[Barf Alert] Catholic bishops urge Florida governor to spare death-row inmate

Thanks Mrs. Don-o.

It may sound ridiculous to some, but I believe that Jesus was not opposed to the death penalty.

First, death was the prescribed punishment for lots and lots of crimes, as detailed in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. Death was prescribed for striking one's father or for working on the Sabbath. Not just murder. Many other crimes were capital offenses.

And when Jesus made the New Covenant, He did not, with the New Covenant, abolish the entirety of the old Jewish Law in these books. Rather, he said, he came to fulfill the Law.

Next, at His trial by Annas and the Senhedrin, Jesus did not object to the fact that he was being tried for a capital crime, rather he objected to the violations of procedure that he saw: The non-corroboration of two witnesses. Being sentenced for a completely different crime he was not initially indicted for.

Being sentenced for a crime that he admitted to doing at trial himself (admitting he was the Son of God).

Note that being the Son of God or claiming to be was not the initial crime he was indicted for.

Note also that, even then, it was not proper legally for someone to have an admission of a crime serve as evidence against himself (an ancient legal concept proscribing self-incrimination that was part of the ancient law, English Common Law, and was of course enshrined in our Constitution as the Fifth Amendment).

Next, when struck by the guard for replying to the high priest in a manner thought contemptuous, Jesus said, "Bear witness to whatever untruth or wrong I have said or done. But if I have said or done none, then, why hit me?"

Lastly, the thing Jesus DID NOT SAY was, 'capital punishment is bad in all cases, for this and for all crimes, and you are wrong for doing this.' He did not say that because it would have been contrary to the Old Testament Law, which was not revoked by Jesus. The Ten Commandments and the Old Law are still intact. Including the death penalty.

Postscript: St. Thomas Aquinas elaborated on the validity and specific implementation of the death penalty in the Summa.

Postscript 2: The Catechism of the Church also has endorsed the validity of the death penalty, and this has not been overturned by any encyclical or council of the Church.

IMHO.

Thank you for your thought-provoking comments.

Jesus did not oppose the death penalty per se. In the one "case"that was actually brought to Him for comment --- that of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery --- He did not object that she was innocent; He did not say adultery was not serious and should not be a capital crime; He did not say the rulers had no authority to execute an evildoer.

His one objection was that, in this crowd of accusers, there was (apparently) not one there who was fit to cast the first stone. There was not one there who was without sin.

He approaches it from an unexpected angle.

In His own case before Pilate, He did not object to the fact that as secular ruler, Pilate had the right to crucify Him, saying that he had that right "from above ."

Nor did he apparently think the ruler had to be sinless to carry out the sentence. He was acting with authority "from above."

Of course in this case Pilate set up the execution unjustly, in permitting the execution of a Man known to be innocent. Pilate acted horribly wrongly. But my point is that Jesus did not dispute Pilate's right, as lawful ruler, to administer such a punishment on evildoers.

And with reference to the criminal crucified next to Him, Jesus did not say that capital punishment was "inadmissible" or assert that he didn't deserve it. It's apparent from the context that Jesus approved of the criminal's statement that he had indeed was being executed justly for his evil deeds, while Jesus, a sinless man, did not deserve it.

Capital punishment being inherently unjust or contrary to human dignity, is an argument that Christ rather conspicuously did not make.

And not because he didn't have the very pressing opportunity.

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