One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. What are you talking about, you are getting what is coming to you!" (Luke 23:39-43 American Version)
So here is something I have wrestled with lately. I am a law and order guy. On issues of the criminal justice system, I am all for locking up criminals, especially those who commit especially heinous crimes like murder, rape and child molestation. Someone who molests a child can be tossed in jail and never see the light of day again and I have no problem with that. I don’t see the state as a redemptive actor, in other words I don’t think prison rehabilitation is a Gospel issue, although I do see visiting those in prison as a worthy ministry and commend those who do so faithfully. When it comes to the ultimate penalty though, i.e. execution by the state, I am troubled and I wonder if Roman Catholics are more consistent here from a sanctity of life standpoint. We are followers of a Man who was executed by the state and while His execution was necessary to secure my salvation and He was innocent of any crime (or any sin for that matter), it still remains that there seems something disquieting about Christians advocating for the execution of criminals.
I need to clarify that I am not talking about the right of the state to enact laws that lead to the execution of criminals. That is clear from Scripture. I am talking about Christian support for and even advocacy of the execution of criminals. Nor am I talking about issues of racial disparity in sentencing or socio-economic factors that lead to criminal behavior. That is a side topic but not one that really impacts what I am looking at here.
What are your thoughts? I have to admit to feeling like a Christians should not support the death penalty but I also don’t think that we are called to work toward abolishing it. Is there a “Christian” position on this topic?
1 comment:
I agree fully. I agree that the state has the right to choose what method of punishment is appropriate, and I don't believe that capital punishment is outside of those bounds. I do, however, like you, have an issue with believers advocating for capital punishment. The example set by Christ is to turn the other cheek. As believers we must ALWAYS forgive, even if the violence is done to us or our loved ones. We can't NOT forgive and love, in spite of what was done, again even if done to us. That can be our only stance. I do believe that wrong deeds can, and usually do, have temporal consequences, but I will not be the judge of what those consequences should be. Again, I am called to love at all times, and as much as it might grate against my flesh in some circumstances, I must follow the example of Christ.
Post a Comment