NOTICE:
I
will post a quote or article from a Christian in favor of capital punishment
every fortnight. As it is Easter today, I chose these two articles by two
ministers from the Brethren Revival Fellowship.
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.brfwitness.org/?p=715
The Death Penalty–Cruelty or Necessity?
Editorial
September/October, 1999
Volume 34, Number 5
The
capital punishment debate continues. When dealing with the issue, the media
often focuses on cases involving heinous crimes, and as a result, the debates
can be very emotional. Humanitarians of whatever.faith (or of no faith) argue
that capital punishment has no place in an enlightened society. They say that
it constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment,” and that capital punishment is
not a deterrent to crime.
Many
Christians believe that the Bible condemns capital punishment. The Ten
Commandments speak of respect for life and simply declare, “You shall not kill”
(Exodus 20:13). But an equal number of Christians defend capital punishment as
a legitimate part of the civil order, and point out that capital punishment is
supported in the Bible. They say that one who wrongfully murders another, must
sacrifice his own life, because in killing a human being made in the image of
God, the murderer demonstrates contempt for God’s creation and for God himself.
Genesis 9:6 in the Old Testament and Romans 13:4 in the New Testament are used
to support the belief that civil governments have the authority and the
responsibility to carry out capital punishment.
Much
of the difference of opinion among Christians, about capital punishment, stems
from a wrong understanding of the New Testament teaching about the two
kingdoms. Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my, kingdom were of
this world, my servants would fight…but now my kingdom is not from here” (John’
18:36);.
A
“kingdom” is a domain over which a king rules, and spiritually speaking, Jesus
says, there are two kingdoms. Jesus is Lord over the church; Satan is the god
of this world. Each kingdom operates by different ethics and assumes different
responsibilities. Jesus says that the nations of this world do fight. But He
says, “My kingdom is a different kingdom; my kingdom operates by higher laws;
those who are members of my kingdom operate by a different ethic.”
We
believe that the church and state are two separate entities, and that each has
a separate assignment. The state is the group of individuals which actually
runs a nation, makes its laws, and punishes those who violate its rules. The
officer of the state is “the minister of God to you for good” (Romans 13:4).
Civil authorities protect our rights and guard our liberties, and therefore
they serve God in an important way; If there were no policemen, no penal
institutions, and no civil authorities–the world would see nothing but chaos
and disintegration. The church itself, a peculiar people, would ‘: be unable to
exist. It is our Christian duty to obey the government, unless obedience to
civil authorities requires disobedience to the clear revelation of God in His Word
(Acts 5:29).
By
way of contrast, the church is God’s agent to proclaim the Gospel to all
nations. The “Gospel” is the message about God’s love and Christ’s death which
becomes the means by which sinful humans can become reconciled to a holy God.
The Christian, while a citizen of the land, is not an agent of the state, nor
does he enforce the law and inflict penalties. The church is God’s redemptive
arm; it does not have the right to take the life of offenders; Christians are
not to “avenge themselves” (Romans 12), and surely they cannot be executioners.
Yet the sword-wielding officer of the state is called a “minister of God”
(Romans 13), and is an avenger to execute punishment on wrongdoers.
The
real issue for the Anabaptist oriented believer is, “What does the Bible say?”
All other arguments about whether capital punishment is a deterrent to crime,
or whether it represents cruel and unusual punishment, or whether it brings
financial relief to society–all such contentions are irrelevant.
The
execution of criminals by the state is not clearly prohibited in the Bible. In
Old Testament times, capital punishment was ordered for those guilty of certain
crimes;’ These include kidnapping, witchcraft, sexual intercourse with animals,
adultery, and a host of other misdemeanors. In the New Testament, the officer
of the state “does not bear the sword in vain;” he is appointed to “execute
wrath on those who practice evil” (Romans 13:4b). But the Christian is not an
agent of the state. Romans 12 is addressed to the Christian and uses the
pronouns “we” and “us.” Romans 13 refers to the officers of the state, and uses
the pronouns “he” and “they.
The
agent of the state should always be careful in the use of capital punishment.
By far the majority of those who take the Iast steps to the death chamber, are
poor and friendless. The rich often go free because they employ the services of
high priced lawyers. Sometimes the death penalty has been handed down unfairly,
and innocent persons have gone to the chair. As a result, many of us hold the
view that while God permits the death penalty, He does not mandate it. And
while the offender should be held accountable, preserving the life of the
wrongdoer may provide opportunity for the remaining parties involved, to
ultimately be restored into a right relationship with God. We hope you will
read the further insights from the pen of Craig Alan Myers.
