The death penalty is practised in many countries all over the world including in the country south of mine, the US of A. In Canada, the death penalty was abolished in the 1960s. Not only does Canada not execute prisoners, but it won't deport people to different countries on the threat that they will or they might be executed after they get there. Recently I have been reading internet articles, watching videos, and reading blogs on the death penalty and whether it is right for the state to practice capital punishment. Now, why would I want to read about that? Well, this is a topic that has come up in conversation but I have not been given the chance to dive into it on a more in-depth level and learn about the issues. Do we, as human beings, ever have the right to take a life? Good question, and how I answer it says a lot about me as a person, a Canadian, and a Christian.
For some people, the answer to the above question, specifically in regards to the right to execute criminals, is yes. Criminals who take the lives of innocent people, especially children, should pay for it with their lives. Furthermore, they deserve to suffer and receive the same consideration and thought they gave their victims. Other people disagree mostly based on the argument that the death penalty has been and is being abused in countries that have it, and if a person is found to be innocent after their execution it cannot be corrected.
In Christianity people fall under various factions and have used the Bible to justify both of their stand points. When I first started looking at execution and the use of lethal injection in the United States, I found a lot of comments that cite the Bible. I found that people who are against the death penalty took various passages outside of their context, that when placed in their context would fail to defend their arguments. In fact, I found the Bible approve, not condemn, the use of capital punishment in many passages. However, I can't really argue from that stand point either because a lot of the verses that call for the use of capital punishment are in the Old Testament. Now that we live in the time after Jesus' death and resurrection, God's people are not under the Old Covenant but lead by the Spirit and the OT Law has been rendered null and void.
The Bible explicitly calls for the use of capital punishment in a covenant that I am no longer under and does not explicitly for or against it in the covenant that I am under. Furthermore, the arguments for and against capital punishment do have validity. This has resulted in me not knowing what to think. How can I, a person who is lead by the Spirit a part from the law, speak to capital punishment that agrees with the New Covenant and speaks to the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ?
Another good question to ask and I intend to find answer before the summer is over. I know what you're thinking, "Isn't this a morbid topic to do?" It is, I won't deny that. However, an execution is probably happening right now in some country for some reason, or no reason at times, and I want to know where a believer in Christ should stand. Furthermore, it is obviously an important issue as the Bible does mention it. but we live in a morbid world at times and I want to know where I stand on some of them. I plan to post my findings on my blog during the course of my investigation. Hopefully it will not be in vain.
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