Haley Stilwell – 1400 Words
Haley Stilwell
December 5, 2019
REL3170
Final Paper
The Traditional Christian Perspective on Capital Punishment
Many Americans and Christians debate the idea of the ethical perspective of the
death penalty. The ultimate punishment should be life in prison without parole, instead of
capital punishment because it will avoid potential wrongful execution. It could also help
eliminate differing opinions on the idea of one group of people executing another person.
This is the idea presented by some scholars of Christian ethics.
The death penalty has been around since 1608. It’s currently used by 30 states, the
federal government, and the military. Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the US. It
has been used as capital punishment for crimes including: murder, treason, large-scale drug
trafficking, etc. It is still used by 30 states, military, and the federal government. The ethical
issue is: how is the government justified to place judgment and death on another human?
Is it alright for another group of people to decide who dies? Which crime is the death
penalty permissible for and which is it not? These are the ideologies and questions that
Christians and others present to help defend their claims behind the morality of the death
penalty, and its role in our country’s justice system.
Haley Stilwell – 1400 Words
The Christian faith traditionally says that God is the ultimate judge. It believes that
one person cannot judge other groups of people. However, God did place Judges or
governments to rule over His people, and for them to instill order among them. Parts of the
Bible says if someone slaps your cheek, you should turn your face so they may smack the
other. Other parts say an eye for an eye. Different denominations of the religion have
different perspectives on the issue, but for the most part, there is still a belief that all life is
sacred and available to repentance.
With this background information and context, one may now understand the
scholarly article written by Christine Gudorf. She explains the tradition of pacifism in the
Christian faith: the standard of non-violence. A quote from a Christian perspective
