Thoughts from the Glen
Thoughts from the Glen
To Kill or Not to Kill: Christianity and Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment has been controversial and debated within societies ever since the beginning of recorded history, it seems. To take another human's life, even as a punishment for their unlawful taking of a human's life, is for most an uncomfortable idea. And one could argue that if it isn't an uncomfortable idea, there might be something wrong with us! There is especially debate within Christianity on this matter. Many of us want to integrate the love of Christ as thoroughly as possible into every aspect of our lives, and we want to meet the requirements of what forgiveness and grace are supposed to look like in our actions. I can't explore, in this episode, every passage in the Bible or every controversy related capital punishment, but I hope to at least orient your minds towards a general posture that the Bible takes on these matters and how we can approach the tragic reality of capital punishment in a sinful world.
Pictured illustration by Ernest Clair-Guyot