CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT IT IS RIGHT THAT THIS COUNTRY AND OTHER COUNTRIES SHOULD NOT HAVE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?.... HAVE A READ OF THE FOLLOWING, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT THIS:
What does the Bible say about Capital Punishment?
By Augusto Zimmermann PhD
This
article was printed in Salt Shakers journal – April 2005. www.saltshakers.org.au
The
following introduction was printed before the article:
Another
Difficult Issue
We
hear a lot of Christians, and of course humanists, today talking about ‘peace’,
often without defining what they mean.
For
Christians this can range from the micro of peace (and ‘unity’) between
Christians through to ‘peace between religions and ultimately to the macro (the
big picture) of ‘world peace’.
We
also have Christians calling for the abolition of punishment - on the micro
level this is
usually
anti-smacking laws and on the macro level it is the abolition of capital
punishment.
On
the other hand we have those who believe that peace is simply not possible,
that ‘just war’ is OK and that the death penalty should be retained or brought
back.
We
cannot ignore these issues simply because they are divisive and contentious in
today’s
society
and in Christian discussion. If we are to contend earnestly for the faith we
need to know what the Bible says. This is all part of establishing a Biblical
Worldview.
For
this reason we have occasionally run what we call ‘another difficult issue’ -
simply to get us thinking and talking about the hard issues. The following
article is sure to get us some feedback because it deals with Capital
Punishment. An issue where Christians are on both sides and hold opposing
views.
Augusto
Zimmermann has prepared a brief overview in the hope that you will explore the
Scriptures
yourself to find the true Biblical position. At the end of the article we have
a link to our web site where you will find some more in-depth articles on this
issue.
See http://www.saltshakers.org.au/html/P/490/B/0/
There
was a time, not long ago, when people tended to consider the death penalty a
useful, moral and necessary punishment for serious crimes. Things have changed
over the years and now the sensibilities lean toward the prohibition of capital
punishment. For Christians, however, the final authority in matters of right
and wrong is the Holy Bible, not public opinion. Changes in cultural mood or in
legislation do not alter God’s abiding word as it is revealed in the Bible.
The
first biblical reference to capital punishment is found in Chapter 9 of the
book of Genesis. Following the worldwide Flood, God instituted the provision of
capital punishment as a just safeguard against the prevailing violence which
had precipitated His judgement. There God requires the death penalty to be
applied by human authorities against everyone who takes the life of an innocent
human being: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in
the image of God He made man” (Gen 9:6). According to Michael Cassidy, “This
passage suggests that the murder of a fellow human being is a crime, not only
against the victim, but against the Creator. Since murder is a crime against
both humanity and God, there are in fact both temporal and divine consequences
for such sin. God himself will punish sin (“I will surely require a reckoning”),
but humankind also has the responsibility to punish (“by man shall his blood be
shed”).1 The sanctity of human life is the primary basis on which God
sanctions the death penalty. Far from cheapening human life, Genesis 9 reveals
the uniqueness of the human life by demanding an exact equivalent to the death
of an innocent victim.2 Because humans are created in the imago Dei (image of God),
human life must be considered so sacred that its destruction in God’s eyes
requires both divine judgement and human punishment. As R.C. Sproul points out,
“God has placed his image on human beings, and he manifests the importance of
that image by protecting individual lives. When the murderer is executed and
justice prevails, the sanctity of human life is honoured”.3
Since
the institution of capital punishment was established by God before His
covenant with the people of Israel, the biblical conditions for its application
remain intact and must continue to apply to all humankind. Such conditions are
certainly preserved in the New Testament. After all, the Son of God came on
earth to fulfil the law of God, not to abolish it (Matt 5:17). As the Word of
God who was made flesh (John 1:14), the Lord Jesus declared that it would be
easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for any small detail of God’s
moral laws to be changed. (Luke 16:17).
Each
human authority, writes the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans, is
lawfully commissioned as ‘a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what
is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain; for it is a
minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil’
(Rom 13:4). As everybody knows, the sword was used in Paul’s time as an
instrument of execution. In another passage the Apostle to the Gentiles
confirms this assumption by referring to the sword to indicate death (Rom
8:35).
