Illinois recently abolished the death penalty.
I posted a comment about that on one off my Facebook friend’s wall about how this action devalued human life. He asked me what I meant and I wrote the following comment which I hope will be useful to you:
In Genesis there is a description of an increase of violence and murder from the time when Cain killed Abel until the flood.
After the flood God established the first “civil government” type law recorded in the Bible. It predates the Mosaic law and was given to the ancestors of all mankind – Noah and his sons and their families.
That law? “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed….”
The reason God gives for that law? “for in the image of God has God made mankind.”
The reason implied by the Biblical context? The death penalty for murder is needed to prevent a complete collapse into violence and murder. The value of each individual human being as made in the image of God needs to be established and preserved by putting murderers to death.
(These quotes are from Genesis 9:5-6: http://bit.ly/gTLPqv.)
So God Himself established that human beings should execute the death penalty for murder and that the reason is because of the value of human beings as the “image of God.”
Therefore, to disregard God on the issue of the death penalty for murder is to devalue human life.
Governor Quinn in Illinois has now cooperated with the legislature in Illinois to devalue human life by abolishing the death penalty for murder.
never saw it that way but you are totally right. 🙂
Greetings Lyne!
I think you are officially the most loyal follower of Freedomthirst.com.
🙂
Your point is well made; however, the use of Capital Punishment is only as infallable as the Justice Systems. A system that is over-run with corruption.
Greetings Joseph!
Good point about the "non-infallability" of the "system."
Of course, the Death Penalty for Murder is not the only law in the Bible! Right next to "Do not murder" is "Do not bear false witness!"
There are also laws about investigating thoroughly, establishing everything by two or three witnesses, etc.
Individuals will be held accountable to God for their actions! If "the system" is corrupt then each and every time someone "bears false witness" or fails to "investigate thoroughly" or does not establish "everything by two or three witnesses" the individual is accountable to God. If we as human beings discover it we now have a responsibility to do justice before God.
In Biblical Law the penalty for "bearing false witness" is to suffer the penalty that you were trying to see implemented on someone else!
In Exodus 20:13 God commands us not to murder. Why wouldn’t killing someone because they murdered someone not also be called murdered?
Wow, this is an old article. 🙂
God is the Authority. His book defines terms.
He commands the death penalty for murder, but doesn’t consider that execution to be murder.
It is this way because God decreed it that way.
If you read the Bible with your own definitions you will have a hard time understanding.
You have to read it thinking “what is God’s opinion” to the best of your ability.