I've been ambivalent about this from the very beginning. On the one hand, as a Christian I believe in redemption--that there is a certain level at which it is possible to redeem oneself not through good works, but by grace. And good works provide evidence of grace.

On the other hand, I don't think it's the State's job to enforce my notions of grace, or to weigh someone's legacy of good and evil to determine his/her worth. The state is there to enforce the law.

And Jesus is not a "get out of jail free" card. It should be a comfort to know you've settled the score with the Almighty before the State zaps you into the hereafter, but nothing more.

It is true that capital punishment is a political question. Yet Christians should be free to vote their case on their own morals.

And NO Christian can be in favor of the death penalty.

Does this shock you? And coming from a non-Christian, no less. Here is the argument....

You may have noticed some Christians wearing those WWJD bracelets. of course this stands for "what would jesus do?" The import is to ask oneself what jesus would do in any situation in order to try to discern the right, Cheristian thing to do.

With the death penalty, we don't need to speculate. We can ask instead what Jesus actually did. You know the story. jesus came upon a legal carrying out of the death penalty, fuylly formed under the law. What he proposed was that anyone without sin cast the first stone. It is reported that no stones were cast.

What does this mean? It does not mean that jesus was against the death penalty, of course. Elsewhere it is written that "Veangence is mine, sayeth the Lord." So we know that the death penalty is not forbidden. It simply muyst be carried out by someone without sin, someone like God himself.

So the Christian attitude would be to oppose a death penalty carried out by mere humans, ahnd leave such vengeance to the Lord.

I see no way for a Christian to avoid this concluwsion, and i find it quite amusing that those of the "turn the other cheek" religion should be so bent on killing people for their faults.

At this point, i usually get a series of bible quotes which can be read to support the death penalty, often from the old testament. What i find interesting is the effort these "christians" will go to justify their desire to see the death penalty carried out, all in the face of the clear example of their founder and leader, Jesus Christ.

But we DO live in the day of cafeteria Christianity.

Nice try, Averroes, but so very wrong.
Plenty of opportunities to speak out against the State taking a life in the Gospel story of the Crucifiction, but we get "Render to Caesar"...The State has every right to set the penalties, and Christians have every right to support them. The "Good Thief" said (parphrased) "I deserve what is happening to me, but surely you do not." Jesus said "I assure you this day you will be with me in Heaven." Note he didn't say "No one deserves this."

I say you are the one eating at the cafeteria. And thanks for the non-Christian view as to what Christians should believe. Maybe you can tell Buddhists what they should believe next. Care to try for Muslims?

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