strangers and yourself because you lack the courage to go to trial for your cries is not only barbaric, but is the epitome of cowardice and callousness.

Answer 5

The death penalty is wrong no matter who's in the noose. Life is a sacred force worth preserving no matter how vile the person lives. The death penalty is simply another manifestation of revenge or "justice" killing against which Jesus Christ taught. Revenge only makes our world more violent, not more peaceful

Answer 6

Nope Christians don't believe in killing. Although I believe he should have been locked up forever. Since he was a threat to the lives of other people

Answer 7

i think people should be hanged nowdays - forget the chair/needles.. unless you're gonna put it on television
people should see when crimes are punished... that's the biggest reason behind hanging. revenge is bad, but we are to promote goodness... throwing a hitler in jail just doesn't seem like a good idea (its where they write books).
there are bad people who need to be made an example of before they think they can do anything.

Answer 8

Prez Bush may be the right person to answer this who as Governor of Texas stayed more busy signing the execution papers than doing other useful work (as I have read frequently from reliable sources).

Answer 9

a Christian does not support killing. if he does he is a wrong doing Christian and will be judged for that. We must stop death penalty we don't have the right to kill.

Answer 10

Actually, NH and Washington state both allow the death penalty by hanging (see link below).

ALL of the fundamentalist Christians that I know are all for the death penalty. Sad.

Answer 11

As a Catholic, I oppose the use of capital punishment, except when there is a threat of the murderer directing murders from a prison. I believe that murderers should be given a chance to repent in prison.