Fellow Christians, what is your stance on capital punishment?

Question

Then it would have to go in the political section, oh heck just answer why dont ya lol

local 483, where is it noted about certain crimes are punishable by capital punishment in the NT? I personally feel like I need to allow God to judge accordingly when it comes to any sin. Im no advocate for child killers, etc however, sin itself is the seperation from God, any sin?

I think its very natural and human to want death for these vile people, however is it what God wants?

Answer 1

Like many topics, you can find support for both sides of this issue in the Bible if you look hard enough.

There is certainly no shortage of calls for capital punishment (particularly in the OT), often for relatively mild offenses. For example:

- Adultery (Leviticus 20:10)
- Blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16)
- Breaking the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14 & 15)
- Disobedient children (Exodus 21:15 & 17; Leviticus 20:9)
- Homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13)
- Not being a virgin on your wedding night (but only if you're a woman - Deuteronomy 22:13-22)

But, there are many passages (esp. in the New Testament) that are ANTI-death penalty. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

There are many, many practical problems with capital punishment (that I won't get into here), but purely from a moral standpoint, I can't imagine that Jesus would support it. True Christians shouldn't, either.

Answer 2

Some of the answers you received do not reflect what we know about capital punishment. Many people support the death penalty because they fear that killers will be released into their communities. Here are answers to questions about the practical aspects of the system and alternatives, with sources listed below.

What about the risk of executing innocent people? (People of faith should be very interested in this.)
124 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence.

Doesn't DNA keep new cases like these from happening?
DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides. It is not a guarantee against the execution of innocent people.

Doesn't the death penalty prevent others from committing murder?
No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in states that do not.

So, what are the alternatives?
Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. It is sure and swift and rarely appealed. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.

But isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?
The death penalty costs much more than life in prison, mostly because of the legal process. Anytime the death penalty is a possible sentence, extra costs start to mount up even before a trial, continuing through the uniquely complicated trial (actually 2 separate stages, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases, and subsequent appeals.

What about the very worst crimes?
The death penalty isn’t reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but rather for defendants with the worst lawyers. When is the last time a wealthy person was sentenced to death, let alone executed??

Doesn't the death penalty help families of murder victims?
Not necessarily. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.

So, why don't we speed up the process?
Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person.

Answer 3

Well the answers here pretty much confirm my conviction that Christians are a bunch of bloodthirsty hate mongers who wouldn't understand the words forgiveness or redemption if they bit them on the bum.

The irony is that they do not see that what they say they believe and what they do or hold as values simply demonstrate the most breathtaking hypocrisy. And God hates hypocrites. So they are all going to Hell. Amen.

Answer 4

"As regards the be conscious particularly, it has existed in each and all ages, nonetheless no longer the be conscious we very own on the cutting-edge. yet another be conscious existed in the main historic Church till now the Flood, and yet yet another be conscious in the classic Church after the Flood. Then got here the be conscious written by using Moses and the Prophets in the Jewish Church, and ultimately the be conscious written in the process the Evangelists in the hot Church. the explanation why the be conscious has existed in each and all ages is that by utilising ability of the be conscious there's a verbal substitute between heaven and earth, and likewise that the be conscious bargains with goodness and certainty, by utilising which a guy or woman is enabled to stay in eternal happiness. in the interior experience as a result the Lord on my own is the subject, for all goodness and certainty are derived from Him" (Arcana Coelestia n. 2895).

Answer 5

Of course god sometimes said. if you do X, Y, or X you are worthy of death. ( Even is many of those things as so small and petty they make us go WTF?). On the otherhand without his sepecif order we have a more general order Thou Shalt Not Kill.
Of course Jesus also mentioned that wanting to do it was the same as doing it. So all the supporters of the death penalty are murderers.
Who knows maybe there is someone out there without sin who could throw the switch. Perhaps some of it's supporters here.

Answer 6

My stance on capital punishment,as a Christian, is the same as the Bible's. Whosoever sheddeth the blood of man,by man shall his blood be shed.The Bible is very clear,in Old and New Testaments,that capital punishment for certain crimes is essential to justice.

Answer 7

Dead penalty is the Hammurabi code in action.
If we use the same punishment (crime) that commit the criminal we become part of the criminal system. Life in prison is by far the most logic and humanistic punishment for this persons.

Answer 8

Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments AFFIRMS capital punishment.

Romans 13:3 If you do what is right, you won’t need to be afraid of your rulers. But watch out if you do what is wrong! You don’t want to be afraid of those in authority, do you? Then do what is right. The one in authority will praise you. 4 He serves God and will do you good. But if you do wrong, watch out! The ruler doesn’t carry a sword for no reason at all. He serves God. And God is carrying out his anger through him. The ruler punishes anyone who does wrong.

Answer 9

I personally do not agree with it, I do not think we have the right to kill another human being under any circumstance, that is only Gods right. I believe criminals should be put in jail to suffer for what they've done.

We do not have the right to play god.

Answer 10

As we all know, God is the ultimate judge, but I do think there are crimes that require the death penalty, such as child-killers and serial killers.