“If a person intentionally takes an innocent life, they forfeit their right to live. The highest moral position is to take the guilty life as payment for the innocent one. Where is the morality in letting the guilty person live?”
I try to live the New Testament as a Christian rather than the Old Testament.
good for you.
I seek a just world and I believe the death penalty is defensible in the eye of God and by most moral definitions.
When Jesus surrendered to the death penalty was he actually against it?
It seems to me you are confusing judgement and discerning. We ARE called upon to exercise discretion.
The civil authorities who bare the sword as ministers of God’s vengeance are also carrying out their New Testament role. We need to follow the whole New Testament, not cherry pick.