"NOTES ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT".
SOCIAL REGRESS.
Times have changed. Times have changed for the worse. Sadly,
this modern generation is unaware of the speed of this
transformation which has taken place in our society. Daily, before
the very eyes of millions, television brings the ghastly, hideous,
and inhuman, atrocities of human beings, perpetrated against
other humans with a depth of brutality and callousness hitherto
unknown to our fore bears. No one appears to have any answers.
Psychologists insist it is mental. Socialists emphasise
unemployment and deprivation. Educationists advocate more
learning. Moralists urge old domestic discipline and radical
punitive measures. Ecclesiastics are the most inept ignoramuses,
and have the least idea of them all, even though they are
supposed to have more light than all the rest of them put
together!
To our way of thinking we have returned to those days which
were predicted by our Saviour Matt.24 37/39: Gen.6. All ranks
within society, especially in Europe, have been engulfed in a
spiritual darkness that has disorientated mental judgments on
spiritual and moral issues. This is the result of divine judgment
Rom.1/26 in margin "A mind void of judgment". The "experts!"
have lost the truth of "Sin" which was unknown among heathen
nations, and preserved only among the Hebrews. Nature among
pagans was always viewed as being good, whereas among God's
people it was corrupted originally in the human species by
Adam. Thus, it must always be restrained by a domestic, social,
and religious discipline. Our legal system is now a laughing stock
before the ethnic minorities. Jurisprudence is a mockery, while
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the whole world wonders at our abnormal verdicts. Very few
receive
maximum
penalties.
What
with
"Mitigating
circumstances," "Manslaughter," "Balance of mind disturbed," the
"Parole" system, and multitudes of features which continue to
make assorted exceptions to the laws belonging to our legislature,
it is today far more "foggy" in the legal profession than the
opening pages in "Bleak House" with respect to Chancery! You
may be sure these things will get worse!
RENEWED LAW.
We are told that it was never the intention of the Lord God for
murder to be rewarded with capital punishment. However, His
words are indisputable to all those who look upon Holy Scripture
as His inspired truth. They appear in Genesis 9/6: "Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the
image of God made He man." To murder another human being is
a stroke against God. It makes not the slightest difference if the
killer objects to this charge on the basis of reason. If man is an
image of His Maker, then fatal injury against him is against the
Prototype Acts 9/4. If Theodosius the Roman Emperor threatened
Antioch with utter ruin for hauling down his effigy and dragging
it through the streets, are we to expect the King of Kings to
respond with indifference when He is also outraged? A capital
offence must be met with capital punishment.
MOSAIC LAW.
To appeal unto Moses for contemporary legislation is most
dubious in the eyes of many Christians. They inform us that we
can in no way enlist the support of Moses inasmuch as a Christian
and civil community is no longer bound to O.T. law. But this only
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applies to the ceremonial paraphernalia. The moral aspect
remains. Only with regards to the ceremonial does Peter call it "a
yoke" which could never be borne Acts 15/9. Therefore the
renewed death sentence for the renewed human race after Noah
in Genesis 9/6 is confirmed by the words in Exodus 21/23, "Life
for Life." Adultery too is to be reimbursed with forfeiture of life
Lev.2O/10. What is wrong with this procedure? Are we not
witnessing the dissolution of our family life, the only framework
known to mankind that is able to procure security, stability, and
happiness, for the majority of individuals who live together as a
commonwealth for all. To those who will commence breaking up
the common good by an adulterous relationship should face the
wrath of the community. And why not by death? Adultery is now
commonplace. Thus, the sin is condoned and people sleep easy in
their beds with another, mollifying each others conscience,
because fidelity and chastity are undervalued. Human life too has
become debased coinage. Capital punishment can only increase
the value of it! Further biblical reasons for death as a justifiable
penalty is found in Deut.21 18/21. The offender here is a
rebellious son who stubbornly resists pleadings and all
chastisement from his parents. All the humane sensitivities will
rush together in righteous indignation to condemn what to
humanists can only be the acme of barbarism. It is our candid
judgment that it would only need these two examples to be
executed once in our present decadent society, and shockwaves
would reverberate through the length and breadth of the land.
Fear would enter into every city, town, and hamlet. and a healthy
deterrent established.
CHRISTIAN CODE.
Again and again, with monotonous regularity, you will hear
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pious appeals from all quarters stating that the sixth
commandment is altogether unambiguous when it declares,
"Thou shalt not kill." Those who know nothing, or very little,
about the O.T. might well be entitled to exoneration on this issue,
but never those who are acquainted with the holy records. If this
applies to Israel and every feature belonging to their affairs since
the foundation of their society, then they are of all nations most
inconsistent and hypocritical! The stoning of Achan who was
responsible for thirty six men losing their lives at Ai was a
positive outrage if this has to do with the sixth commandment.
