Part 2 of Viewpoint Brief Bible Study #050. |
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The Christian religion is the worship and service of Jesus Christ. It’s not Mary we worship, but her Son. We worship neither saints, angels, a law code, nor even God’s Spirit. It’s JESUS who is to be honored. The Bible is our guide. |
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Brief Bible Study #50-A from Ray Downen
Here are additional
comments on capital punishment.
From: Clifford L. Smith <SmithC196@aol.com>
Date sent: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 08:08
To: outreach@sofnet.com -- Subject: Re: Capital PunishmentThanks for your comments, Ray. I believe that you're right. The prohibition in the Ten Commandments must be to murder, a thing which God always abhors.
Numbers 35:29-34 addresses the treatment of a murderer. "'And these things shall be for a statutory ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (Sounds pretty permanent, doesn't it.) If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. And you shall not take ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, . . . So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. And you shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.'"
From the New Testament, it seems clear that God has placed the responsibility of maintaining order and inflicting capital punishment for capital crimes on the government. Romans 13 commands us to "be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God" (vs 1). To resist such authority is to oppose God's ordinance (vs 2). God's intention is for rulers to promote the good and restrain the evil (vs 3), "...for (government) is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for (government) does not bear the sword for nothing; for (government) is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil" (vs 4). Now this terminology would not be misunderstood by the early saints. God has given to civil government the authority to try capital crimes and punish the offenders with capital punishment. "Not bear(ing) the sword for nothing," implies just that. A sword was an instrument of death.
While I appreciate what Leroy Garrett has done, I for one would certainly take issue with the position which has been presented. It seems clear to me that God's word makes the offense greater by not carrying out capital punishment for capital crimes after due process of law. For this reason, this land of ours has been polluted and the blood of too many victims cries forth from the ground. -- Cliff
Date sent: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 07:25
From: "G. Parker Rossman" <grossman@mail.coin.missouri.edu>
To: "Ray Downen (outreach@sofnet.com)" <outreach@sofnet.com>Subject: Re: Capital Punishment
On capital punishment you might be interested in knowing that at the Univ. of Missouri in November 1998 there will be a conference on the topic to which all state legislators who oppose the death penalty will be invited, along with parents of kids on death row etc.
We personally know a Christian counselor who has a son on death row. When they adopted the handsome and intelligent kid they did not know that he had fetal alcohol syndome and never in his life has been able to tell right from wrong. He fell in with a drug crowd as a teen-ager and was persuaded by bad companions to pull the trigger. He is condemned to die and not those who led him down the wrong path. Everyone who knows him loves him, and some day they will find a medication for that, as with epilepsy.
The text shoujld not be just "thou shalt not kill" but also "let him who is without sin cast the first stone" and "judgment is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord."
Only God knows what should be done with such people. A psychiatrist examined all the teenagers on death row and found that without exception all had at some time received a bad blow on the head. One was hit over the head with a 2 by 4, another fell out of a tree as a kid and his head was smashed open. I wonder if God really wants him executed?
Parker Rossman grossman@mail.coin.missouri.edu
3 Lemmon Drive author, EMERGING WORLDWIDE ELECTRONIC
Columbia MO 65201 UNIVERSITY (Praeger, 1993)
home page: http://www.trib.net/~prossmanFrom: LClark4672 <LClark4672@aol.com>
Date sent: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 08:44
To: outreach@sofnet.com -- Subject: Re: Capital PunishmentRay, You are right on target when you say the commandment is "do not murder." As a matter of fact, violence has been demonstrated and commanded by God numerous times in the Bible ie; Baal prophets, inhabitants of the promised land, etc.
I don't believe God wants to deal with people violently. Nor do I believe that God wants us to deal with each other violently; however, some people have contempt for love and mercy and suffering is the only deterrent to prevent them from causing others to suffer. Society must deal with such people on their level of understanding.
