“What does the Bible say about capital punishment?”
The law of God received by Moses at Sinai gave instructions to the leaders of Israel
concerning the conduct of Israelites and the foreigners who chose to travel and
live alongside them. The penalties for religious and criminal violations of the Law
were identical for both nationals and foreigners.
The Old Testament Hall of Shame
Crimes sufficiently serious to merit the death penalty under the Law included but were not limited to:
murder;
negligent homicide;
hitting,
cursing or
persistently disobeying a parent; contempt of court;
lying under oath in a capital case; kidnapping;
rape;
adultery;
incest;
homosexuality;
bestiality;
blasphemy;
false prophecy;
offering sacrifices to false gods;
breaking the Sabbath;
witchcraft; and
child sacrifice.
The circumstances under which the death penalty was to be applied, the relevant
judicial process and the standard of proof required to impose the death penalty
are detailed in the above links and elsewhere in the Law of Moses.
It is evident from the historical books of the Old Testament that these commands to Israel’s
leadership were carried out sporadically and inconsistently over Israel’s time
as a sovereign nation in the land of Canaan. Further, under Roman rule or
during the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities, Israelites and Jews were often
prevented
by the laws of the relevant empire from punishing capital crimes as their law
commanded, and, being subjects of an empire, were occasionally exposed to
capital
penalties not contemplated in their own law.
I’m almost sure that doesn’t really answer the question.
The Question Behind the Question
When young Christians ask what the Bible says about this or that issue, especially capital
punishment, they are not generally looking for a historical retrospective. They
are asking what today’s laws ought to look like if we lived in God-fearing nations rather than secular
pseudo-democracies. So let’s try to answer what’s really being asked here.
My own belief is that a truly God-fearing nation today would govern itself similarly to the way
Israel was intended to be governed under the laws God gave them. They
were given good, moral regulations that provided
a disincentive to evil behavior when carried out humbly and obediently. Any
nation that observed these laws consistently would be a better place to live
than a nation that did not, and the degree to which any nation today departs
from the principles embodied in the Law of Moses is the degree to
which it will be characterized by massive injustices, wretched moral examples in high places, and
persistent temptations to wrongdoing.
We Just Disagree
That said, there is a great deal of disagreement between Christians on this subject. Many
well-intentioned believers utterly fail to make the very important distinction
between the phrases “the Bible says” and “the Law of Moses says”. While the Law
of Moses obliged Israelites during a particular period in their history to
execute judgments of this sort, and even warned them of
national
judgment if they failed in their duties, the Bible does not suggest for a moment that Christians today have
either the right or the obligation to put anyone to death for any crime, no
matter how heinous. That is simply not the job of ordinary believers. It is a task for
the relevant civil authorities, who will give account to God one day for the manner in which they discharge their duties. Christians are
not
subject to the Law of Moses and certainly have no right to impose on others
penalties to which we ourselves are not subject.
Now, because many nations in the West still make some pretense of being run democratically, it is
certainly possible to vote for the election of politicians who advocate for
some of these principles of justice, assuming we can find any, or to vote
against those who most passionately repudiate them. If you insist that is
the moral duty of believers living in the West, I will certainly not try
to dissuade you from your position, though I think the prospect of seeing
a return to capital punishment at all, let alone capital punishment carried out
along Old Testament lines, extremely unlikely.
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