–Harold
S. Martin
The Death Penalty–Cruelty or Necessity?
by Craig Alan Myers
Capital
punishment, or the taking of human life in punishment for crime, is legally
authorized in 38 states, and more than 3,500 persons are on death row in these
states. After a moratorium on executions from 1967 to 1977, Gary Gilmore was
executed by firing squad in 1977. Since then, over 500 persons have been put to
death for their crimes against society in the United States. The death penalty
is inflicted by means of the electric chair, hanging, firing squad, gas
chamber, or lethal injection. In some foreign countries, death is administered
by beheading.
For
many years, various organizations (such as the National Coalition Against the
Death Penalty) and individuals have sought–using political pressure and
tactics–to abolish the death penalty, arguing that state executions are simply
another form of murder; that the deterrent effect (that is, preventing further
murders) of capital punishment is low or nil; that a truly civilized people do
not use such pre-modern methods to punish crime; that capital punishment is
cruel; or that sociological research on the matter does not warrant support of
the death penalty.
Some
evangelicals, such as Ron Sider and Evangelicals for Social Action, argue that
capital punishment is incompatible with a consistent pro-life ethic. Their
point is that to be truly pro-life, one must oppose the death penalty as well
as abortion and mercy killing. John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford
Institute, a Christian legal advocacy group, believes capital punishment is
inconsistent with grace and forgiveness. Peace-oriented Christians often
attempt to make the Sermon on the Mount apply to issues related to civil
government, including capital punishment.
Other
conservatives and evangelicals take a position which essentially favors the
death penalty as a God-ordained sentence that does restrain evildoers, that
cannot be eliminated without dire social consequences, and that must be carried
out to uphold the high value of human life. Chuck Colson, founder of Prison
Fellowship, formerly opposed capital punishment, but now (after an interview
with John Wayne Gacy, the pedophile who murdered 33 young men and boys) says,
“Justice in God’s eyes requires that the response to an offense be
proportionate.” Some are vocally pro-death penalty to the point of rejoicing in
another’s death. More recently, some have softened their position favoring
capital punishment, if the criminal has made a credible profession of faith in
Christ. Some Christians, known as Reconstructionists, even seek to establish
societal laws and punishments according to the Law of Moses, with the death
penalty instated for over eighteen different crimes.
In
this article, we briefly consider the Scriptural background of the death
penalty and answer several questions. Does the state have the right to take the
life of a criminal? What should be the nonresistant Christian’s attitude toward
the death penalty? Should Christians enthusiastically support the death
penalty, or energetically lobby and march against the death penalty? How do we
reconcile the Old Testament concept of justice with the New Testament emphasis
on forgiveness and redemption without doing violence to one or the other or
both?
Old Testament Background
Depravity,
or the tendency to sin, permeates mankind. Sin began in the Garden of Eden,
when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God’s command. God ordained the
penalty for sin to be death. Since then, sin has come to dominate the life and
thinking of their descendants. The evil effects of sin were clear very soon
when Cain murdered his brother Abel out of envy. To Cain’s credit, he did feel
some kind of sorrow for his deed, and appealed to God to ease his punishment,
which God graciously did. Yet God has not canceled the death penalty for sin.
Lamech
was the first murderer who boasted of his murders (Genesis 4:23-24). His
outrageous flaunting indicated the lack of regard for human life that had
developed. The pre-Flood civilization was highly developed with sophisticated
music, advanced technology and genetic development of livestock. But it was a
cruel culture. By the time immediately preceding the Flood, murder was a way of
life to earth’s inhabitants. This was the prime reason behind God’s decision to
eradicate all human life and to begin again (Genesis 6:13). The low regard for
human life today–with as many as one in three humans dying at another’s hand
through abortion, war, and euthanasia–is a sign that the return of Christ is
near. “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man
be” (Matt. 24:37, NKJV).
When
Noah and his family came off the ark, they immediately offered sacrifice and
worship to God. God issued a new covenant with Noah and his descendants–the
whole human race–restating His command to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis
9:1, 7). God allowed animals to be used for human food (Genesis 9:3), and
issued the decree that the taking of human life was to be met with the ultimate
penalty–the forfeiture of the murderer’s life (Genesis 9:5-6).
Why
did God issue this command? Not as a deterrent, but because of the importance
and dignity of human life; humans are made in God’s image. Human beings, alone
among all the Creation, reflect God’s image in the ability to reason, love,
make moral decisions, etc. Humans are the only earthly creatures God made to
have an eternal relationship with Him. An murderous attack on a human being by
another human is an attack against the God who made them.
The
commands of God in Genesis came long before those given in the Law of Moses.
