Death penalty and Christians

The death penalty does respect the sanctity of life, do you not understand the difference between the guilty and the innocent? Lots of opponents of the death penalty for the guilty are fine with abortion, crazy......

 

With modern DNA evidence we can be pretty sure of guilt. Does anyone think Charles Manson is innocent? The NEA doesn't speak for all evangelicals, I'd be very surprised if that is a majority opinion for that group. Americans support the death penalty 54-39, that support increased last year.

 

Manson died of ill health in prison. Did that make his death less acceptable?

 

More food for thought:

"Theologically, most mainline Protestant churches, such as Presbyterian Church in the USA, many Episcopal, and Lutheran churches, oppose the death penalty. Even some historically evangelical churches such as the United Church of Christ and many Methodist and Baptist churches opposed capital punishment. The Roman Catholic Church supports capital punishment in principal but holds that current application is unnecessary since we have matured as a culture. On the other hand, most Protestant conservatives, including the majority of members of the Southern Baptist Convention, and other growing evangelical movements such as Reformed Christians and Conservative Baptists, support capital punishment on biblical grounds."

"Capital Punishment: An Overview of Christian Perspectives" https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/capital-punishment-an-overview-of-christian-perspectives

 

If only his victims had been able to die of old age.

 

And according to your link, the SBC, many time larger than ECUSA, supports the death penalty.

 

I've noticed that Baptist ministers do not need a college degree. That is astonishing to many Christians who expect at least basic understanding of scripture/ Christian faith from professional pastors. Would anyone go to a doctor who did not have adequate education/ certification? Or an auto mechanic who can not read?

 

Jesus' chosen disciples were the auto mechanics of His day, and His harshest words were directed at the most educated. The Gospel is for everybody, "Except you become as a little child......"

 

The death penalty as a lawful alternative is not unBiblical. It's not about revenge. It can be about justice....taking a life with no remorse and the willingness take it again crosses that line. In order for life to be valued as precious, the taking of it in a remorseless and heinious manner deserves the ultimate punishment.

I have a loved one in prison. He didn't murder anyone but he is celled with murderers. I'm terrified for his safety because prisons are under staffed and basically a wild west scenerio. Murders happen in prison as an effort to gain level status within prison gangs. A remorseless killer in for life will kill again...whether it be a cell mate a guard or innocents if they breakout.

Prisoners in for murder with a life sentence are king of the castle within that world. They run the show. It's not justice for the family of a murdered victim for the person who took their loved ones life to enjoy power and perks in their prison environment.

It comes down to our priorities.....innocent life or remorseless murderers.

 

"Except you become as a little child......"

That means you have to become ignorant and gullible.

 

It means you have to drop your pride and ego. No shortage of gullibility among adults, or ignorance.

 

Logical fallacy, sanctioning by a government does not make execution not murder.

Is executing an innocent man murder?

 

We should at least stop killing people. Can't fix an error if someone is dead. Wouldn't you agree?

 

No I don't, with modern DNA testing we can be pretty sure of guilt.

 

Reformed theology does not conflict with secular authority, unless there is a conflict with the teachings of Jesus.

Luther espoused a 'secular hangman', not an enforcement arm of the church. The concept of 'Separation of church and state', really began (or took traction) at the reformation.

Human justice is dispensed through human channels. If the justice providers advocate capital punishment, so be it. If not, that is the way of the world.

IMO, there are practical, statistical reasons for the death penalty, that should be the deciding factors in a secular state.

Many years ago i posted a thread on this topic:
http://www.politicalforum.com/index.php?threads/capital-punishment-minimizing-wrongful-death.355433/

 

It is pathetically easily to frame you using your DNA. Besides, a lot of forensic lab techs are crooks and have framed countless people with false results.

 

1. Perfect justice is impossible, with imperfect humans.
2. The goal of social justice should be to minimize wrongful death.
3. Capital punishment ends wrongful death, from those executed.
4. Many murderers are repeat offenders.
5. Capital punishment is a deterrent to wrongful death.. both from repeat offenders, and first timers.

Therefore, capital punishment is a proven, historical, and useful social tool to minimize wrongful death.

The move away from capital punishment has not been positive, in minimizing wrongful death.

 

Yes it is

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/annie-...-for-allegedly-mishandling-over-60000-samples

 

Yes, at $40K+ a year the last four decades, what a waste. I would prefer a 50 cent bullet in 1969. Do you doubt he was guilty?

 

I believe it is easy to screw up results, but not create ones that fit another person.

 

Keep in mind that even when this law was presented in the OT, people were still (according the the Bible) commanded by God to occasionally kill people. The command is better translated "Thou shalt not murder." And even in the NT Paul says that governments still have God's permission (even his command) to kill people.

Personally, I'm against the death penalty just because I don't trust any government to that degree. False imprisonment can at least somewhat be corrected. False execution can't.

 

Not much of a difference there, those decades of stolen life from someone wrongfully imprisoned can never be gotten back.

 

Yes.

The difference between the guilty and the innocent has to do with wealth, ethnicity, skin color and gender.

Man's justice just isn't good enough to justify walking up to a man in chains and killing him.

AND:
NOBODY in America is "fine with abortion".

However, there is a majority who don't accept laws against women as being a valid approach.

 

Nothing to do with evidence, huh.

 

The thing is, our trials are competitions. They are NOT unbiased attempts to find the truth.

There is the guy who is charged vs. the police, the prosecutor, the crime lab, the witnesses, the rest of the evidence, the jury with all their issues. That's not the end, either. States have significant procedural hurdles for any possible appeal.

There is serious evidence that people get wrongly convicted - including in death penalty cases.