I believe we must put our faith in the commands that our Maker has given to us no matter how we feel about them. After all, it doesn't feel like we are spinning on a round ball in the midst of a cosmic vacuum, does it? Of course, we are but the point is that our feelings cannot be trusted as much as the Truth. -- Leonard Clark
I do not agree with Garrett. God has delegated certain authority to men, among which is that to governments to carry out such things as capital punishment. Certainly, there is always the potential in any court of law and any degree of punishment that ... from a friend in Arkansas whose message only came through partially.
From: GivenB <GivenB@aol.com>
Date sent: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 19:38
To: outreach@sofnet.com -- Subject: Re: Capital PunishmentIn a message dated 98-03-30 16:43:22 EST, you write:
<< Leroy is opposed to the death penalty for people, since some who are not in fact guilty might be put to death by mistake. He thinks all killing of people is wrong. >>
You are right, brother Ray. Our good brother is simply at variance with the Lord on this. The Spirit said in Romans 13 that the one bearing the sword was ordained of God and does not wield it in vain. I am sure that sword was not used for, what some men call, humanitarian purposes -- if you know what I mean.
In Jesus, -- Brother Given
Date sent: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 but received 4/3/98 in Joplin
From: Dale Blanshan <blanshan@means.net>
To: Ray Downen <outreach@sofnet.com>Subject: Re: Capital Punishment
Dear Brother Downen: I am of the opinion that the Bible does not support capital punishment in the post Old Testament age. It is true that capital punishment appears frequently in the Old Testament, in command and example, but its purpose was to illustrate the seriousness with which God viewed the shedding of blood.
If we are to take the law of Moses as our guide for capital punishment today, consistency would require us to impose capital punishment in cases of wizardry, incest, cursing parents, and homosexual conduct (Leviticus 20), and blasphemy (Leviticus 24).
It would require us to capitally punish by stoning in certain cases (Leviticus 24:16) and by burning in others (Leviticus 20:14). If we are to retreat from the law of Moses to God's commands to Noah in Genesis 9, on the theory that a command predating the time of Moses must survive the demise of the law of Moses, consistency would require us to believe that capital punishment is a private affair to be handled by relatives of the victim of a homicide.
In the New Testament there is a notable absence of command to capitally punish. There are examples, but the executions of John the Baptist, James, Stephen, Jesus, or even the two thieves crucified with Jesus hardly support the practice. Romans 13:4 may seem to provide some authorization for capital punishment, but I do not believe the presence of a sword in the hands of a ruler then to be anything other than what a gun in a modern police officer's holster is today. -- Dale Blanshan -- Warroad, Minnesota
To which I reply -- Dale, brother, -- Thanks for sharing! I've noticed, and I assume you also have, that one striking difference between the Old and New Testaments is that the O.T. provides instructions for earthly government while the New is aimed at individuals who choose to follow the Way.
I agree that individuals should not judge, convict, and punish a guilty murderer or similar enemy of society. I feel this is the duty of governments rather than individual citizens. Jesus pointed out the obvious fact that He was not setting up an earthly government. Our citizenship is in Heaven.
You suggest that since individuals are not told to exact and uphold justice that governments also should not, as I hear you. I disagree. You write well, and make clear several truths we all MUST agree with you in understanding. What you say is right. Yet I suspect you are overlooking the simple truth I point out above. It's those charged with law enforcement who are to appropriately punish evil-doers on this earth today. You're sure right that it's not us as individual citizens! Thanks for saying so. -- Ray Downen
From: "Terrie Shelton" <tshelton@sheltonbbs.com>
To: "Ray Downen" <outreach@sofnet.com>
Date sent: Fri, 3 Apr 1998Subject: Re: Capital Punishment
I've always thought of it this way -- when a murderer is put to death, he is not being murdered, he is receiving the established punishment for his crime. In fact, 'we' are not killing him -- he killed himself. He knew before committing the crime that the punishment could be death, but he willingly committed the crime anyway, bringing the punishment upon himself. -- Shelton Internet
Comments on Brief Bible Study #50 from Ray Downen. To go back to Viewpoint's first page, click < here. Read Paul Moreland's comments on this subject. Or go on to Viewpoint Study 51. For Ray's concluding remarks, click HERE.