Biblical Perspectives On The Death Penalty Essay

In this paper I will be discussing everything you need to know about the death penalty such as its pros and cons. While the innocent can be killed, the death penalty has its pros because it prevents them from killing again if they are released or have escaped from prison, it helps overpopulated prisons, and it can help victims’ families get justice and closure. Not only can the innocent be killed, but in the past the death penalty was very inhumane. To some its feels right but to others they feel like 2 wrongs don’t make a right. Most people think that the defendant deserves the death penalty, but what does the defendants’ family think?

“Who so sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” (Genesis 9:6) There is an ancient tradition going back to biblical times that a fitting punishment for murder is the execution of the murderer. In this paper I will critically explain Pojman 's “Defense of the Death Penalty”. I will go over what his opinion on the death penalty and the deontologists and consequentialists point of views.

The New Testament call us to protect life, practice mercy, and reject vengeance. For this reason, the death penalty is a form of hatred and bitterness because it denies mercy and forgiveness for the prisoners. As Sister Helen stated in the movie, how can you solve murder by murdering? The governments that enforce the death penalty, violate the international human rights laws in a way that is hypocritical. The law states that it is illegal to kill, meanwhile, they do the opposite of what they are enforcing in the country.

Throughout the history of man there has always existed a sort of rule pertaining to retribution for just and unjust acts. For the just came rewards, and for the unjust came punishments. This has been a law as old as time. One philosophy about the treatment of the unjust is most controversial in modern time and throughout our history; which is is the ethical decision of a death penalty. This controversial issue of punishment by death has been going on for centuries. It dates back to as early as 399 B.C.E., to when Socrates was forced to drink hemlock for his “corruption of the youth” and “impiety”.

Various religions also have varied responses to capital punishment. Even a particular denomination or religious group may not have a unified stand regarding capital punishment. Religious sentiments do play a significant part in the views of people regarding capital punishment. The Bible is replete with various passages that may seem to support or condemn capital punishment. The Old Testament, particularly, is based upon a morality of “teeth against teeth” and “life for life.” The books of laws of the Old Testament actually prescribe stoning to death the persons who commit serious crimes against God and against the community. A number of biblical scholars have considered the part of the Ten Commandments that say “You shall not kill” as a prohibition against individual cases of murder (The Ryrie Study Bible, Exodus 20:13). In the first place, the Christian faith believes that humans are created in the image of God. As such, a serious crime against another person is also a crime against God. In the Old Testament, premeditated murder was sufficient reason for the death penalty (Numbers 35:31, 33). Moreover, in Genesis 9:6, it can be read that “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed”. St. Thomas Aquinas also published his thoughts regarding capital

As far back as one can look into human civilization, justice for a murder victim has always been by taking the life of the killer. In today’s society capital punishment is needed to defend it from further harm, bring justice and/or vengeance to the victims of the loved ones, and encourage psychological deterrence. As of today, there are thirty-two states which offer the only just punishment for a crime without parallel and eighteen states having abolished the death penalty.

In today’s society, where human rights and human life are supposed to be valued, “responding to one killing with another killing” is not an effective way to deal with the situation (source F). The kind of mentality and consequences capital punishment promotes, provides only revenge, and not justice. This compensation is not beneficial to anyone, because it makes the victim as cruel as the criminal and originates from violence. The Christian Doctrine does not support the capital punishment, and “with other forms of punishment available, the USCCB argues, capital punishment is not an effective cure for society’s greatest ills and crimes” (source E). This type of punishment has no place in modern society, because we are not barbarians, and have less cruel ways of dealing with criminals.

The Execution of God is a disturbing book—and rightly so: any meaningful discussion of the death penalty should be profoundly unsettling. It should cause us to reassess our values and our ethics. It should press us to reevaluate our actions—or inactions—regarding what continues to be one of the most divisive and troubling issues in modern America. The Execution of God succeeds on all these counts, and its potent message lingers, disturbingly, long after the final page.

Worldview, Justice and Punishment There are many worldview questions in the criminal justice system, but they all have their heart in one issue: justice. This paper will explore the concept of justice from the Christian worldview and compare the biblical view with the trending worldviews of evolution and humanism. Finally, this paper will cover how the Christian worldview of justice effects how a Christian approaches crime and punishment differently than his secular counterpart. How does a biblical worldview shape a Christian’s view of justice? The Christian narrative forms the framework for answering this question.

We often seek to “do unto others which is done to us”. The concept of revenge is directly mirrored in our prison system. Once someone commits a crime, they are then, through the 7th Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights, subject to go to trial before a jury. If a jury of the defendant’s “peers” then deems the appropriate punishment for the crime that they are being tried for. The evocation of the death penalty grew very controversial mostly due to that reason. Essentially what was implied is that a human’s life is put into the hands of total strangers who in most cases are only knowledgeable of a minimal section of that person’s life and character. In an editorial research report on the death penalty, written in 1963, Jeanne Kuebler includes a quote by A. Francart on the appeal of capital punishment. “Capital punishment, its opponents insist, is revenge, not deterrence or protection, and as such lessens reverence for the sacredness of human life. ‘The lesson the scaffold always provides,’ Francart wrote, ‘is that human life ceases to be sacred when it is considered useful to suppress it…’” (Kuebler). A key point that Francart makes in his quote is the idea of revenge. Our society views revenge as a readily available convention to utilize whenever they see fit. Revenge, in its simplest form, deals with the notion that we all must become equal. In the ancient Code of Hammurabi this concept is referred to as “An Eye for

Capital punishment’s application must be limited since the death penalty directly contradicts the Christian doctrine and beliefs that emphasize an innate, God-given right to life. By “creat[ing] man in His image”

He compares the quote from both the original Hebrew of the Bible and from the Torah. He is showing that philosophers from the past have understood this to mean that life can be taken in order to provide justice. In the last argument he uses he states that ``The death penalty is state-sanctioned murder``. By this he means that the fact that capital punishment is by all accounts wrong in light of the fact that in numerous general suppositions, it is a state endorsed kill.

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 or commonly called as Death Penalty is used in several countries today and in comes from ancient times which was used to penalize many grave offenses. On religious sentiments one considers then Bible advocates for death punishment to those who do unjust with other individuals. However death penalty has caught eye of many human activists and government organizations and has called for a long time debate whether death penalty is ethical or not and has made it one of the most debated issues. More than sixty percent countries in the world have provision of death punishment. However, question of killing someone probably innocent still arises also life and death are in hands of god

D. Preview of the speech: I will discuss religious principles, particularly from the Bible that will hopefully persuade my audience that the death penalty is indeed immoral. Immorality and unethical-ism is not just limited to what it is in the Holy Bible, but it can also include fairness.