Moreover, God directs Moses and Joshua, Saul and David,
together with all the Kings, to wage war, to exterminate
Canaanite nations, and to spare no Amalekites whatsoever. And
will Bible loving Christians accuse the Lord God of Israel of
inconsistency? God forbid.
How is the law to be reconciled to this divine legislation? Very
simply. We must divide the "State" from the "Individual." When
we read the ten commandments we must remember that they
were written for the individual not for the "State" of Israel. God
has granted to the "State" power to take life, either by a just war,
or for the protection of society against murderers. But to
individuals in private vendettas, or for the sake of gain, He
forbids it with absolute intolerance. A "State" that exercises capital
punishment is not "unchristian". Indeed, it possibly may be the
case that a parliament without this penal code is under severe
condemnation. Our Lord is no enemy to O.T. statutes. He is the
One who gave it to Moses. Therefore to assume they are at
variance with His love is out of the question. He came to fulfil the
whole Matt.5/17.
Another argument against capital punishment is supported from
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the case of the woman taken in adultery John 8 1/11. Our Lord
Jesus appears to cancel the law of Moses by absolving her sins.
What is known as the "letter of the law" 2 Cor.3/6 is intentionally
overlooked by Him, and this has somewhat disconcerted many,
even those within the Church of Christ. Yet He is a Judge, and the
One who engraved the law on two tablets of stone! By a N.T.
grace He alone had the power to suspend the O.T. penal statute
by offering forgiveness instead John 1/17. Like the Great
Advocate He is, notice the way in which he scatters the jury!
Knowing their great hypocrisy, He saw that their hearts had no
reverence for Moses or God's law, but only hatred towards
Himself. And so He challenged them concerning their own fitness
for stoning the woman. Each of them, beginning with the eldest
down to the very youngest witness, skulked away from the scene,
smitten in their consciences by His challenge to cast the first stone
See Deut.17 6/7. There were now no witnesses remaining. No one
stayed to validate the charge, so the Judge and Author of the law
bade judgment give way to N.T. mercy! By doing so Christ did
not abolish capital punishment. He knew that by His own capital
punishment the law must be fulfilled Deut.21/23. For this reason
He approved of that power which was bestowed upon Pilate John
l9/11. Here He rescinded His own law!
EXCEPTIONAL CASE.
Cain murdered his brother Abel. His life was spared by God. So,
it is surmised by some that here we have the primary intentions
of God. Murderers must not pay their penalty with this great
price by their own lives. But this is supposition. Consider this: it
is the prerogative of God to be lenient. Cain was now standing in
a heavenly court, the Lord God Almighty being the Supreme
Judge. It has been said that had Adam and Eve demanded the
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death penalty it would have been granted, but inasmuch as they
permitted the Judge of all the earth to conduct the trial, they were
willing to leave the punishment with Him. God chose a less
severe sentence. However, it is noteworthy that during his
interrogation by God, the Judge asked, "What hast thou done?"
followed by a statement which implies a capital punishment, "The
voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." For
what reason? For some equivalence in justice - "Life for Life:"
Ex.21/23. Again we find Cain intimating most clearly that
awareness of his fratricide in the world at that time would induce
others to execute him, “that every one that findeth me shall slay
me". A strange intuition of parity existed in his terrified
conscience. Lastly, it would seem that God intended to retain the
life of Cain for the sake of all his posterity, for had he departed
when the human race was still young, his death penalty had been
forgotten. True, Cain will be the exception to the rule, and yet this
economy is to be found in Psalm 59/11: Eccl.8/1O. It must be said
that Cain’s posterity in no way improved their behaviour as a
consequence! See Gen.4 23/24.
MISCARRIED JUSTICE.
A formidable argument is the one which says that in the records
belonging unto historical jurisprudence, fatal errors have been
made concerning capital punishment. By the very nature of these
sentences they have been irreversible. It is manifest that such
events have occurred, and cannot be refuted. However, it cannot
be such a formidable argument against the death penalty as
though it is altogether invincible. While humans are fallible in
spite of all the sincerity, honesty, and integrity, which the
characters of Judges, Barristers, and Jury, are endowed with
society must be prepared to accept the decisions that proceed
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from the infirm minds of men and women. Whether it is a matter
that belongs to a murder trial, or to any other within our
catalogues of crime, it must always be the case. We have no
choice. This is the price!
