The Bible Nerd

I find it troubling when people tell me that God is only love, and that He would never judge anyone.  Rob Bell’s recent book “Love Wins” contains the tones of this sentiment, though it is couched in a more conservative fashion than the typical New Age teaching on this.  My one question that I send right back to these people is, “Would you like to live in a nation where there is no justice, no police, or no penalty for crimes against fellow citizens?”  Of course no one wants to live in a place where child molesters are left unpunished, and rapists roam the streets with impunity.

Enter the debate on the death penalty.  If we are all honest and admit that we want justice, the next question should be how that justice is carried out.  Ancient cultures chopped off people’s hands and stoned others to death (unfortunately people are still being stoned to death even today!).  Modern society mainly uses a combination of monetary fines and imprisonment.  However, for the most heinous of crimes, those involving murder, what type of penalty can nations use to adequately deter this act of taking another life?  For some, the ultimate punishment should be the death penalty.  Christians have for centuries based their view of the death penalty on the Bible.  My challenge in this has been to bring together my university degree in political science together with my years of studying and teaching the Bible.

There is no doubt that Old Testament (old covenant) Israel was commanded by God to use the death penalty for certain crimes.  The overarching principle is contained in Leviticus 24:17-20, “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.”  To some this law of “an eye for an eye” may seem vindictive or cruel, but in reality, it is exact justice.  In ancient times, there was not always a concept of exact justice, as whole villages were wiped out for a slight given against a king or powerful ruler.  God limited this type of out of control violence by limiting justice to exact retribution.

Other Christians say that the old covenant is dead (Hebrews 10), therefore this law is not binding and is superseded by New Testament commands.  Therefore, if Jesus repeals a law, then that is what is binding for Christians.  Jesus declares in Matthew 5:38-39, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ”  Isn’t this a direct repeal of the “eye for an eye” law?  Christian pacifists have used this verse not only as a repeal of the death penalty but also as a reason to dispute the just war doctrine.  Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual one which was not a violent overthrow of the Roman Empire, and Jesus rebuked Peter for his use of the sword in His defense.

First, we need to establish that the OT law can’t be used to justify or “command” our view of the death penalty in our modern nations.  OT Israel was a theocracy, and much of its law was designed to be solely used within that context.  Of course, there is timeless truth contained within such standards as the Ten Commandments, but the most of the ones for both the ceremonial and civil codes can’t simply be taken out and directly applied today.  With the death penalty, that was based on a society that would turn to God to make a decision in a capital case.  It wasn’t ruled by a president or prime minister, but God Himself was the ultimate authority represented by the High Priest.  When is the last time you heard of a jury going out to deliberate and casting the Urim and Thummim for God’s answer???  Not only is the old covenant dead, but we don’t live in theocracies anymore, and as much as we might think of some of our nations as “Christian nations”, they are not close to the form of government laid out by God in the Pentateuch.

If we are to truly discuss the death penalty today, it has to be on the basis of its effectiveness as a deterrent to murder and heinous crimes, and using the Bible for foundational principles instead of absolute commands in this area.  If that is the case, as far as the Bible is concerned, one could make a plausible argument either way.  You could argue from the words of Christ that in the new covenant, our goal is the restoration and forgiveness of man, and this includes murderers.  Killing the criminal doesn’t give an opportunity to lead them to Christ.  On the other hand, you can argue that God’s character and nature is one of justice.  The New Testament speaks of the authority that God has given governments over people as in Romans 13:1-4, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. 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.”

So again, we cannot use the Old Testament laws on the death penalty as our main backing for our modern views.  We will have to use these other Scriptures as guiding lights and come up with our own thoughts about it.  Just remember in this whole thing the story of the thief on the cross next to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.  Here was a man under the Roman death penalty who confesses and believes in Jesus just before his death, in the middle of his execution!  The grace and timing of God are beyond our comprehension.  Up next, Top “Real” Bible Question # 8:  did the Flood really happen?