While the Law was given to the Hebrews (a limited group), the Genesis 9 decrees
are given to all mankind (for universal application). People are still to
multiply and fill the earth, may still consume animals for food, and are
delegated the authority to exact the ultimate price. This principle relating to
human government has not been altered. Hence we can say that, for at least one
crime–murder–and for all time, God has ordained forfeit of life. The underlying
reason for capital punishment–mankind being made in the image of God–has not
changed.
In
the Law of Moses, God expanded the death penalty for the Hebrews to include a
number of crimes, including bestiality, homosexuality, adultery, incest,
kidnapping–in fact, eighteen different crimes. Murder was still the highest
crime, and God instructed Israel, “Your eye shall not pity, but you shall purge
the guilt of innocent blood from Israel” (Deut. 19:13). While the extent of
crimes requiring death grew, the standard for conviction was set strictly.
Capital crimes had to have two or three eyewitnesses in order to convict the
perpetrator. Physical proof alone was not sufficient.
Israel
was a human state with a human government. The Israelites were largely
unregenerate, and therefore needed force or the threat of force to restrain
themselves from falling into wrongdoing and sin. Israel, along with all human
states, was given the right by God to engage in war, use force, and demand
death in punishment for wrongdoing.
New Testament Background
In
New Testament times, capital punishment was a common part of the culture. In
Roman Judea, the Jewish Sanhedrin was forbidden to execute criminals, as that
prerogative was retained by the Roman overlords as a sign of their supreme
control over Jewish society. Romans were skilled in executions. Roman citizens,
such as the Apostle Paul, were given the right to be executed by beheading, for
it was relatively swift and painless. Non-citizens could be tortured before
death, and were often executed by crucifixion–death on a cross. This kind of
death could take up to several days, as the criminal would eventually die by
asphyxiation.
The
New Testament says very little directly about the death penalty. This silence
is instructive, as apparently the Lord Jesus and His apostles were unconcerned with
the operations of the secular state, and more or less upheld the state’s
authority in all areas except where that authority expressly contradicted the
revealed will of God (Acts 5:29). The Sermon on the Mount, sometimes referred
to in discussions of this issue, is addressed to believers, and nowhere is it
applied to those outside of Christ or to civil government. This is because it
is impossible for the non-Christian to abide by the extremely high standards
set by our Lord here.
Some
anti-death penalty advocates have focused on John’s account of the woman taken
in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) as indicating that Jesus was nullifying the death
penalty. But here Jesus called her accusers to account, as they were guilty of
violating the strict standards of the Law of Moses, which called for both
parties to the adultery to be subject to the same punishment (Deut. 22:22-24).
The reference to capital punishment is hardly central to the account, nor does
the account relieve civil government of the responsibility to punish
wrongdoing. Christ nowhere specifically set aside the clear command of Genesis
9:6.
Romans
13 is Paul’s treatment of church-state relations. In Romans 13:4, he states
that the civil magistrate “does not bear the sword in vain,” for he is “the
servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer.” This sword refers to the
one worn by the superior officers in the provinces who had the authority to
inflict capital punishment. Paul does not say that the government should use
the sword; he just acknowledges that the state uses it without condemning the
state for doing so. According to church tradition, it was the sword of the
Roman government that eventually separated Paul’s head from his body.
In
Acts 25:11, Paul states, “If I have committed anything worthy of death, I do
not object to dying.” In other words, he was not trying to get out of a just
punishment. He clearly believed that some crimes were worthy of death, and that
the rulers had the authority to exercise that penalty in those instances. Paul
did not question the right or authority of rulers to require forfeit of life.
It was not an issue about which he was concerned.
Many
Christians who forcefully argue and protest against the death penalty do so
more out of philosophical reasoning or current related concerns, than because
of Scriptural teaching. Sometimes this is admitted, but an appeal is made to
the “mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5). Lloyd Bailey responds:
(1) There is no way to discover Jesus’ “mind” apart from careful study of the reports of his sayings and actions. (2) There is no tension between the teaching of torah [the five books of Moses] on capital punishment and the teachings of Jesus on love and forgiveness…. Modern assertions to the contrary tell us more about the minds of the interpreters than they do about the mind of Jesus (Capital Punishment: What the Bible Says, pp. 82-83).
John
Jefferson Davis concludes,
Capital punishment is a complex and controversial issue that raises profound questions concerning biblical interpretation, the nature of justice, and the meaning of life itself. On balance, the Bible favors the retention of capital punishment. The command given to Noah in reference to murder (Genesis 9:6) is still binding on all societies in the New Testament age. …Because it underscores man’s accountability for his actions it serves as a grim reminder of the need to make peace with God while that opportunity yet remains. (Evangelical Ethics [2nd Ed.], p.188).
