If you're a Christian, do you oppose or not the Death penalty, and WHY ?

Answer 1

I oppose the death penalty. I don't feel the state should have the power of who lives and who dies, and morally its wrong. The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime.

Answer 2

Yes, I do, on several levels.

First of all, as an institution it is incredibly flawed, racist, and classist. And it has never been shown to be a crime deterrent any more than lifetime in prison. Also, a life sentence ends up being cheaper than the death penalty, so it's not a matter of cost.

Those are all why I oppose the death penalty in America. But I also oppose it on a basic level of human rights. Why would we answer violence with more violence? That makes no sense.

If I am to be the change I wish to see in the world, I will not promote government-sanctioned killing, which is what the death penalty is. It is not my place to decide who lives and dies.

Answer 3

I am a Christian. Raised Methodist, Evangelical, Baptist, etc. I was raised to believe that we needed the death penalty, but recently my family and I have made a shift back toward Bible based faith rather than tradition-based faith. I have encountered some unexpected results. I am finding that many of my formerly held beliefs and belief systems do not stand up to Holy scripture. I am not sure of an answer to this one yet, but it seems there is little (if any) reason to support the practice of punishment by death. There is certainly not any support for it in the New Testament. And while Jesus did not come to destroy the old Law, He did come to fulfill it. And He did just that. Therefore, while Old Covenant scripture is valuable for study as is all scriipture, it is no longer the law by which we live. I do not see Jesus telling me to kill someone because of his sin. That seems contrary to His nature. We are told to "judge the church" and not the world. We are told to stand apart from the world as a city on a hill for all to see. But I can't find anything telling me to kill people. Quite the contrary actually. But you say that I'm not killing them, the state is. Well we're also told not to take matters between brethren before unbelievers. Obviously, Paul was probably not talking about murderers and the like. Also, I think we forget who really has the authority to make live and make die. We might steal this power, but we don't have the authority to determine who lives and dies. But then you can add in all the "logical" reasons not to do it: It costs more, the jury might be wrong (which is reason enough for me), it doesn't allow for an opportunity for salvation, etc. I think I'm leaning far away from it. The only thing that we might lose is its affect as a deterant, and I'm not sure that it has much use as such.

Answer 4

It is true that there are many Bible passages (especially in the OT) that support capital punishment, often for relatively mild offenses:

- 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 5

I'm a Christian and I oppose the death penalty. I know that many Christians are for it because it appears in the Bible, but I just don't like the whole idea. As a Christian, I know that unless someone repents, is truly sorry for what they have done, and finds Jesus, they will definitely get the punishment they deserve after their life on earth.

And to greg m. - Actually did you know that it costs more to sentence a person to death than to keep them in prison for life? This is due to the high cost of appeals. =]

Answer 6

I'm a Christian who opposes the death penalty.

I suppose, in theory, I'm for it. However, the way justice is served in America makes me believe the last words of John Spenkelink, the first man executed in Florida after the Supreme Court vacated all previous death sentences in Furman v. Georgia. Spenkelink said, "Capital Punishment: Those without the capital get the punishment."

I think that the death penalty is disproportionately applied to people who cannot afford adequate or competent legal counsel. I'm pretty certain that Florida has executed innocent people.

I don't think that capital punishment provides any deterrent whatsoever.

It's like the bumper sticker says: Why do we kill people who kill people to show people that killing people is wrong?

Answer 7

Oppose
I am not obligated to follow the Mosaic law.
I believe that no one has the right to take another persons life.
The person who commit ed the crime is probably in need of being taken out of society, but a majority of them may need some psychological help, not death.

It doesn't deter crime, like people think, since the appeals can last over 30 years, all the while the person is institutionalized (which propbably happend from earlier smaller crime with a prison sentence). Then they know exactly how they will die. Mostly by lethal injection.

Answer 8

I am a Catholic Christian, and I am opposed to the death penalty because it is inhumane, it hasn't been shown to work as a deterrent, and there is too much room for error in that an innocent person can be unjustly put to death.

Answer 9

Hello,

I used to support it but not anymore.

1) In my country we have had several cases where murderers were wrongly convicted, a few sentenced to hang but escaped that date when capital punishment was abolished. 20 or 30 years later, DNA technology caught up and their cases reviewed and they were exonerated.

2) Also the execution of Karla Faye Tucker and even Saddam Hussein made me really think. Though they had to pay a debt to society, much more could have been learned from them by keeping them alive.

3) Now as for my heart, the only reason I wanted to see people face death was more for revenge which is un Christian in reality... especially when I was not the one affected. Also after seeing stats from other nations, I do not think it is a real deterent.

Cheers,

Michael Kelly

Answer 10

I now am opposed to the death penalty because of the flaws in our legal system. To many have been sentenced to death wrongly. Life without parole is my preference. Yes, it's cocts money. What price do you place on killing an innocent man unjustly?