In April 2021 our denomination passed a new resolution (#21-08) on Human Dignity, specifically addressing prior resolutions regarding abortion. The new resolution says in part:
“Be it, therefore resolved that this delegate body affirms that all human beings are made in the image of God and thereby possess unassailable dignity and worth according to the design of their Creator, irrespective of their race, gender, abilities, age, social class, or the circumstances of their conception…
“Be it further resolved that we mourn the loss of any human life, especially under murderous circumstances, and that we mourn all suffering caused by unjust discrimination…”
If we are to take this resolution seriously, I believe we also need to apply the same reasoning to the topic of capital punishment.* Many Christians justify the death penalty based Scriptures such as Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image,” and Romans 13:4, “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” At one time, I would have counted myself among them; however, further study has changed my mind. In particular, I found the arguments in Shane Claiborne’s book, Executing Grace, to be compelling. Although I don’t have room to include all the pages of quotes I pulled out, here are some of his points.
The Old Testament law was actually a limit
“Here’s the key: the ‘eye for an eye’ law was intended to be a limit to retaliation—not a license for it. The goal was to stop the cycle of violence rather than validate or escalate it. Prior to the Old Testament laws and the guidance of God, there was unregulated violence… There are laws of mandate and laws of limitation. Mandate means you must; limitation means you can. …The punishment should never exceed the crime… The fact that it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right” (ch. 4).
Scripture moves us toward life and love
“Throughout the Bible there is a movement away from violence, toward ‘beating swords into plows’ (Isa. 2:4), transforming the instruments of death into tools that can cultivate life. The climax of this is the cross” (ch. 3).
“Jesus takes us even farther. Return evil with good. Do not fight fire with fire. Jesus admonishes us not to engage in retaliatory violence at all—not to take an eye or a tooth or a limb, ever. In essence, Jesus brings us a new law… and he does it without negating the old law, but by moving beyond it. In replacing ‘an eye for an eye’ with ‘love your enemies,’ Jesus teaches us to wear evil down with love” (ch. 4, see also John 8:1-7).
The early church was against death in any form
“[Ron Sider in] The Early Church on Killing… points out that the early Christians had a consistent ethic of life when it came to abortion, capital punishment, military service, and other issues. For the early Christians, people were created by God, made in the image of God, and no mortal had the right to kill another person; not even Caesar had the right to take life… No Christian writing before Constantine in the fourth century argued that there is any circumstance under which a Christian may kill” (ch. 6).
The death penalty is racially biased
“Eight in ten lynchings that occurred in the United States from 1889 to 1918 occurred in the South. Now (since 1976) eight in ten executions are in the South. In other words, the places that were most inclined to unofficial execution by lynching a hundred years ago are drawn to official execution today… To this day, even though African Americans make up only 13 percent of the nation’s population, 42 percent of death row inmates are black, and 34 percent of those executed since 1976 have been black” (ch. 8).
Wrongful convictions and executions are more common than you may think
“[About] one person for every nine executed has been proven to be wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death, and later exonerated and released from death row… A recent study estimates one in twenty-five folks on death row has been wrongly convicted and is likely innocent, reminding us undoubtedly that innocent people have also been killed” (ch. 11).
There are better ways to deal with violent crimes
“The U.S. legal system is designed as an adversarial one… prosecution versus defendant. The model seen in scripture and attempted in many communities throughout history and around the world is, in contrast, communal… Restorative justice is… about humanizing harm rather than systematizing punishment. It is about being concerned for all people—victim, offender, and community” (ch. 13).
“It is a well-established fact that it costs more to kill someone than to keep someone in prison for life” (ch. 14).
Christians and others are working for change
“In 1996, 78 percent of Americans were in favor of the death penalty for people convicted of murder… A 2013 Pew study shows that that number had dropped farther, to 55 percent” (ch. 7).
“Pope John Paul II [revised] the Catholic stance on the death penalty to say even more strongly that in contemporary society we have sufficient ways to render someone ‘inoffensive’ without executing that person and ‘without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself’” (ch. 10).
“[In 2015] the National Association of Evangelicals… issued a new resolution on capital punishment. Their pro-death penalty statement had not changed since it was written in 1973—until now” (ch. 14; see NAE site).
From my perspective
Jesus did modify the application of the Old Testament law, but the question is how much? Did He intend for death penalties to be entirely removed? Does the role of governing authorities sustain the right to put people to death for the lives that those people have taken? Even if they have that right, is that the best solution available?
One thing that is alarming to me is that the United States is one of only a few First World nations (along with Japan and Singapore) that has not abolished the death penalty, and in 2020 ranked 6th in the world in the number of executions—behind China, Iran, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia (per Wikipedia). In many countries, religious activities are reason for capital punishment, and yet Christians are often strong supporters of the death penalty in the U.S. That is incongruous to say the least.
Our legal system has many problems. Wrongful convictions and racially biased sentencing are significant. We live in a culture that is increasingly anti-authority, and laws are broken with impunity. We need law enforcement (and Christians serving there) to deter the increasingly anarchic atmosphere. But the death penalty is not a solution. Killing people in order to prove that killing is wrong is not going to lead to a more righteous or just country.
I don’t believe Christians should be involved in seeking or carrying out the death sentence. We of all people should realize that as long as there is life there is hope for repentance and salvation of all men. Some of those executed have become our brothers and sisters in Christ before they died. To claim we are pro-life should not simply mean that we are anti-abortion. Every person is created in the image of God, and therefore denying anyone the right to live is an affront to God. If those who conduct executions are, in Claiborne’s words, “haunted” by the requirement to take lives, shouldn’t Christians also be haunted by supporting such a system? Death originated with Satan’s deception of Adam and Eve. Should we not be instruments of life in any way we possibly can?
“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one Man Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17).
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26).
*A.C. Resolution #81-35 on Capital Punishment concluded, “A study of the Bible does not resolve the debate, thereby leaving the issue to individual conscience and interpretation.” Considering that our Declaration of Principles has a statement that “our influence should be used against” war, I would contend that we should also be using our influence against capital punishment.
© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
