I have something figured out, and then it doesn't make sense any more. Years ago I was a believer in the death penalty. It was clearly spelled out in the Old Testament. Anyone who causes blood to be shed, that person's blood should also be shed. It's all there in the Bible.
But you can get into trouble when you start thinking about what the Bible says. There are all kinds of nuances of meaning. You have to compare stories and situations in the Bible, and consider the laws and commands. Then you have to look at all of that in light of Jesus. Things that seem so straight forward and obvious at first, well, they are a lot more complicated when you consider what the Bible is actually communicating.
That's something I have been working on in recent years. I have taken to heart the idea that the Bible is meditation literature. What scripture says at face value is only part of the picture. Many of the stories and commands in scripture have to be held in tension. The truth is in the tension.
With capital punishment, the straight forward teaching in the Old Testament must be held in tension with the words of Jesus. One time the religious people brought to him a woman caught in adultery. They quoted the scripture that said she should be stoned. But Jesus would not sanction the death penalty for her. He made the point that we all have sinned. And he cautioned her to leave her life of sin. He granted her life.
Jesus is about life. When someone is executed, we take away from them the opportunity to turn away from sin. We all need new chances.
I no longer support the death penalty.