The supporters of abolition see the unintentional abuse of a form
of punishment that was never in dispute before the second half of
this century. But if because of unavoidable abuses the penal code
must be altered or abrogated, then we are surely bound to hazard
the very fabric of our penal system. Must we, therefore, on this
basis destroy all the vineyards in existence, because multitudes all
around the globe get drunk, often perpetrating gross crimes as a
consequence? Do we then determine the extinction of all women
on account of their perpetual abuse by debauches, philanderers,
and wicked pimps? What shall we say of doctors in the medical
world? Are they invulnerable? Do they not make many errors of
judgment, though beyond reproach morally? Why not abolish
marriage? for we are well aware that many fail in spite of good
intentions at the commencement. The same principle obtains
within the legal system itself. Because of gross mistakes both
designed and unintentional must we pull down the whole
organisation from the top downwards? Rationally it is
preposterous! By reason of the fatal nature of capital punishment,
it cannot be demonstrated that it is natural and proper to abolish
the penalty on grounds of humanity, for we might as well include
other forms of retribution.
REFORM EMPHASIS.
With all the gathering humanitarian causes filling the void left by
a decadent Christianity, a false judgment has ensued. Making a
punishment to fit the crime has given way to a plausible mistake,
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namely, that more emphasis should be placed upon the
reformation of the offender than upon his retribution. One may
easily imagine how these groups became perfectly assured that
they behaved more like real Christians than those who professed
to be so. Therefore though they boasted of "Humanitarianism,"
they boldly confessed that to be perfectly humane was not
something which had God only as the source, but human nature
itself. And here was their gross blunder. They were now more
righteous, more wise, and more caring than God Himself. The
Bible was primitive, harsh, and remote from modern civilization,
and needed to be discarded according to the standards they
invented by their own reason.
Thus, their violent opposition to capital punishment was a
forgone conclusion. It became fundamental to their campaign,
and you may be sure, they used the same slogans that modern
"Humanists" use to vilify those who oppose them, such as
“Vengeful," "Brutal," "Barbarous," "Unmerciful," "Bloodthirsty,"
and so on. However, it must be said, that their minds, now
divorced from Holy Scripture, became incapable of having a
sense of real justice. The rendering in the margin of Romans 1/26
reads "Void of judgment," and this became a divine judgment
upon those whom God "gave up" to their own evil devices. Yes,
indeed, there were many among those early groups who were
upright, decent, and even "religious" people - as it is in their
contemporary movements - but refusing the codes of Holy
Scripture, and the sense of Christian justice, God saw to it that
they lost the sense of all social justice. In Victorian days the tide
only began to mount, but today it has inundated western society
completely. A return to the "Sword" in Romans thirteen is
virtually out of the question. As for the poor victims of these
horrendous murders that occur now on a daily basis, they give no
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thought, for their humanity only reaches out towards the grossly
misunderstood, unfortunate, and sick-minded, criminal, who
really only deserves to be pitied than condemned! We do not
exaggerate.
DENIED REPENTANCE.
From the Christian point of view, there are those who say that to
put someone to death for murder, though it be legal according to
the law of the land, is to deprive the murderer of an opportunity
to repent towards God. This is certainly a strong argument which
cannot be taken lightly. But one might say in reply that such an
offence is so heinous, that on account of such deliberate action
against the "image of God," that precious gift of time, taken for
granted by those who possess it, is by them forfeited! We must
never forget too, that repentance is a gift from God 2 Tim.2/25
and the number of days belonging to the murderer have also been
determined by Him. Besides, is not the shortness of time left for
those who are condemned to death an incentive to the criminal to
get right with God? No repentance actually means that no eternal
life is to be found in him l John 3/15.
DETERRENT FALLACY.
Statistics are brought forward to prove for and against the death
penalty. Each side produce arguments to nullify the figures which
are allegedly true and appear to prove the case of the opposite
side. However, the fact remains that no one can really know by
statistics. No one can tell how many have been deterred for fear
of losing their lives. But this is beyond dispute, that whereas
many are perfectly willing to die for a cause deemed to be good
and righteous and with a good conscience, there must be those
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who wish to save themselves at all costs whether the reason for
dying be either good or evil. "All that a man hath will he give for
his life": Job 2/4. Because they cannot see beyond this life, neither
having a serious faith in God, nor possessing a very deep seated
consciousness of accountability beyond the grave, life to such is
cheap and easy to be disposed of when anyone attempts to stand
in the way of their material gain. Yet the most of people are intent
on saving their lives at all costs, and the thought of going into
oblivion - though it be sudden death - is to them a most horrible
thought. All of us shrink from death, and some more than others.
Human nature needs no external instructor to tell us that we all
love life and loathe death. For this reason we clutch to our life
with a grim determination to the last - unless we know where we
are going, namely, into the Saviour's presence for ever. For that
reason common sense tells us that the fear of death must always
be a deterrent for many, even though it will not deter those few
who are wild, brutal, and devoid of any sense belonging to
human responsibility.
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