 | Rev. Patrick Notley is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church located at 525 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. Reverend Notley received an MA in Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. Born in Denver, CO and raised on the East Coast, Reverend Notley along with his wife, relocated to Wichita in 1997 to join the church, where he is responsible for Evangelism Educational programs. You can reach Reverend Notley at (316) 263-0248 ext. 22 or by email at pwnotley@firstpresbywichita.org |
Religion
2006-04-01 13:20:00
What does the Bible say about capital punishment?
Question: Often at capital punishment executions, conducted under the authority of the state, religious groups hold vigils in protest of the killing, saying: “It’s against God’s law.” Isn’t this counter to what the Bible says, particularly in the Old Testament?
ANSWER: It is always dangerous to use the Bible to prove a particular point of view that one holds. The Bible says many things about capitol punishment, or, more accurately, the Bible can be made to say many things about capitol punishment. One can interpret the Bible to be both in favor of and against this practice, and one can pull out any number of scripture passages to “prove” one’s chosen point of view. The greater challenge to the person of faith is to first allow the Bible to speak in its original context, then allow it to speak to us in our present context, and then seek to understand how we as, persons of faith, are called to live out our lives in response to what we hear being said. The Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20, include a prohibition against killing (Ex. 20:13). A more accurate translation of that text from the Hebrew is “You are not to commit murder.” rather than “You shall not kill.” While it might be seen as splitting translation hairs, I think it is important to understand that this commandment has to do with the willful taking of a life for reasons of settling a grudge or dispute. Our society does not condone the killing of another person because one does not like them for whatever reason. The suggestion of “An eye for an eye” has to do with due process and making sure that punishment for a crime is not out of proportion with the actual crime. The task for the person of faith is not to simply quote the Bible as proof of a preferred position. Rather the task is to engage with the Biblical text and allow it to act on how we are to live in the world. In the case of capitol punishment, it becomes vital that we stop hurling Biblical texts at one another across the divide of whether we believe capitol punishment is either moral or effective and start hearing first what the Biblical texts have to say to us. There are persons of faith on either side of this debate, so until we stop vilifying the ones who disagree with our preferred side and start engaging in serious conversation with each other and the Bible we will come to no better agreement that we have at the moment. The Bible is not a weapon at our disposal to be used to vanquish those who disagree with us, it is the story of a God who loves humanity and who seeks to have humanity love one another and God in return.
