Well it's 12:40am and what the Heck I am wide awake, I mine as well tackle the other biggie!
The death penalty.
I know people often are perplexed by a person being pro-choice and against the death penalty.
But, I will just take a second to clue you in to the fact that all the people I know who are anti-choice are also pro death penalty, and I assure you we are just as perplexed.
Once again, it comes down to govenment involvement for me.
Personally, I don't think the death penalty is justice rather I feel it is vengence.
And I do believe that it is said in scripture that vengence in my saith the Lord.
Speaking of scripture, I am completely baffled by Christians who are pro death penalty?
I just recently was made aware of where this position comes from. Apparently because in
the old testement God commanded men to kill other men for injustices. But, wait! I am a christian and this is one of the reasons that I do oppose the death penalty. I understand that
in the old testement things were done a certain way...it was the age of Law. Now, that Chirst
has come, he brought the Age of Grace. We no longer follow those principals, because Jesus taught us a new way. So, as a friend of mine recently said to me when we were having this discussion about the old testement, "keep reading".
So onto the secular part of this position, When a person is executed in our country, it is done by the state, "we the people". I don't want anyone executed in my name. I had this discussion with my brother, Barry, whom I have mentioned here before about this issue. He posed a question to me about a loved one being murdered and wouldn't I want that person put to death. My reply to him was a similar question, that if a loved one of ours was the murderer, would you want him put to death? He thought for a moment and replied, he would have to stand by his principals and say yes. I respect that, I really do. And with that, I replied to him, "why would he think that I wouldn't stand by mine?" Would that be one of the most horrible thing to have to deal with? Of course it would be. Would I be the first person whom had a loved one murdered but stood in a court room asking to please not have the dealth penalty sought? NO, I wouldn't. Let me finish up by saying that I am not a bleeding heart liberal, I think that violent criminals need to be kept off the street. I believe in life sentences with no chance of parole. I believe that the role of government is to protect it's citizens from those who would do us harm but not to protect us from doing harm to ourselves...but that is a subject for another day. I will leave you with one more thought that I will pick up on with my next post. That I also believe that the role of govenment is to do for the people what they can not do for themselves, such as make sure our water and food supply are safe for example...but I digress again...I will follow up on this subject soon as it is obviously timely to the upcoming election.
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Catholic and other Christian References: Support for the Death Penalty
Dudley Sharp, Justice Matters, contact info below
Religious positions in favor of capital punishment are neither necessary not needed to justify that sanction. However, the biblical and theological record is very supportive of the death penalty.
Many of the current religious campaigns against the death penalty reflect a fairly standard anti death penalty message, routed in secular arguments. When they do address religious issues, they often neglect solid theological foundations, choosing, instead, select biblical sound bites which do not impact the solid basis of death penalty support.
The strength of the biblical, theological and traditional support for the death penalty is, partially, revealed, below.
(1)"The Death Penalty", by Romano Amerio, a faithful Catholic Vatican insider, scholar, professor at the Academy of Lugano, consultant to the Preparatory Commission of Vatican II, and a peritus (expert theologian) at the Council.
Thoughtful deconstruction of current Roman Catholic teaching on capital punishment.
www.domid.blogspot.com/2007/05/amerio-on-capital-punishment.html
titled "Amerio on capital punishment ", Chapter XXVI, 187. The death penalty, from the book Iota Unum, May 25, 2007
(2) "Catholic and other Christian References: Support for the Death Penalty", at
www.homicidesurvivors.com/2006/10/12/catholic-and-other-christian-references-support-for-the-death-penalty.aspx
(3) "Capital Punishment: A Catholic Perspective",
by Br. Augustine (Emmanuel Valenza)
www.sspx.org/against_the_sound_bites/capital_punishment.htm
(4) "The Purpose of Punishment (in the Catholic tradition)",
by R. Michael Dunningan, J.D., J.C.L., CHRISTIFIDELIS, Vol.21,No.4, sept 14, 2003
www.st-joseph-foundation.org/newsletter/lead.php?document=2003/21-4
(5) "MOST CATHOLICS OPPOSE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?",
KARL KEATING'S E-LETTER, Catholic Answers, March 2, 2004
www.catholic.com/newsletters/kke_040302.asp
(6) "THOUGHTS ON THE BISHOPS' MEETING: NOWADAYS, VOTERS IGNORE BISHOPS",
KARL KEATING'S E-LETTER, Catholic Answers,, Nov. 22, 2005
www.catholic.com/newsletters/kke_051122.asp
(7) "God’s Justice and Ours" by US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, First Things, 5/2002
www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=2022
(8) "A Seamless Garment In a Sinful World" by John R. Connery, S. J., America, 7/14/84, p 5-8).
(9) "The Death Penalty", by Solange Strong Hertz at
www.ourworld.compuserve.com/HOMEPAGES/REMNANT/death2.htm
(10) "Capital Punishment: What the Bible Says", Dr. Lloyd R. Bailey, Abingdon Press, 1987.
The definitive biblical review of the death penalty.
(11) "Why I Support Capital Punishment", by Andrew Tallman
sections 7-11 biblical review, sections 1-6 secular review
http://andrewtallmanshowarticles.blogspot.com/search?q=Capital+punishment
(12) Forgotten Truths: "Is The Church Against Abortion and The Death Penalty"
by Luiz Sergio Solimeo, Crusade Magazine, p14-16, May/June 2007
www.tfp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=957
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70% of Catholics supported the death penalty as of May, 2oo5, Gallup Poll, Moral Values and Beliefs. The May 2-5, 2005 poll also found that 74% of Americans favor the death penalty for murderers, while 23% oppose.
copyright 1999-2008 Dudley Sharp
Permission for distribution of this document, in whole or in part, is approved with proper attribution.
Dudley Sharp, Justice Matters
e-mail sharpjfa@aol.com, 713-622-5491,
Houston, Texas
Mr. Sharp has appeared on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS , VOA and many other TV and radio networks, on such programs as Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The O'Reilly Factor, etc., has been quoted in newspapers throughout the world and is a published author.
A former opponent of capital punishment, he has written and granted interviews about, testified on and debated the subject of the death penalty, extensively and internationally.
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