I will certainly demand an accounting for the blood of your lives: I
will demand it from every animal and from every human being. I will demand from
every human being an accounting for the life of his fellow human being. Whoever
sheds human blood, by a human being will his own blood be shed; for God made
human beings in his image. And you people, be fruitful, multiply, swarm on the
earth and multiply on it. (Bereshit / Genesis 9:5-7; CJB)
Have you ever wondered why it is that many of the same
people who are against abortion and euthanasia are for capital punishment?
Prolifers are often characterized by others as meddlers with regard to a
pregnant woman's choice to have or not have her baby and people suffering
through horrific terminal illness, who simply want to die with dignity. But
then some of these same prolifers believe that the most appropriate consequence
for certain crimes is execution. Is this not hypocrisy of the worst kind?
Note that I am fully aware that not all prolifers believe in
capital punishment and not all who believe in capital punishment are prolifers.
I am simply dealing with the question of how someone can legitimately hold to
both positions.
The logic of this has to do with a deep conviction that
every single life is valuable. But how can a regard for life include regarding
execution as an acceptable consequence for certain crimes?
In the passage I quoted, God declares to Noah and his
descendants after the flood that he requires execution in the case of murder.
The reason for this is that human beings are made in God's image. Opinion
varies as to what constitutes the image of God, but whatever it is, it is an
essential part of who we are as humans. Purposely terminating the life of
another person is a personal affront against God himself. But if that is the
case, how can execution be justified?
Allowing murderers to continue their own lives while their
victims' lives were terminated at their hands, cheapens human life in the name
of what some people think is mercy. This is why we shouldn't be surprised at
the misguided logic of those who are happy with allowing murderers to live, but
are perfectly fine with abortion and euthanasia. Again I know not every person
who is against capital punishment is for abortion and euthanasia, but many are.
The value placed on a woman's choice or a sick person's desire to die stems
from this same lack of regard for human life. Letting murderers live, while
killing the unborn and the infirm, denies our intrinsic value as human beings
made in God's image.
Murderers give up their right to life, by taking life. We
have no right to take the life of the living from conception to natural death.
This is not to say that we should not have compassion for those with crisis
pregnancies or for those in immense pain. We should do whatever we can to help
these people, but taking the lives of image bearers helps no one.
A society that permits - or should I say encourages - the
killing of unwanted children and the elderly, yet allows murderers to live, has
lost touch with the value of their own lives. It won't be long before all sorts
of people who need care for all sorts of reasons will be discarded and
destroyed by what is becoming a more and more selfish culture.
2 comments:
Alan; I am prolife, even for murderers BUT that means they stay in prison with no extras-just basics of life. I still think we do not have the right to take their lives as Old Testament teachings-thoughts?
Also, I struggle with protecting family against intruders who may want to murder or rape, etc. Are we as Christians to be ok with God on shooting someone else? I am conflicted on these issues. Appreciate your thoughts. Sue in WI, USA
As I mentioned in my TorahBytes message, according to the Bible, life is so sacred, execution is necessary when first degree murder is involved.
As for protecting others under threat of harm, we must use reasonable means. Hurting the perpetrator should be a last resort.
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