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Does The Death Penalty Violate The Sixth Commandment?

10/05/2002   

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." (Genesis 9:6)

There are three issues that will invariably divide Christians and the federal, state and local governments that serve them: Abortion, the Death Penalty, and the Separation of Church and State.

I recently found myself witness to one of those issues. The county board of commissioners in the county in which I live was approached by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, an North Carolina-based organization. They were asked to adopt a resolution calling for a moratorium against the death penalty in North Carolina.

The group told the local board that the death penalty in North Carolina is unfairly administered and explained that a disproportionate number of felons who are being put to death are poor and/or black. They also explained that two out of every three convictions in the country were overturned on appeal, largely due to incompetent legal representation.

The issue here is not whether counties have the authority to stick its nose in a matter that is reserved for state and federal authorities; nor is the matter whether this particular board of county commissioners should have voted in favor of such a resolution.

What is at issue for me is something that a prominent local pastor said about the death penalty. He spoke during the hearing on the matter and stated that a state-sanctioned death penalty was a direct violation of the Sixth Commandment, which reads, "Thou shalt not kill." (Exodus 20:13)

I never thought I would live to see the day when a pastor would use the Sixth Commandment to argue against the death penalty. It is the worst example of scripture twisting that I have ever seen.

The Ten Commandments were never meant to apply to institutions. God wasn’t speaking to a king or some organization that ruled over others. In fact, just before Moses ever uttered the first commandment to the Israelites, he told them that God told him to say, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Clearly God was speaking directly to people and not the institutions that serve them.

But God did have something to say to those who ultimately judge us for the crimes we commit. It’s known as the "eye for an eye" rule and it reads, "But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." (Exodus 21:23-25)

The truth is many Christians use the above verse to justify personal retaliation, but God never meant for such a standard to be applied in personal relationships. That verse was written for judges and is known as the Law of Retaliation. God told judges to be sure that their punishment fit the crime.

The lesson I learned from this experience is to be sure I never commit the same infraction. We all use Scripture to justify our positions. Let’s be sure we don’t twist it to make our point.

posted by Mike Ruffin on 10/05/2002