What is your opinion on capital punishment?

[hiphop]

I don't think you are offensive at all - for goodness sakes, obviously this is something that even "Christians" disagree on! This is something that can be a bit hard to rationalize, as most people would rather cling to just the "God is Love" idea and ignore everything else. God is many things, and yes life is precious to Him - but He is also just, and if you take another's life of your own accord, HE will have His vengence through the authorities.

Obviously we disagree on that, yes. My God is the God of Love. I do not ignore everything else though, but I take the right to read the Bible critically.

I don´t believe at all that God searches vengence through the authorities. Maybe that´s because I have seen how sinful and wicked most authorities are.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I've been accused of creating my own religion before and I suppose in a way I have as I have done just that - taken the parts of Christianity that I like but disregarded the rest. I think essentially I am inclined to believe in the seperation of man and God more than anything. It's my view that whichever God is the true one is the only one who judges and wouldn't give such authority to man. I believe completely in all humans being equal and while our actions seperate us into different categories, I do not believe that mere man has the authority or power to do the ultimate which is judge and condemn or take away a life which is 'on loan' to us by a power that is so removed from us little peons that even the concept makes my brain hurt.

 

[hiphop]

That is a fairly recent concept brought forth by men, not God.

True. And if we look at the history of the Christianity, which had Christian authorities twisting the Bible and God´s word to fit their needs whenever they could, you may agree it was for man´s own good.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Religion is there to control a population, hence my argument that it is no better than government.

 

[Katey]

True. And if we look at the history of the Christianity, which had Christian authorities twisting the Bible and God´s word to fit their needs whenever they could, you may agree it was for man´s own good.

had?? they still do twist it, but I agree with your points.

 

[anitram]

I've been accused of creating my own religion before and I suppose in a way I have as I have done just that - taken the parts of Christianity that I like but disregarded the rest.

Cafeteria Catholics are a well known "phenomenon."

You'd be a cafeteria Christian. Welcome!

 

[Angela Harlem]

 

[xtal]

Shit, trust me, I've been in jail once, I'd rather get the lethal injection if I had the choice of living it out in jail for the rest of my life or dying by the needle.
Living in jail is pure hell! You all are so forgiving and kind, why don't you just let all the criminals loose?
My father's murderer, on the other hand, was a crazy psychopath, and he was shot on scene- no warning and no hesitance, and I am glad for that. Not only did he blow my dad's brains out while my dad was trying to help him, he threw a 2 year old kid into the river AFTER he shot his pregnant mother right in front of him. He shot and killed five other people.
Think about the victims. This man deserved to die.
If a guilty person is in jail, I really don't see the need to kill him though. But it's not cruel to do so, I think it would be a favour. Living in jail is hell. You're lucky to survive your first year without emotional and sometimes physical trauma. And most of the time, those wounds do not heal, causing recurring suffering.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

I think that capital punishment should be used. Especially in very violent countries like mine.

I believe that if you tell someone what the punishment for a certain action is, and they still go ahead and do it deliberately then they basically punished themselves.

Tell someone:

If you murder someone, then you, in turn, will be put to death.

That way I don't believe anyone should feel responsible for this person being a thickheaded criminal who just doesn't get it.

It's as simple as that.

You knew the consequences. You made your bed now the government has the authority to make you lie in it.

 

[BVS]

Romans 13:1-4.

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

Boiled down how I see this -

- God is in control of who are leaders are, regardless of whether we think they are good or bad
- "he (our authorities) does not bear the sword in vain" - what other thoughts do you have for what 'bearing the sword' means other than death?
- "he is God's minister" - someone appointed to do God's work - "an avenger"

How does this work when your governing athorities that "are placed by God" are commiting genocide, executing women for comminting adultery, killing people because they are the wrong religion?

That is a fairly recent concept brought forth by men, not God.

Brought forth by those men that apparently God appointed. So it's ok when the governing authorites use capital punishment, we shouldn't question them, but when they set forth a concept like this then we blame man?

Sorry but all of this sounds like a huge contradiction.

 

[LuminousTimes]

100% against. I would be a hypocrite if I opposed abortion and advocated capital punishment.

I don't think that this is a contridication. One is the killing of innocent life; one is the killing of someone who has taken the life of another or others.

 

[xtal]

Sam Shephard once said, "Right smack dab in the middle of a contradiction, that's the place to be."

If a man were to sexually assault my sister or my cousin, and I had the choice of turning him in or 'wait for the Lord to take His action'...shit I'd have dialed 911 in a heartbeat.
Capital punishment cannot rely on the Bible and its teachings. Capital punishment can't be done by the Lord. It has to come from us.
But our justice system is screwed up. There are amatuer drug dealers that sold cocaine and marijuana to rich white kids and they got put in jail for 7-15 years while men who rape women get 4-6 years. Something is definitely wrong with our justice system.

 

[pub crawler]

I've been accused of creating my own religion before and I suppose in a way I have as I have done just that - taken the parts of Christianity that I like but disregarded the rest.

A lot of Christianity sucks ass.

Sincerely,

A Christian