Save Michael Morales?
I recently read an article entitled “Save Michael Morales“. The author asks the following question:
The question remains, should we, at the execution hour of 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 21, care if Michael Morales lives or dies?
Unfortunately, he gives the following answer to his rhetorical question:
The answer is yes. We cannot ignore the intrinsic immorality of state-sponsored murder. If the right to life is a fundamental human right, it must apply universally, to all human beings.
We will always fall short in our efforts to honor human rights, to forgive, to reconcile, to rehabilitate and to heal. But we cannot, must not, institutionalize murder.
Is his answer correct? Partially. We, as individuals and human beings, will always fall short in those areas. However, the view of a “right to life,” from a Christian perspective, should actually be viewed as a “gift of life.” Life is a God-given gift, and as such, God can take it away. So then we must ask the question is “state-sponsored murder” actually immoral? Is it actually murder? Or is it God carrying out his wrath and vengeance on the unrighteous?
We must start with the question, “Is capital punishment in conflict with the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’”? I would argue that it is not. The Ten Commandments were given to the individual, not the State. And if you continue reading beyond the Ten Commandments, you will see that there was penalty of death, or capital punishment, for breaking The Law. These consequences for certain actions were God-given penalties for breaking The Law.
It is clear then, that in Old Testament times, individuals were not to execute their own vengeance. The State, however, was given authority by God (”He removes kings and sets up kings” - Daniel 2:21 ESV) to execute this judgement. There is a clear division between the individual and the State.
This continues in the New Testament; specifically, the book of Romans. As in the Old Testament, individuals are not to execute their own vengeance:
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” - Romans 12:19 ESV
Then in chapter 13, Paul reminds us that all authority is given by God, and that it is within the power of that authority to carry out His vengeance:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. - Romans 13:1-4
The key here is the end of verse 4: “For he [the ruler] is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” Martin Luther explains this insures “that the virtuous have outward peace and protection and that the wicked cannot do evil without fear.”
John Wesley makes this commentary on verses 3 & 4:
There is one fear which precedes evil actions, and deters from them: this should always remain. There is another fear which follows evil actions: they who do well are free from this. The sword - The instrument of capital punishment, which God authorizes him to inflict.
So the authority of capital punishment is given to the authorities by God to carry out His vengeance against evil.
An aside here, and maybe a topic for another time is that there are those who would argue Paul’s statement, “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad” is all well and good in a society like ours, but what about “bad” governments? It is easy to forget that Paul actually wrote this during a time when Christians weren’t exactly embraced by Romans trying to attract a voting block. Rome in Paul’s day was pretty unfriendly, to say the least, towards Christians. I think that drives home one point that Paul is trying to make - that without government, there is only anarchy. And which is worse?
Back the original article, David Howard states, “If we nurture our young in the ways of love and nonviolence, our violent crime rates will plummet.” And I fully agree. But at the individual level. If we as individuals, as Christians, practice love and compassion, that certainly carries into our next generations.
But I disagree with his closing statement, “Capital punishment dehumanizes us. In avenging the murder, we become the murderers.” We, the individuals, do not avenge murder through capital punishment. If we carry out our own vengeance, we do become murderers ourselves. However, as we have seen, the power of the State is authority given by God to carry out his will - even to the point of death. “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed… For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
Comments
Leave a Reply
![[Valid RSS]](/wp-images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
