I have been asked a few times whether or not the Death Penalty is moral. Some of you will read this and immediately jump to “Of course it’s moral.” Others will take the opposite stance just as fast. And so, it is understandable that I would receive this question two times in the last month or so. And it also makes sense that we would see it debated and discussed in public often.
I should also say that I hate to see the life of someone ended. I don’t relish it. In fact, there is something within me that shutters at the thought of someone being sentenced to death, waiting to die, and then being put to death. It seems like a horror to go through. And so, part of me recoils at the thought of it.
And I also want to add to the complicated nature of this discussion by saying that the Roman Catholic Church has moved away from the death penalty quite drastically in recent years. They changed the Roman Catholic Catechism to say that the death penalty is immoral. They take the opposite stance that I will in this blog post.
The Roman Catholic Church changed its stance on the death penalty back in 2018.
This was not, as I understand it, a change made by the Pope all of a sudden. This is something that had been discussed for years among Roman Catholics before it made it into their catechism.
I am not Roman Catholic. I don’t agree with a lot of different things found within the Roman Catholic Catechism. But I can also say that, on moral issues, I find myself in agreement with them often. When I go to Pro-Life rallies, I am surrounded by Roman Catholics. And so, when we disagree on moral issues, it seems significant.
But the interesting thing about this is that the Roman Catholic Church’s logic found in the catechism is the exact opposite of the logic found in Scripture. And that’s why I find them to be wrong on this issue.
What Does The Bible Say?
As a Protestant, I immediately run to the Scriptures to see what it says on the matter. And the Scriptures are quite plain on the matter.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. (Genesis 9:6 ESV)
The idea is not complex. It’s there in plain writing. The person that sheds the blood of another person is to have his own blood shed.
I might feel a twinge within myself as I think about the death penalty. But that twinge is submitted to what God said in His Word.
God’s Logic On The Death Penalty
For our discussion today, notice the reason this will take place. “for God made man in His own image.” The reason that this is to happen is the dignity of mankind. Because God created man in His image, the penalty of death is given for killing another human being.
I want to set this in as clear a contrast as possible with the Roman Catholic position, because I see it as a placeholder for the position of a whole lot of other folks as well. So, here it is. God made man in His own image. He created man with a dignity not bestowed upon other creatures. And so, to murder another human being is such a heinous crime that, the person who commits murder is to be put to death.
The Roman Catholic Logic
I said earlier that the Roman Catholic logic on this question is the exact opposite of the Bibles logic. Notice what is said in the Roman Catholic Catechism.
“Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissable because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.”
The Bible and The RCC both start with the dignity of human beings. However, from that point, we find a great divergence. The death penalty, the RCC argues is an attack on the dignity of the human being. The Bible states that because the person decided to murder another human being that has this dignity, they are to be killed.
Conclusion
I use the Roman Catholic Catechism as an example of what a lot of people believe today. The argument is that the death penalty is inhumane. That’s the reason many states do not do it. And it seems that the RCC says something very similar.
Everyone sees the dignity of mankind. But the dignity of mankind is defended when we use capital punishment. When people are put to death for murder as God commanded in His Word.
Is the death penalty moral? Yes, it is. When the death penalty is rightly applied and fairly applied, it is moral.
R. Dwain Minor
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