NOTICE:
I
will post a quote from a Christian in favor of capital punishment every
fortnight.
QUOTE: Some speculate that God’s mandate for capital punishment is weak,
because the requirement for two witnesses in such cases (Numbers 35:30;
Deuteronomy 17:6) drastically reduces the application of that sanction. Such
speculation is unwarranted. By wrongly isolating the Hebrew ‘ d,
"witness", from its broad biblical context, some interpreters have
falsely concluded that two or more "eye" witnesses are required in
capital cases and in all criminal cases subject to court judgment (Deuteronomy
19:5). Did God want nearly all criminals, including murderers, to get off,
scot-free, if “. . . (they) had not taken the prudent measure of committing
(their) crime where two people did not happen to be watching him?" The
biblical record rejects any such conclusion.
The word "witness",‘ d, has broad meaning, including,
anyone with (1) " . . . pertinent knowledge concerning the crime, even
though he had not actually seen it."(Lev 5:1), such as motive,
opportunity, accomplices, overheard confessions, wiretaps, etc.; (2) physical
evidence can also bear witness, also ‘ d (Ex 22:13), such as bloody clothing,
murder weapon, DNA, fingerprints, etc.; (3) written documents may serve as
evidence and witness (‘ d or ‘ dah, Jos 25:25-27), such as a confession,
documents showing motive or implication, etc.; (4) monuments and memorial
stones, such as gal-‘ d in Gen 31:46-49, can also bear witness. Indeed,
"there is no contravention of biblical principles in allowing such
testimony, even though only one actual witness may be found, or none at
all." There is no biblical requirement for two, or any, "eye"
witnesses in criminal cases.(Dr.
Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Biblical Difficulties, Zondervan Pub.,
143-145, 1982, also see the exceptional writings on John 8:11, 371-373,
therein.) According to actual biblical usage, the witness and evidence
requirements in capital cases in the U.S. meet or exceed all biblical
standards.
AUTHOR: Gleason Leonard Archer, Jr. (May 22, 1916 – April 27, 2004) was a
Biblical scholar, theologian, educator, and author. Archer's father was Gleason
Archer, Sr., the founder of Suffolk University in Boston. Archer graduated in
1938 with a B.A. from Harvard University (summa cum laude in Classics) and
received an LL.B. from Suffolk Law School in 1939, the same year he was
admitted to the Massachusetts bar. In 1940 he received a master’s degree and in
1944 he was awarded a Ph.D. at Harvard University in Classics. Finally he
received his Bachelor of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1945.
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