Capital punishment, as ordained by God, is the only way to reduce crime in a long-lasting form. Although there are many who would refute this claim, the Bible holds its ground when it comes to the issue of capital punishment. The Bible has stood for, and will continue to stand for, capital punishment. Since God was the one who first initiated capital punishment, we should look to His Word to find the origin of it. Capital punishment was instituted when God told Adam and Eve “...in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 9:6 also references capital punishment by stating, “Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” Exodus 21:12 echoes this saying with, “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.” According to the Bible, if a man kills another man, he is to be immediately put to death. He is not to be allowed to talk his way out of it. The Bible is very clear that punishment for crime should be swift and sure.
Some would argue that capital punishment can only be found in the Old Testament, and the New Testament is all about love and forgiveness. However in Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Jesus did not repeal all Old Testament laws and make up new ones, but on the contrary, He came to fulfill the law and the prophets. Yes, Jesus did come as a loving and merciful God, but He also came in submission to man's authority, which ultimately led to His death. Yet, does man's authority really belong to man? Does man own the authority with which to execute criminals? Jesus Himself said in John 19:11, while talking to Pilate before His crucifixion, “Thou couldest have no powe...
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...e is also a perfect, just, and holy God who cannot even look on sin. He has the power to forgive, but the punishment for crime still must be carried out. A great example of this was the thief on the cross next to Christ. In his last hours on this earth he accepted Christ as his Savior, but God did not take him off the cross because he believed. No, he still had to bear the punishment for the crimes he had committed. Jesus Christ is another good example. He did not even deserve to die. He was innocent! Yet, He submitted to the cross to pay for the sins of mankind. Sin will always have consequences, and just because God is willing to forgive sin, that does not mean He will also take away the consequences. What a criminal sows in crime, he will reap in consequence, whether those consequences are from the justice system, or from a perfectly just God in Heaven.
This idea of being punished for an unremembered crime refers to the Christian belief in original sin. 2 According to Christian theology, all humans are sinners, from the time they are born, for which they will be eternally punished. 2 But only through God’s grace can people be saved.
God is the same yesterday, is the same today and forever will be. His command for the need of capital punishment for those who murder their neighbor has not changed. What Sister Helen does not realize is that God is not gray. He gives black and white commandments and they are to be followed and not be molded into something we would rather choose to do or believe in. Murder is not taking a life in a situation of defending yourself, or a soldier in the military defending the rights God has given to us. Killing, given these examples, are praised in the Bible. We Christians, in obedience to our God, must bear and support the death penalty.
“Sin finds its remedy under the fourth fundamental Christian doctrine, the atonement, worked by Jesus Christ. The orthodox understanding of the atonement sees Christ’s death as satisfying the just wrath of God over man’s sins.” Generally speaking, God has provided a way for man to escape eternally death. It’s the way for his creation to be reconciled back to him. “When Christ died, the Trinity itself split, in order to fulfill the law while providing forgiveness to humans. The doctrine that God himself keeps the law-his own law-even at so a [sic] great a cost to himself, demonstrates his most profound commitment to the rule of law. All things considered, God in the person of Jesus Christ came to earth and obeyed the laws of God without deviation he accepted the Laws of
Sometimes we can not always give what they deserve but, giving them less than what they deserve is unfair. The bible believes in an eye for an eye. Meaning you can kill someone who has killed. I believe in punishing murders and they should get nothing less than what they deserve, but an eye for an eye, to me, is not always the correct punishment. I am in favor of proportional retributivism because it allows flexibility within a range of murder cases. It would allow a more heinous murderer to receive the death penalty and a less severe murder criminal to receive life in prison without violating
The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).
In other words, Jesus, although perfect and blameless in all His ways, took on the title criminal and died as such. He was crucified on a cross at Calvary. No other God has died for his people. Jesus drank the cup of wrath that was reserved for mankind (Matthew 26:39). Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The death and resurrection of Jesus purchased victory over death for humanity, if they choose to accept Him as their Lord and Savior (1 Cor. 15:55). Those who cling to the Gospel, either in sharing it or receiving of it, must believe that Jesus’ death is the only route to attain salvation. He is the only way, truth, and life (John 14:6,
The death penalty, or some prefer to call it capital punishment, has been around since 1608. During the foundation of our country there were twelve deaths – eligible crimes of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and they were as follows: idolatry, witchcraft, blasphemy, murder, manslaughter, poisoning, bestiality, sodomy, adultery, man stealing, false witness in capital cases and conspiracy & rebellion. While some are absolutely for it and some are absolutely against it, there is one factor that comes into play on both sides of the argument and that factor is religion. Many people will state that there is or should be a line between church and state, however religion has and will always play a major role in ones conceptual thinking as to what is right and as to what is wrong, what is moral and what is immoral. Despite the fact that people would rather think or rationalize without involving religion, it is nearly impossible.