By
drawing from numerous examples in the Holy Scriptures, great Christian figures
such as St. Augustine of Hippo and St Thomas Aquinas argued for the morality of
the death penalty as a ‘just recompense of reward’ (Heb 2:2-3). According to
Aquinas, capital punishment is necessary for the wellbeing of the community.4 He
also endorsed Augustine’s argument that it ‘is in no way contrary to the commandant
‘Thou shalt not kill’… for the representatives of public authority to put
criminals to death, according to the law, that is, the will of the most just
reason’.5
The
fact that ignorance and injustice exist in a judicial system is no excuse for
abandoning God’s commands. The possibility of convicting an innocent person for
any crime is an inherent part of living in a fallen world. Yet, the possibility
of miscarriage of justice does not warrant abandoning the pursuit of justice.6 If
complete proof were to be demanded, then we would have to dispense with the
criminal justice system altogether. That is why legal cases demand ‘proof
beyond a reasonable doubt’.
One
does well in this sense to remember that Christ himself was the victim of a
deeply unjust death penalty. No one was subjected to more injustice than the
Son of God. He was indicted on false charges, sentenced by a cowardly judge,
and executed in unspeakable cruelty. What a perfect opportunity for Him to
condemn the death penalty! Yet, the Lord Jesus did not speak against it and did
not even contest one of the two criminals who was crucified with Him, when he recognised
that his crimes were worthy of death. Rather, Jesus promised that murderer that
He would meet him again that day in paradise (Luke 23:39–43).
(
THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD: "SUFFER IT
TO BE SO NOW: FOR THUS IT BECOMETH US TO FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS." MATH.
3/14.
"LET
EVERY SOUL BE SUBJECT UNTO THE HIGHER POWERS. FOR THERE IS NO POWER BUT OF GOD:
THE POWERS THAT BE ARE ORDAINED OF GOD. RO. 13/1.
"AND
BEING FOUND IN FASHION AS A MAN, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF, AND BECAME OBEDIENT UNTO
DEATH EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS. PHIL. 2/8.
HE
"LOVED NOT HIS OWN LIFE UNTO DEATH." REV. 12/11.
What
an example of sublime love, obedience, righteousness, trust and surrender to
Loving Father`s will we have in our High Priest, our Saviour, our Redeemer,
Christ The Messiah;..... Do you love HIM with all your heart, soul, mind and
strength friend? (hetairos). You surely should. Amen.
"WHEREFORE
SEEING WE ALSO ARE COMPASSED ABOUT WITH SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, LET US
LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT, AND THE SIN WHICH DOTH SO EASILY BESET US, AND LET US
RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US, LOOKING UNTO JESUS THE AUTHOR
AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH; WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE
CROSS, DESPISING THE SHAME, AND IS SET DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF
GOD." HEB. 12/1-2.
"KNOW
YE NOT, THAT SO MANY OF US AS WERE BAPTISED INTO JESUS CHRIST WERE BAPTISED
INTO HIS DEATH? THEREFORE WE ARE BURIED WITH HIM BY BAPTISM INTO DEATH: THAT
LIKE AS CHRIST WAS RAISED UP FROM THE DEAD BY THE GLORY OF THE FATHER, EVEN SO WE
ALSO SHOULD WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE." RO. 6/3-4. "LIKEWISE RECKON YE
ALSO YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED UNTO SIN, BUT ALIVE UNTO GOD THROUGH JESUS
CHRIST OUR LORD." RO. 6/11. )
The
opposition to capital punishment comes mainly from a secular humanist philosophy
which sees the physical death as the end of everything. Although such
humanistic philosophy has in many ways corrupted the central message of the
Gospel in so many Christian denominations, it is not the physical death that
believers should most fear. Rather, it is the second death that they need to
avoid at all costs. Jesus declared: “Do not fear those who kill the body but
are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell” (Mat 10:28-29 NASB). Accordingly, a murderer who is duly
and fairly tried for his crime is more likely to avoid this second death when
he faces imminent execution. The certainty of meeting his Creator might lead
him into repentance.
Finally,
the argument that capital punishment only adds a second murder to the first
reveals a regrettable lack of discernment between the violent acts of depraved
individuals and the holy justice of the righteous God.
Curiously,
many of those who oppose the death penalty for cruel murderers are comfortable
in justifying the killing, for profit, of defenceless little children in the
womb.7 How can such people justify both positions simultaneously? The
answer is rather simple: Both positions are actually pro-death, because they
reveal a deep disregard for God’s commands which is also a disregard for life
itself: “For whoever finds me finds life, but all they that hate me love death”
(Prov 8: 35-6).
Dr
Augusto Zimmermann teaches Constitutional Law and Australian Legal System at
Murdoch University School of Law. He holds a Ph.D. from Monash University
(Australia) as well as a LL.B. and a LL.M. from the Pontifical Catholic
University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio).
(THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD:
"THOU HAST A FEW NAMES EVEN IN SARDIS WHICH HAVE NOT DEFILED THEIR
GARMENTS; AND THEY SHALL WALK WITH ME IN WHITE: FOR THEY ARE WORTHY." REV.
3/4.
"IF ANY MAN WILL DO HIS
WILL, HE SHALL KNOW OF THE DOCTRINE," JOHN 7/17.)
......................................................................................................................................................
Straight Talk Ministries is in no way associated
with Salt Shakers in Victoria Australia, nor do we have any affiliation with
the author of the above paper:
We do however, concur with the content of the above
article written by Dr. Augusto Zimmermann Ph.D., on the subject of "Capital Punishment".
Therefore we mirror his cogitations to you in total
agreement on the subject of
"Capital Punishment" as they reflect and herald Biblical Truth
paying you due consideration to hopefully provoke you unto love and good works,
and sound words and doctrine on this subject. Amen. (Heb. 10/24, 2 Tim. 1/13,
Tit. 1/9, 2/8).
Bevan and Rikki Kluver,
Straight Talk Ministries,
Ph/Fax 07 55452874
www.straighttalkmin.org bevan.kluver@bigpond.com
"speaking the truth in love, in the spirit of
meekness, earnestly contending for the faith;"
HELPING HIM PREPARE A BRIDE WITHOUT SPOT OR
BLEMISH:
HATING EVEN THE GARMENT SPOTTED BY THE FLESH:
MY
MAGNIFICIENT OBSESSION
“FOR I
THE LORD THY GOD AM A JEALOUS GOD”
He is my great treasure,
I hope
for Him without measure,
My one
and only greatest pleasure:
He alone
I wish to retain,
Toward
this goal I press to attain,
From sin,
you know, I must refrain:
But as I
think of Him my heart`s aflutter,
All else
is seemingly unwanted clutter,
In my
walk, I wish not to stutter:
To the
exclusion of all else,
For Him
my heart does melt,
For His
love, which I have felt:
For me He
gave His all,
So that I
might stand tall,
Yet, my
everything seems so small:
The
captain of my salvation,
The
anchor and lover of my soul,
No wonder
Moses swooned “show me thy glory”,
No wonder
Enoch, Elijah, were captured and caught up alive,
No wonder
Paul called himself a “prisoner”,
No wonder
Stephen saw His glory revealed,
No wonder
John saw the “mystery” so clearly,
The Sweet
smelling rose of Sharon,
The
Lilley of the Valley,
The
Fairest among ten thousand,
The
Ancient of Days,
The Lion
of
The Stem
of Jesse`s Rod,
The Honey
in the Rock,
The Way,
The Truth, The Life,
The
Mashiyach, The Messiah,
The Great
I Am,
The
Author and Finisher of my salvation,
Christ
the Rock,
Like
Ointment poured forth,
The Rock
of my salvation,
My
exceeding Great Reward,
My Man`s
Man, my Idol,
My Jesus,
MY BELOVED:
My life`s
undying passion,
My only
great possession,
MY
MAGNIFICIENT OBSESSION:
“Again,
the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a
man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he
hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the
“THOU
SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL AND WITH
ALL THY MIND. THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT”. Math. 22/37-38, Mk.
12/30.
“THIS DO,
AND THOU SHALT LIVE”. Luke 10/28.
ONENESS
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” Math. 5/6.
Father hear me as I pray,
Command me so I can obey;
My greatest pleasure is pleasing you,
Command me Father in all I do:
I am yours so please command,
I come to you with no demand;
I only have heart felt desire,
To be your pleasure I aspire:
Even so if no command,
In your arms may I remand;
Forever in your love to keep,
This my pray that I may reap:
Always with you never apart,
So my soul pants as the hart;
To be close to you I so long,
I know this is where I belong:
Please hear my pray alone to thee,
And relent in mercy towards me;
All I ask for with all my heart,
Is from you to be never apart:
But more than close I do so pine,
My spirit with yours be so entwined,
In a loving embrace a union of one,
Even as Christ has so beautifully won:
“That they all may be
one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in
us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in
them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world
may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
John 17/21-23.
Ps. 40, 42, 119. Oct. 2009.
Bevan
Kluver,
Straight
Talk Ministries,
Ph/Fax 07
55452874,
www.straighttalkmin.org bevan.kluver@bigpond.com
"speaking
the truth in love, in the spirit of meekness, earnestly contending for the
faith;"
HELPING
HIM PREPARE A BRIDE WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE:
HATING
EVEN THE GARMENT SPOTTED BY THE FLESH: