A Christian Conscience in a Secular Republic (Temple Edits)

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1 A Christian Conscience in a Secular Republic Alexandra Temple College of Humanities and Social Sciences – Grand Canyon University GOV-459: Government Capstone Professor Racette November 13, 2022

2 A Christian Conscience in a Secular Republic Capital Punishment and the Christian Conscience Capital punishment has existed since before recorded history, ranging from formalized murder dating back thousands of years and such as the Babylonian civilizations that used the death penalty as punishment, to the methods of capital punishment known today. While this widespread punishment is still used in many countries to date, the number of countries abolishing this punishment continues to grow each year. The United States is one of the countries still utilizing this form of punishment, with electrocution and lethal injection being the most common methods of execution in the country today and the most common methods of capital punishment in the United States today are electrocution and lethal injectio n . However, the United States has practiced a wide variety of methods of capital punishment, such as including lethal gas, hanging, firing squads, and burning (Colucci, 2020). Despite this particular form the legality of this particular punishment ’s legality , there exists a remarkable divide between the law and morality of this capital punishment. Capital The capital punishment, or the death penalty, poses a conflict with the Christian conscience. The death penalty poses a conflict with the Christian conscience because it elicits the question “whether the state has the right to take life as a punishment, and if so, whether we can achieve moral certainty that individual defendants are particularly deserving of death” (Santoro, 2014). The second question it brings raises is whether humans deserve to kill other humans in a “justified” manner, or if that is a duty solely given to God. If someone is analyzing the matter of one examines the death penalty from an Old Testament lens through the lens of the Old Testament , one they would find that the death penalty was a part of the old covenant God made with Noah after the flood, as well as the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Genesis 9:6 states

3 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” This is often the argument asserted when the matter of the divide between law and morality is raised. However, the true divide between the Christian conscience and the death penalty lies in the New Testament. The New Testament takes the place of the old laws and covenants and creates a new covenant with the world through Jesus Christ. The New Testament shows depicts the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and tells the world that He has fulfilled the old laws, ultimately becoming the new law. Therefore, the people were tasked with fulfilling His commands. In the New Testament, Jesus makes it clear that not only is murder unacceptable and an insult to His love, but even anger towards one’s equal is unacceptable. Matthew 5:21-22 states “ You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Along with other commands in the New Testament, it is made clear that Jesus’ new covenant opposes murder and hatred of all kinds, including the death penalty. The other divide between the Christian conscience and the death penalty is the issue with the state “playing God” when they sentence someone to death. The death penalty is one of the state’s greatest displays of heavy-handed power over another person, “and the question of whether state-sanctioned killing is acceptable cuts to the core of one’s worldview” (Ciaramella, 2021). The state’s ability to sanction another person’s death shows the power of life and death the government holds over its people, which Christians believe to be a power wholly reserved for God.

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