A Nonresistant Christian View
The
principles of nonresistance give guidance on the issue of capital punishment.
These principles, accepting the Bible as God’s Word, and recognizing the “two
kingdoms” view of society, serve as a means to harmonize necessary justice and
gracious love and forgiveness.
God
is the Giver of life. He created it, and He may take it. Death is the result of
sin. God requires death–both physical death and spiritual death–as the just
punishment for sin (Romans 6:23). Christians recognize the pervasive depravity
which permeates the human soul. God may delegate to human governments such
things as He wills to maintain societal order. He has delegated to all human
government the authority to require one’s life in a certain, limited
circumstance–the murder of another human being. Capital punishment is not on a
par with abortion or euthanasia, for the latter involve the taking of
“innocent” life, while the former is carried out in relation to those who have
been duly convicted and made lengthy appeals.
Capital
punishment, though, is a last resort. It is an option for government to use. It
should be exercised carefully, prudently, and sparingly. As an editorial in Christianity Today
(9/11/1995, p. 19) says, “Capital punishment is, at best, a barely tolerable
punishment. It is not something that we should exult in.” No sensitive
Christian rejoices that another human being dies–especially without Christ–but
neither should a Christian bear unnecessary feelings of guilt when a convicted
murderer receives the ultimate earthly penalty after due consideration of the extreme
nature of the crime.
Human
government is sanctioned to use force–deadly if necessary–to restrain evildoers
overwhelmed by their depravity. Awful as it is, capital punishment is a
definite acknowledgment of the terrible force needed to keep evil in check.
Christians
recognize that we do not belong to this world (John 18:36). We are but
sojourners and strangers on the way to a better country. Our home is not here.
Jesus’ attitude toward the state was one of “practical indifference.”
Christians live in two kingdoms–the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this
earth. We should be cautious about involving ourselves in human politics and
human conflicts. The world’s methods are not our methods (2 Corinthians
10:3-4). The church cannot expect an unregenerate person or society to live
according to the Sermon on the Mount, for it is impossible to do so without the
indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
Christians
admit the right of rulers to restrain depravity through coercion (Romans 13),
but we maintain that Christians are not to participate in the activities of our
rulers which require force to be used (Romans 12). Believers are commanded to
avoid war, law enforcement, and the infliction of capital punishment. But we
will not deny to the state the right to wage war, enforce the laws, and to
execute duly convicted murderers. We recognize that violence and war of all
sorts will continue until Jesus returns. Christians will not outlaw war or
capital punishment, for we cannot, by political action, change the evil hearts
of human beings. It is beyond our realm as believers.
Our
primary interest is that individuals trust Jesus Christ as their personal
Saviour and Lord, not in changing society. The believer’s time is eternally
rewarded in ministering to those on death row, and telling them the Gospel, and
calling for repentance and conversion. We all have such a short time on this
earth, that it challenges us to make every moment count for eternal things. We
are all under a divine death penalty, instituted by God at the sin of our first
parents. Some of us will die sooner than others, but we are called to be
prepared to meet our God (Amos 4:12), as we will die once and then face
judgment (Heb. 9:27).
Gospel
preaching, whether inside or outside of prisons, also has the preventive or
proactive effect of reducing crime and lawlessness. Those who would truly
desire most crime and capital punishment to end would better devote their time
and resources to proclaiming the Gospel and discipling new believers, as this
gets to the root of the problem–sin. Sixteenth century Geneva (under Calvin’s
preaching) and eighteenth century England (under the preaching of John Wesley
and Charles Whitefield, and Robert Raikes)– are historical examples of the
power of the Gospel applied directly to man’s sin.
Loving
our enemies (or the enemies of our human society) does not preclude the
exaction of duly appointed means of punishment. We may humbly intercede on
behalf of a death row inmate, but understand that our rulers have the last
word. Our responsibility–as far as the government is concerned–is to obey the
government when we can in clear conscience, proclaim the Gospel to and pray for
our leaders, and pay our taxes.
Capital
punishment, as well as any form of judgment, is a unpleasant business. But it
reminds us of the great value of human life. Christians should take advantage
of opportunities to minister the Gospel to those facing the punishment and
those who administer it. We should pray for the conversion of death row
inmates. We all face physical death–separation of the soul from the body–but we
need not face eternal death or separation of the soul from God. Jesus Christ
died to save sinners. He endured not only physical death but spiritual death so
we could have eternal life. This is the Good News that we are called to take to
all human beings wherever we might find them–in the church pew, at the
workplace, on the sickroom bed, or even on death row.
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