Wednesday, March 21, 2012

capital punishment and christianity

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take life for life,


eye for eye,





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tooth for tooth,


hand for hand,





foot for foot,


burn for burn,


wound for wound,








bruise for bruise.








-Exodus -5











Christians today often base beliefs about justice around the Biblical concept of “An Eye for an Eye”. Taking a look at the word Christian, one should presume that anyone who considers themselves to be in that category is a follower of Christ. Jesus Christ was a radical; a man who changed the courses of history on earth, and even went against some of the practices and teachings of the Old Testament, in which this barbaric concept can be found. The death penalty is another barbaric custom which is generally justified by Christians using this biblical concept. However, Christians generally attempt to live their lives according to Christ’s teachings and the New Covenant. Therefore, Christians should thus abide by His teachings, which can be found in the New Testament of any Bible. The concept of “an Eye for an Eye” in regards to Capital Punishment can also be disputed by the realization that it is a truly hypocritical notion. As horrifically wrong and deserving of punishment as murder may be, taking the life of a murderer in return is a morally illogical and hypocritical act of punishment which accomplishes little, and proves even less. A final argument from almost any religious standpoint would be that it would be immoral, and in some cases blasphemous to “play God” by taking the life of another person, no matter what they have done. Most Christians and other believers in God feel that He is the Creator and therefore the master of all creation. Therefore, they feel that it is up to Him, and only Him to take the life of one of His children. In conclusion, the concept of “An Eye for an Eye” is no longer a valid excuse for the Death Penalty because of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, because it is a hypocritical notion, and because it would be religiously immoral to “Play God” by choosing when a person’s life will be taken.


The first reason why this concept can no longer be considered a valid reason for Capital Punishment is because of Jesus Christ. When a person is to face the Death Penalty as a means of punishment for a crime they have committed, many Christians in today’s society turn to the Old Testament instead of the new. They often seek their answer in Exodus Chapter . Verse states “..if there is a serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth…” However, this commandment was given to Christians in a time that was very different from today’s Western culture and society. It should no longer be considered valid in today’s religious society. Why? �because of Jesus Christ. If one were to read the entire bible, they would realize that there are many distinct differences between the Old Testament and the new. When Christ came, he brought with him a whole new set of rules, and changed the course of history in regards to the Christian way of living. He brought forth the New Covenant ; a new proposal founded on better promises. This covenant replaced the old one, and emphasizes forgiveness more so than sin and punishment. It is considered by Christians to have been mediated by Christ, established by God Himself. Basically, what breaches the “Get what you Give” mentality is the concept of sin and forgiveness, which is probably the most important factor introduced in the New Covenant by Christ. Through His sacrifice on the cross, Christ is believed to have bridged the gap between God and Man, and taken on the sins of the world. He taught that all sin is equal in God’s eyes, and that everyone is a sinner. When Christ was crucified, he took on the sin of the world and declared that anyone can be forgiven of that sin if they repent and call on His name. Thus, Christians who are devout followers of Christ would ideally believe that everyone should get a second chance, and that if you take the life of another person, you are depriving them of that chance for forgiveness, therefore sentencing them to eternal damnation.


Carrying out the death penalty as a means of punishment for murder is a deficient method of solution because it is clearly hypocritical. Naturally, all humans would generally agree that killing another person is wrong. Likewise, focussing in on Christianity we see that murder is a very serious wrong, deserving of consequence. However, if the consequence for that sin is to have someone else take the life of that murderer, would that act of punishment not be an act of murder in itself? Technically, it would be. If one were to look up the word “murder” in a dictionary, most definitions would state something along the lines of “The killing of one person by another, especially with premeditated malice.” You do the math. In any case, if a person is guilty of murder, hiring someone to simply kill them off is a disconcerting way of handling the situation, legal or not. And if their sentence was carried out, many would argue that the executioner is no better a person than the murderer himself because the act is still the same, no matter what the reason for committing that act. Taking for example a common situation if a child were to slap his mother, and the mother wanted to teach her child that slapping is wrong, what would slapping her child in return accomplish? She may succeed by frightening her child into not slapping her again, but it defeats her purpose and does not prove her point. Also, in slapping her child as a form of punishment, does this act make the mother any more disciplined than her son? Many would argue no. In the same way, if a man murders a person, and as punishment that man is killed, one should think about exactly what point this would prove, And what this deed will ultimately accomplish. Another factor which ties in with the issue of religious hypocrisy is the fact that all sin is considered by Christians as equal in God’s eyes, as according to Jesus’ teachings. If all sin is equal, then we are all sinners, deserving of the same fate. However, this point will be discussed in further detail later. In any case, the entire concept is quite hypocritical, and should be considered by Christians as religiously, morally and ethically wrong.


