Being up at 5:30AM each morning when the dog gets up, Christa and I have found ourselves watching whatever we can find on TV as we get ready in the morning and play with the dog. After watching the Sopranos on A&E, we have gotten into the show American Justice. The show reflects back on previous court cases, mostly from the 90s. After you set aside the fashion of the time, it is an interesting review of our legal history.
Today they were talking about the power that juries are given in trials. Specifically, they were talking about juries deciding between life in prison or the death penalty.
What struck me after I watched the show this morning was how easy it can be to have a stance on the issues without ever being put directly into a situation in which you need to make that decision. My stance on the death penalty has changed a lot over the years. There was a long time in which I am supportive of the death penalty. I am not as supportive of it now.
Maybe someone else would be capable of saying that someone deserves to die. I couldn't do it. I don't think we as human beings have the right to decide who lives and who dies. Our legal system tries its best to punish criminals for all crimes, including murder. But to respond to death with more death is something that I struggle with. The thought of watching over one another in Christian love can be clouded when we talk about criminals.
Do we believe that everyone is capable of redemption? My reading of Wesley would say that God's grace extends to everyone, no matter how far they are from God. I want to hold tightly to the thought that anyone is at least capable of coming back to God. If Paul could turn from someone who at first was killing the first Christians to someone who became our greatest theologian...then with God, all things are truly possible.
I know there are many Christians that are for the death penalty and that's fine with me. I appreciate that we can disagree and still call ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ. I would be curious to know your thoughts on this issue, on either side.
I wanted to quote from paragraph 164, section G of the Book of Discipline, "We believe the death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore and transform all human beings...we oppose the death penalty (capital punishment) and urge its elimination from all criminal codes."
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