Biblical view of capital punishment

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was given the death penalty last week for his role in the Boston Marathon bombings.

"There are no winners today but I feel justice for my family," said Liz Norden, the mother of two young men who both had a leg amputated because of the attacks.

Is death appropriate justice or is Delaware Gov. Jack Markell correct when he calls it "an instrument of imperfect justice." Nowhere in the New Testament does it specifically say capital punishment is right or wrong; however, there are verses that seem to touch on the subject and support it.

Romans 13:1-4 and Acts 25:10-11 merit inspection and reflection. Romans makes clear the distinction between secular and sacred -- even as it never severs the two completely. God establishes all authority including secular and for the case considered, magistrates. Methods to change secular authority include prayer, communication of truth, preaching the gospel, persuasive love, and active participation by believers where possible. To ignore their authority is to invite their wrath represented by "the sword" then as today policemen carry clubs or pistols.

Capital punishment included crucifixion when the books of the Bible were written. The death penalty is clearly implied by the apostle Paul and expressed distinctly in Acts when Paul says, "If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die." Paul had been accused of treason. He does not deny the right of the state to execute people. Instead of denouncing capital punishment, Paul assumes its validity and then appeals to Caesar, the final judicial arbitrate.

The death penalty is often seen differently through secular lenses than through the sacred lens. Some people's faith prohibits them from being the executioner just as it keeps them from military roles through which they might be required to take lives. American justice recognizes and allows these exceptions without removing the possibility -- even the need to take one life in order to protect many others.

Some equate capital punishment with murder; however, the law code distinguishes between self-defense, manslaughter, and murder based upon context and intent. The Bible does the same. Revenge, for example, is not a valid Biblical reason to take a life. Cities of refuge were established in ancient Israel to limit revenge. The Biblical "an eye for an eye" was not encouraging revenge. The teaching was punishment commensurate with the crime. Forgiveness is raised to new heights in the teaching of the New Testament. At times heart forgiveness included the cancellation of physical consequences. Sometimes it did not. Relationships were restored even as the punishment for the crime was proclaimed and enacted.

Is there a better way to dispense justice for people such as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?

Is there a way that ends crime and protects the harm to other innocents?

Can secular law be informed and improved by the principles of Christian faith?

It can. And it should. That road, however, will maintain clarity between the responsibility of the state to protect the vulnerable and the responsibility people of faith have to emulate the heart of Jesus Christ. Overlap is not only possible, but also preferred. Agreement to that version of law will come only after the study of history, facts, sociology, psychology, faith, and the willingness to understand the other side before demanding acceptance of a contrary position.

-- Dr. Randy Rowlan is pastor of First United Methodist Church. Comments are welcomed at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Religion on 05/20/2015