In past centuries, the problem was how to find the most painful way to execute a criminal, not whether criminals should be executed or not. Killing alone wasn’t an acceptable way of punishment (McCuen 8). Nowadays, 97.5% of crimes go unpunished in the United States, and the 2.5% who are punished are not being treated harsh enough (90). The death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat him as an animal with no moral sense (Kurtz). Criminals who murder, rape, kidnap, torture others, or commit treason should not have the same punishment as crimes of lesser value (Kurtz). This point is backed up by the bible, where it is stated in the first chapter. In Genesis 9:6 it says, “Yes, you must execute anyone who murders another person, for to kill another person is to kill a living being made in God’s image”. It is also brought up again in Exodus 21:23-24 where it states, “But if any harm results, then the offender must be punis...
The death penalty has been present, in one way or another, for virtually as long as human civilization has existed. The reasons why are apparent; it is intrinsically logical to human beings that a person who takes the life of another should also be killed. This philosophy is exemplified in the famous Biblical passage, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." However, in light of recent research into ethics, criminology and the justice system, the time has come for us to re-examine our ageless paradigm of revenge. Capital punishment is a custom in which prisoners are executed in accordance with judicial practice when they are convicted of committing a “capital crime.”
But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.’” (Exodus 21:12-14 ESV) These are claims from the Old Testament on how to deal with a murderer. The New Testament holds rules about government, the apostle Paul states in the book of Romans, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
Christian’s hold three distinct perspectives on capital punishment, namely Rehabilitationism, Reconstructionism and Retributionism. Rehabilitationism is the view that death sentence should not be allowed for any crime; Reconstructionism holds that death penalty should be allowed for any serious crime; Retributionism recommends death sentence for some capital crimes. The last two positions share a somewhat similar view. This paper focuses on rehabilitationism. Proponents of this view comprise those who appeal to the Bible for justification and those who do not. The paper presents the arguments of those in the former group. Contrary to the view of the rehabilitationalists that the aim of punishment is reformatory or remedial, the paper argues that the aim of capital punishment is justice and a good society.
The substance of forgiveness is known to be an important thing and concept in the teaching of Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus has made it clear that unforgiveness is known to be a serious sin nurtured in the heart. As per Jesus Christ, it is said that the person needs to be forgiven even if a serious problem is caused due to him. If not, even we would not be forgiven from God. As per Jesus, if you forgive the sin done by the people, your heavenly will also forgive you if you have committed any sin. We would always want the heavenly father to forgive us for whatever wrong things or the mistakes that we do. In fact, we always think that it is the duty of God to forgive us. However, we never consider that the degree of offence we have done. We always think that he is the God and it is his prime duty to forgive us no matter what we do. But if somebody does the same thing to us, we always feel that it is not important to forgive them we think that we should not let them go just by forgiving them. Hence, the most important thing that needs to be considered here by us is that we should learn to forgive people (...
Capital punishment goes against almost every religion. Isolated passages of religious scripture have been quoted in support of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral. There is no credible evidence that capital punishment deters crime from the streets in America. Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from committing crime anymore than long prison sentences. Moreover, states without the death penalty have much lower murder rates. Executions are carried out at staggering cost to taxpayer.The funds spent for execution should be used to target the issue of killing and find solutions to help communities unite to demonstrate a more peaceful environment. Recent CNN reported how studies done have found that the death penalty criminal litigation, costs taxpayers far more than seeking life without parole. (CNN, 2015) The states spends millions of dollars to put away death row inmates when the funds could be used to help channel society in tune with how to become more positive and getting help to those who need
Though the death penalty is considered barbaric, it is not. With those who have ones that have died viciously to the ones who died young there is such a thing as karma. The death penalty allows those people who committed the crime to be punished equally. Therefore, I agree with the reason for having the death penalty. It is only fair that the criminal be punished for his wrong doings. The bible does say, “An eye for an eye.” When there is equal punishment and safety it makes people worry less. It allows them to live out their lives in peace, and to not look back on something bad that has happened to them.
The death penalty has been enforced for as long as recorded history, but is it morally acceptable? Capital punishment may deter crime, but at the same time, it may also be considered a cruel and unusual punishment. Questions of the constitutionality of the death penalty have reduced executions, but have crowded the death row with inmates. Many people support the death penalty, although it is an extremely controversial issue. Capital punishment creates debate over racial biases, and does not deter crime; it kills many innocent people as well.