Why there are different attitudes of capital punishment among christians?
Like most topics, you can find Biblical support for either side if you look hard enough. Shakespeare once wrote, “the devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” That said, there are many passages in the Old Testament that support capital punishment, often for relatively mild offenses: – Adultery (Leviticus 20:10) – Blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16) – Breaking the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14 & 15) – Disobedient children (Exodus 21:15 & 17; Leviticus 20:9) – Homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13) – Not being a virgin on your wedding night (but only if you’re a woman – Deuteronomy 22:20-21) Some people cite Romans 13:1-7, which states that all governments are sanctioned by God, and if the government dictates something (like capital punishment), then it is God’s will [you’ll rarely see this passage invoked in the abortion debate]. However, I have yet to see a coherent reconciliation of this passage with governments like Hitler’s Germany, or Stalin’s Russia, or Pol Pot’s Cambodia, or any of the hundreds of ot
