Although some interpret that John 8:7 of the Bible condemns the death penalty, Christian positions, as on many social issues, vary. The Roman Catholic Church traditionally supported capital punishment as per the theology of Thomas Aquinas (who accepted the death penalty as a necessary deterrent and prevention method, but not as the means of vengeance), but under the pontificate of Pope Paul VI, this position was reversed. His encyclical Humanae Vitae denounced abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia as murder (see Consistent Life Ethic). The Catholic Church holds that the death penalty is no longer necessary if it can be replaced by incarceration

 The Lambeth Conference of Anglican and Episcopalian bishops condemned the death penalty in 1988.

In Protestantism, both Luther and Calvin followed the traditional reasoning in favor of capital punishment, and the Augsburg Confession explicitly defends it; the Mennonites and Friends, among other, smaller groups, opposed it.

Both proponents and opponents derive their own stance from the Bible itself.

What do you think the Bible really says? 

i know that someone who had done an iunspeakable act were stoned to death.

Bulert wrote:

i know that someone who had done an iunspeakable act were stoned to death.

thats right, so is that a sign that the Bible approves capital punishment? What about the Crusifiction itself?

Genesis 9:6 was given BEFORE the law, meaning the death penalty stands for all time

WWJD wrote:

Genesis 9:6 was given BEFORE the law, meaning the death penalty stands for all time

in other words what you are saying is the Bible endorses death penatly?

King James Version (KJV). Genesis - Chapter 9 ... Gen 9:6, Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed:

what is your attitude towards that?

Those who harm children (pedophiles; abusers) and harm women (rape etc etc) should be electrocuted by the government sanctioned death.

The book of james, NEW testament, also gives this very concept :)

I'm all for the death penalty and protection of innocents.

Example:

If someone hits me while I preach, I will take the hit.

If someone randomly enters my home and my child's safety is at risk, it's my child or them...and I assure anyone, it;'s not my child :-)

Some say, "That's wrong!"

I have two licensed weapons in my home; if needed, for protection of my family, I'll use them before I ever pick up a phone to dial 911.

God sanctions force in certain situations...

A child molester should be sent to death by the Government (NOT by individuals!)

Same for rapists, abortionists, etc etc.

Well i know that men were taken out of the cities and stoned for rape, and women for infidelity. I also know that yes, crusifiction was used as a punishement. God said that for any man to cause a chils to sin ( rape, molest them) should just as well tie a rope with a stone at the end to his throat and thow it into the river, because it is a fraction of the punishment he will recieve when he judged!

I am sorry ihad a spelling error " any man that causes a CHILD to sin*" rather. Sorry

I don't agree with the death penalty.

1- To take another person's live in an act of vengence is a worse reason than the person who committed the crime probably had.

2- If you find you are wrong about the person committing the crime you cannot bring them back.

3- GOD created life and should decide when to end it. Do not deny HIM that right.

God gave the right to TAKE life to man in Governmental Authority.

To molest, rape abort children and murder are capital crimes which call for capital punishment.

I do bnot believe that God allows such sin to go without punishment; yes, he will forgive, but the consequences are no less severe.

Prisoners like those named above are sitting in pen cells watching cable television and playing video games.

If our great nation brought capital punishment back for the crimes listed above then you'd have prisons less empty and less crime on those scales.

Take away their tv's and video games not their lives. Let he without sin cast the first stone. I really doubt that we have a sin free government. WWJD, I really respect your views, and hopefully learn something from reading them, but I think you are wrong on this one.

In all fairness, willie, I'm not dogmatic on the issue...

It's like war; I'm all for war if it means freedom (TRUE freedom) from a socialist society.... but woudl I MYSELF be in one? No.

Same with the death penalty; I believe it is the duty of Government, BUT I do submit I may just be wrong; and because it's a life-death issue, I'm not willing to make a dogmatic statement on it...i lean towards the death penalty, yet at the same time I'm not sure about it enough to make a statement that is it wrong NOT to believe in it.... I simply don;t know

I really don't know much about the subject myself. I'll admit some of the crimes you mentioned would get my anger up possibly to the point of killing somebody but it would be a rage based accident and not planned.

WWJD wrote:

God sanctions force in certain situations...

A child molester should be sent to death by the Government (NOT by individuals!)

Same for rapists, abortionists, etc etc.

wow, are you suggesting abortionists should be decapitated? Maybe i misunderstood you?

If not, question. Are you a Chirsitan minister, or a radical fundamentalist?

I agree 100% with the death penaluty. Frankly each year we spend hundreds of thousands of taxes to pay for the inmates. Now, why would i want to pay for some pedofile to have 3 eans a day, and room and board. I say kill the sick F*** and put the money for education. My school could use new gym, and bathroom and books, and why shouldnt i get them because some sick pedofile is getting counsiling while he is wishing he was diddling the children he sees through his window? There is no counsiling, its a sickness..put him out of his misery, and put my taxes where they belong!

if reasoning behind the death penalty is monetary, then would wouldnt you consider an alternative. Lets put prisoners to work. Lets create facilities inside jails where they can be employed, and thus benefit teh society.

I am against death penalty because it is inhumane. No one should be able to take human life. Anyone that does is a criminal, including the government that is doing it.

I am proud of Canada for banning capital punishment! That makes me very patriotic! If anything, our Government is not a killer (unlike, say, US)!

---

On July 14, 1976 the House of Commons passed Bill C-84 on a free vote, abolishing capital punishment from the Canadian Criminal Code and replacing it with a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years for all first-degree murders.

Canada retained the death penalty for a number of military offenses, including treason and mutiny. No Canadian soldier has been charged with or executed for a capital crime in over 50 years. On 10 December, 1998, the last vestiges of the death penalty in Canada were abolished with the passage of legislation removing all references to capital punishment from the National Defence Act.

There were 710 executions in Canada between 1867 and 1962. The last execution was carried out on December 11, 1962 when 2 men were hanged in Toronto, Ontario. Between 1879 and 1960, there were 438 commutations of death sentences.

here is a great link to the news report by CBC about the abolishion of capital punishment in Canada:

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-181-994-10/on_this_day/politics_economy/death_penalty_abolished

Remember how supporters of the death penalty constantly quote the bible as saying

 

"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" what they unfortunately leave out is the continuation in "and vengeance be mine sayeth the lord" . It is not our place to kill, trust me WWJD a maximum security prision is no walk in the park there is no cable tv and video games. You of all people should be able to preach the fact that men can change. What if they while in prison accept god? Should they still be killed? What if these are people who could do great things for the community by changing? Remember, your own religious book says we are all inherently evil, so at what point do you have the right to take the life of another human? There have been too many wrongful deaths in the name of gods (not only christian) to give the church the ability to decide who lives and dies.

Prisoners DO work....but we're talking here about captital crime prisoners.

I just can;t see how we should LET murderers and child molesters "work off" their crimes

you would probally feel diffrent if it was your daughter paul berbardo raped and murdered instead othe kristen french I know alla bout his murders..and have wrote many essays about how he should DIE and so should his sick twisted manipulative wife Karla..