I’ve been thinking about this post for several days, and I’m still not sure I can fully articulate my points, but it’s past time for Min to read a reply to his most recent post on our death penalty debate.
In his post, Min completely glosses over my main argument (that there is no mercy in the death penalty) and zeros in on my statement about justice. He believes that the idea of mercy has no place in this debate; that it is a red herring.
As a Christian, I must disagree!
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
Perhaps I should say that regardless of whether or not the death penalty is just (and I do not think it is), I believe that it matters more if it is merciful.
And that is at the crux of this debate. Min and I are coming at it from complete polar opposites. Not only are our viewpoints opposing, but the fundamental principles behind why we believe what we do on this issue are different. Until we can reconcile that, we’re never going to see eye to eye.
Now, to address Min’s points:
However, all of that is irrelevant, because it is not for us to decide who lives or dies.
I was about to jump for joy when I read this statement. Finally, I thought, we agree on something! But alas… it was not to be. For Min’s point was that God has told us when we are to use the death penalty – followed by numerous biblical examples. All from the Old Testament.
He follows the examples with:
My point is not that these all should be the law today. My point is that this begs the question, was God just in having death as the punishment for these crimes? Was God just in having death be the punishment for eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Was God just? Absolutely. He can’t be unjust.
But… if you say that all of the examples you gave shouldn’t be law today, then what should be law? In Biblical times, it was a just law because God declared it to be so. We both agree that adulters shouldn’t be stoned today. So when is the death penalty a just punishment now? How do you know? There are no scriptures giving the decree.
And that is what makes the death penalty inherently unjust, to me. It is man deciding when man should be allowed to live and die. It has nothing to do with God (I would love to see you try to argue that today’s death penalty has something to do with God). And this is exactly the reason why so many are perplexed that one can be anti-abortion and still be for the death penalty.
But back to my main point: mercy. Mercy is the point. We should show mercy to the world. We are to be salt and light. We are to show compassion. The death penalty does none of those things.
Other posts in the series:
What??? Min completely glossed over a huge portion of your argument and zeroed in on a less significant aspect?????
It’s called his M.O. Nothing new, and you’re hardly the only one.
I have some thoughts on this, will organize and post tomorrow.
Um… kind of what you did here, right? Commenting on one line that had nothing at all to do with the point of the post.
what can I say, I learn from the best.
Alright- onto the real point of your post–
My views on the death penalty have changed and evolved over the course of the last five years. I used to be a die-hard advocate (no pun intended) and thought that every one on death row deserved what was coming to them.
I’m now on the opposite end of the spectrum. When God administered the death penalty (I’ll stipulate to the possibility this might have actually happened), we can be damn sure he was POSITIVE the person was actually guilty. Hence, the whole Supreme Being thing.
We can’t always be positive of a person’s guilt. The American justice system has a plethora of flaws that release guilty men (OJ Simpson) while locking away the innocent, who tend to be minorities, who cannot afford the high power attornies. The possibility of executing an innocent man isn’t as slim as we might think. That should be reason enough to abolish CP.
I find it very disconcerting that both sides of the argument can use biblical passages to buttress their arguments. This is one of my huge problems with the bible. It’s called quote mining, and clearly illustrates the contradictions that exist within the Bible. In one passage, you read about an eye for an eye, but in another, you read about showing mercy. Killing someone is not showing mercy, regardless of the heinous crime they may have committed.
Here’s my thought– start the argument over again, and try leaving the Bible out of it. Do you have the same conclusions as you do now? Can both of you make assertions and claims that exist outside of the bible’s realm?
Could be very interesting to read…
Musicguy, that’s why a jury should convict only if there is no reasonable doubt.
I firmly believe that as individuals, we are to show mercy. If someone wrongs us, we may decide to not even press charges. As a government, however, justice is most important. The God of the old testament who commanded death is the same Jesus who told us to turn cheek for cheek. The difference is that God was speaking to the nation’s leaders and peace-keepers and Jesus was speaking to the individual.
AG- you assume that said juries are being completely impartial, which is not at all a part of our humaness. prejudice and judgement is always there, and that affects the verdict.
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I’ll weigh in on this.
I certainly can understand the desire for a death penalty. Knowing the amount of children a pedofile usually preys on is in itself an argument for the death penalty. In a tribal society, which would have had no resources for imprisoning hardened criminals, could there be any other solution?
That’s not where we’re at today. We have the ability to keep criminals out of the general population, preventing further crimes. …allthat is from a practical point of view.
Personally, I tend to not believe in the death penalty on the grounds that I personally could not take another person’s life…except for maybe self-defense inthe midst of an attack. I couldn’t flip the switch. I couldn’t inject the poison. If I personally would abhor such an action, how can I logically foist it upon another person?
I wonder if Min would be willing to take the job of executioner? No?
All things said, while not advocating for the death penalty, I certainly understand theoutrage most people feel in the face of serial killers and molesters…people who seem impossible to reform or have any sense of remorse. In the past, perhaps it was the most just and merciful thing for the entire society.
But….societies change, and so do their methods.
ugh…between the formatting and my typos…ugh