Death Penalty is Scriptural, Healthy for a Just Society

The Argus Leader has an article today on the Christian worldview of the death penalty, and it's surprisingly balanced.

While it gives some of the touchy-feely rationalizations made by some Christians these days--which frankly aren't biblical but are borrowed from their unbelieving neighbors--it gives a couple of the Scriptural references which support the death penalty:

"In Genesis 9:6, we read 'Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,' " said Sioux Falls Seminary professor Paul Rainbow.

"That seems to provide authorization for a society or a duly constituted government to practice capital punishment."

The New Testament is referring to civil authority when, in Romans 13:4, it states "He is God's servant for your God, but if you do wrong be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer," Rainbow said.

"It goes a little further than Genesis," he said. "Only God ultimately has the right to give or take life, but in this case, he delegates a share of that authority to his human government, which makes capital punishment not a case of human beings against human beings, but God exercising his sovereignty using human beings as his instrument."

Jesus also said in Matthew 26:52 that those who live by the sword can expect to die by the sword.

But the strongest statement from God on the death penalty remains the one in Genesis 9. This edict was given to Noah as he and his family came off the ark to repopulate the earth (notice also that Genesis 6:11 says rampant violence was a key reason God wiped out all of humanity except for Noah's family). This edict predates the Mosaic Law, and was given to all humanity (not just the Jews) so it can't be argued that Jesus did away with it with the New Covenant (Jesus also said he did not come to abolish the Law). God' edict in Genesis 9 was for all humanity for all time and has never been rescinded.

And Elijah Page has had plenty of time to repent of his sins and get saved, and will have at least an additional 48 hours to do so--and I hope he does. But if Chester Allan Poage hadn't given his life to the Lord before he was murdered, then Page has had a far greater opportunity to get saved than his victim had. If Page doesn't get saved before he's executed, it's on no one's head but his own.

I covered this subject in great detail last year as we prepared for Elijah Page's execution then, and I don't feel like repeating myself at any great length. But if you're interested, I have an extensive piece explaining from a practical and biblical perspective why the death penalty should be exercised to bring justice in murder cases.

Also, since I wrote that, more information has come to light that reinforces the much-ballyhooed deterrent value of capital punishment. One study found that for every murderer executed, five homicides are prevented. Given that the average time from sentencing to execution is 12 years--greatly separating the crime from the consequence--this effect is outstanding.

But even if there was zero deterrent, capital punishment would remain essential to bring justice. The punishment should fit the crime, else it's not justice. To fail to execute a murderer, you might as well tell a rapist he was a "bad boy" and let him go, or give someone who broke into another person's home and stole from them a $5.00 fine and call that "justice." I think we'd all agree: it isn't.