The average Christian would concur that it would generally be considered religiously objectionable, and in some cases even blasphemous to “play God” by taking the life of another person, no matter what their wrong. Most followers of God feel that He is the Creator of all things, and that we therefore cannot claim the responsibility of deciding which of His creations should live or die. The Bible states that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not die, but have eternal life. We know that the Christian faith is based upon this core belief; The belief that Christ came to take on the sins of ALL people, no matter who they are or what they have done. Therefore, Christians should believe that everyone deserves a second chance, and that all are now deserving of God’s grace and forgiveness because of Christ. As mentioned earlier, the Bible clearly makes it known that all sin is equal in God’s eyes , and that all sin can be forgiven. If murder is deserving of death, then all sin is deserving of death. However, although Jesus declared that all sin IS deserving of death , Christians believe that He died in our place, taking on all the sin of the world so that all could be spared from it. Therefore, from a Christian standpoint, one should realize that although all people are deserving of death, we all have been saved by Christ, and now have the ability to repent at any time and accept Him. Due to God’s grace, we have been spared. Jesus said “Let he who is guilty of no sin cast the first stone”. Since we are all guilty of sin, and all sin is equal in God’s eyes, it is not fair to attempt to take on God’s role by taking away someone else’s only chance to repent. From a religious position, Christians are called to love others as much as they love themselves , and to try to be examples of Christ . Although it is impossible to live a sinless, Christ-like life, it’s a known fact that Jesus forgave the sins of all people , murderers included. Punishing a person for their crimes is a good way of keeping control on earth and enforcing discipline. However, thinking outside of the earthly realm, sentencing someone to eternal damnation is a serious situation which most Christians would agree would not be something anyone would want to be held responsible for.


In conclusion, the early Biblical concept of “An Eye for an Eye” is no longer a valid excuse for the Death Penalty in today’s Christian society; Because of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, because it is a hypocritical notion, and because it would be religiously immoral to “Play God” by choosing when a person’s life will be taken. Since Christians are obviously considered to be followers of Christ and His teachings, they should follow the New Covenant, of which Christ is the mediator. Since Christ came to change the world, He made some changes to the old teachings, and taught forgiveness rather than focussing on earthly justice. The concept of “an eye for an eye”, found in the old testament of the Bible, has been overridden by Jesus in the New Testament, when He declared “Let he who is guilty of no sin cast the first stone”. According to Christian faith, Jesus came for the sole purpose of creating a way to bridge the gap between God and Man. He did this by sacrificing Himself on the cross as a means of taking on the sin of the world. Through this act, He made it possible for followers of Him to repent of their sin and be forgiven. Since all sin is equal in God’s eyes, all sinners are thus able to receive forgiveness from those sins, great or small, if they are truly remorseful for what they have done and have made the commitment to repent. Taking the life of another person for the sins they have committed would only be a hypocritical act of revenge, since if all sin is equal in God’s eyes, a murderer should be considered no worse than the average “Joe”… who is generally a liar, some kind of thief, has at some point had lustful thoughts, covets what he does not have, and so on. For any person to “cast the first stone” and take away a fellow sinner’s chance to repent by eliminating them from this earth and sentencing them to eternal damnation would be a truly hypocritical deed. Not to mention, if a person kills someone, and that person is then killed as punishment, the person that killed the criminal could then also be considered a murderer because he or she took the life of another human being. Many Christians would agree that taking on this kind of responsibility could lead one to believe that they are dangerously close to attempting to “play God”. By taking the life of another person, no matter what they have done, is something that should stay in the hands of the One who created that person. Christians generally believe quite strongly that God is the Creator, and the master of all creation. Therefore, the lives of those people He created should never be put in the hands of anyone but God Himself.





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