Have you noticed that many people who proclaim the sacredness of human life are both against abortion on demand and in favor of the death penalty? This would seem to be a contradiction of their central precept. But it is also true that many who are against the death penalty because of the barbarism of taking a human life, are also in favor of abortion, which is understood by a majority of people as an act of barbarism. I confess that I find the nomenclature (“choice,” “fetus,” “tissue,” etc) and perspective that an unborn child is not really a person unconvincing and self-serving. I’d prefer that proponents of abortion would simply acknowledge that a woman’s personal choice is more important to them than an unborn child’s life because this is the clear implication of their position.
But I am also troubled by the flippant, even militant demand for justice through the death penalty by those who avow the sanctity of human life. However, this position is not as inconsistent as it appears on the surface. Justice, in the strict sense, does require a life for a life. Indeed, this is God’s point in Genesis 9:5-6 when He instituted the death penalty, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning . . .Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His image.” Indeed, it is a high view of the sanctity of human life that requires a life for a life. Anything less diminishes the seriousness of the crime! So I am sympathetic to the pro death penalty position. I believe the death penalty can be a matter of justice.
However, aside from its uneven and unfair implementation, a strict policy of justice makes me uncomfortable. Absolute justice makes us all squirm. We have all lived in dependence upon mercy and forgiveness. We should not flippantly demand justice for others when we regularly are the recipients of benevolent grace. It is true that we do not regularly murder people, but we are guilty of many lesser offences and we certainly do not argue for the strict implementation of justice in these cases. We are always seeking forgiveness and another chance whether it is at home, at work, or at school. Jesus told the religious leaders who had brought a woman caught in adultery to him for stoning, “Let him who is without sin among you, be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).
In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus told a parable to make this precise point. A servant who was forgiven an enormous debt turned to another and refused to forgive a much smaller debt. “Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Evidently, there will be a reckoning, not only for murder, but also for refusing to dispense mercy. Because human life is sacred the death penalty for taking another life is just. But our humble dependence upon mercy from others and from God ought to temper our demand for justice!
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by Dr. J. Patrick Curtis, Senior Pastor
Valley Bible Church
851 Fairview Terrace
White River Junction, VT
Sponsored by Valley Bible Church
Published in the Valley News Tuesday, March 15 , 2005
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