by tangent » October 11th, 2005, 10:37 am
Whilst I agree with you that life is sacrosanct, you cannot claim that the commandment in Exodus and Deuteronomy not to murder prohibits the death sentence because Leviticus calls for that as the punishment for adultery (and other crimes). A death sentence is not murder.
We allow armed police to shoot to kill in some situatiuons in order to preserve life (their own or someone else's) and we also allow soldiers to kill during battle even when their lives are not directly in danger. Whilst I am personally against the death sentence, I believe that Christians should support our police forces, soldiers and the government's executioners when they are carrying out their duties. I don't class their actions as murder.