Bible And Capital Punishment example essay topic

The Bible and Capital Punishment What Does Christianity Tell Us To DoIn Case Of Extreme Crime? By: Anthropology 101 December 1, 2001 Capital Punishment, commonly known as the death penalty, is one of the most controversial problems of our society today. There are many stands you can take with it: yes; no; maybe; only in this situation; only if this doesn't happen. Even the Bible is undecided about what to do with people who commit such horrendous crimes. The Bible first mentions what to do in case of extreme crime in Genesis 4: 11-15.

In this passage, the Bible is talking about two brothers, Cain and Able, who have presented gifts to God. After God denied Cain's gifts and instead accepted Able's, Cain became outraged and killed his brother. The Bible tells us that: 'Now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; ... a fugitive and a vagabond shalt be in the earth. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore, whoever slay eth Cain, vengeance shall be taken in him sevenfold. ' (King James Version) In this passage, 'God cursed Cain for the murder and sent him to wander the earth. God put a mark on Cain's body, so that nobody who saw him would be motivated to kill him.

If anyone killed Cain for the murder of his brother, they would be severely punished' ('Conflicting Penalties'). This states that banishment and exile are the proper forms of punishment for murder. But, contradicting itself the Bible then goes on in Genesis 9: 6 to say, 'Whoso shed eth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. ' (KJV) What this passage tells is that death is an okay punishment for murder, because murder is a personal offense to God. God created man, and to kill someone is to kill part of God ('Conflicting Penalties'). The death penalty is not only mentioned in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament.

In Romans 13: 3-4, it is said that 'For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil... If you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil' (KJV). This passage is saying that you must be careful what you do, and only practice the good things in life. There are many punishments for the evil things that a person does, and everyone should be aware of them. According to the book of Numbers, before an execution can take place, there are three main requirements that must be met: there must be two or more eye-witnesses to crime (35: 30) no bargains or ransoms are to be accepted for the accuser's life (35: 30) The victim's blood defiles the land.

The only way that you can change that is to kill the murder (25: 3334) ('Biblical Penalty for Murder'). Murder is not the only thing that the Bible allows death as a punishment for. According to an outline called 'The Bible and Capital Punishment", the old Testament gives twenty-one 'crimes' in which the death penalty is an okay form of punishment. There are only three out of the twenty-one listed offenses that we would categorize as crimes by today's standards. Six of the listed are for religious offenses, including proselytizing (trying to convert an Israelite to a different religion, Deuteronomy 13: 1-10) and for practicing black magic (Exodus 22: 18).

There are ten crimes listed which are now classified as moral issues, including working on Sunday (Exodus 35: 2), abusing parents (Exodus 20: 15), and blasphemy (uttering the name of Jehovah while cursing, Leviticus 24: 16). Two of these listed are in relation to ceremonial practices, including communicating with the dead (Leviticus 20: 27). But only three of the twenty-one offenses are categorized as capital crimes by the standards of today's justice system ('The Bible and Capital Punishment'). For this reason, many people think that the Bible is an out-of-date way to govern our lives, especially with issues concerning Capital Punishment. Some have said that 'since the Bible was written, as we became more tolerant, we eliminated the death penalty for pre-marital sex, practicing a different religion and prostitution homosexual behavior, blasphemy, rebellious teenagers, etc. We should eliminate it for murder as well ('Common Reasons Against Capital Punishment').

This is one reason a portion of society is against the death penalty. But on the other hand, even though a large number of Christians believe that these requirements by the Bible no longer apply to the US, 'biblical passages are still used to promote the retention of capital punishment for murderers ('Common Reasons Supporting Capital Punishment') '. The Bible has shown us many examples of the good and bad sides of Capital Punishment. A common argument that is used against the death penalty is 'Death does not better crime'. In my opinion, this is only because the sentence is not carried out quickly enough. The average amount of time that a person spends on death row before they are executed in nine to eleven years.

By the time a convict is executed, taxpayers have shelled out around 2 million dollars in legal fees for each death row inmate's defense. We are told in Ecclesiastes 8: 11 that: 'Because a sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil ('Related Issues") '. Another clich " ed protest against the death penalty is the chance of error. A large number of convicted murderers are pardoned after being found innocent. But everyone knows that if new evidence is found and the convict is found innocent, 'it is impossible to pardon a corpse' ('Common Reasons Against Capital Punishment'). The Stanford Law Review has fond some evidence, which they published in 1987, that says 'at least 350 people between 1900 and 1985...

Might have been innocent of the crime for which they were convicted... ('Reasons Against Capital Punishment') '. The Bible also gives us another point of view-supporting the death penalty. God, in Genesis 9: 5-6 explains to Noah and his family: 'And surely your blood of your lives I will require; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man whoso a man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

' There are just as many reasons that people believe in the death penalty as there are reasons that people oppose the death penalty. One reason that citizens believe in the death penalty is their need for justice and vengeance. Another argument in favor of the death penalty for the taking of human life that we affirm the highest value of human life. 'This means that we show how valuable human life is by the way that we deal with the criminals who have taken it away from others. Safely and cost are two other things that people like about the death penalty. 'Once a convicted murder is executed, there is no chance that he will break out of jail and kill or injure someone ('Common Reasons Supporting Capital Punishment') '.

Some people, although it is not fact, believe that executing criminals lessen the amount of crimes that are being committed. I believe that Capital Punishment is an effective way to rid society to all of the harmful killers and mass murderers in our society. I very much believe in it, but I do not think that we should turn to the Bible to answer all of our questions about life, especially the death penalty. I was surprised, while conducting my research, to find that there actually were references to Capital Punishment in the Bible. This is a very interesting topic, very controversial. The Bible shows some good and bad points pertaining to Capital Punishments, but I think that it is a little confused.

In some areas, the Bible tells us that it is not okay to execute someone who has murdered another human being. But then, a few books or even paragraphs later, it says that it is okay to execute someone for murdering someone else. When I first started this paper, I was undecided about how I felt about the death penalty. I realize now that I am in full support of it. I just feel that we need grounds other than religious ones (including the Bible) for supporting or opposing Capital Punishment. Separations of State and Religion, right?

We wouldn't bring the Bible into a dispute about the 2001 Presidential Election, so why bring it into one concerning the life of a human being?