Capital Punishment Essay

1721 Words4 Pages

Introduction
Punishment/Capital Punishment and the Christian attitude towards it has been a topic that has been and still is being debated today. Punishment, but in particular, Capital Punishment, is a complicated topic to discuss, especially when it comes to Christian attitudes and the ethics towards it. The purpose of this report is for people to have a better understanding of what this Christian attitude is or what these Christian attitudes are towards Punishment/Capital Punishment in relation to Christian ethics. In this report, you will learn about the history of capital punishment, the different Christian groups against Capital Punishment and what the Bible says about it as well, all in relation to Christian ethics.

Body
History
Capital Punishment was an important part of the justice system of Old Testament Israel. At this time, the Christian ethic towards Capital Punishment was that it was right. Death was the result of people committing serious civil crimes like murder and rape. This was also in place for crimes against God’s sanctity, like false prophecy and witchcraft. There were procedures that were put in place to stop Capital Punishment and God occasionally spared lives of people whose behaviours would have meant death.

However, there were Christians that recognised that Capital Punishment was wrong in very early history: Pre-Reformation Christians in the 1400s stressed Christ’s instruction to ‘turn the other cheek’ and they therefore opposed Capital Punishment. But, for the most part of history, Christians recognised that capital punishment was needed to control society. As an example, Pope Innocent III, put forward the proposal that: "The secular power can, without mortal sin, exercise judgment of blood, provide...

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Most Anglicans and Protestants
Most Anglicans and Protestants have opposed Capital Punishment since the 1960s. In relation to Christian ethics, both denominations say that Capital Punishment is wrong.

Conclusion
Christian attitudes to Punishment/Capital Punishment are still being debated today. As can be read from the report, it is a very complex topic to discuss in relation to Christian attitudes. The purpose of the report was to find out what these Christian attitudes are and from the report, it has shown there are many on Punishment/Capital Punishment. In the report, I discussed the history of Capital Punishment, the different Christian groups against it, how the Bible is split on the attitude towards Capital Punishment with the Old Testament being for it and the New Testament having a mix of both sides and the Christian ethics related to all of the areas.

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