Should Christians support the death penalty?
By Steve Cornell The first time I wrote about the death penalty, I was amazed by the number of letters responding to my column. I was especially perplexed at how many Christians wrote to oppose my position. These people made the mistake of assuming that being a Christian requires opposition to the death penalty. This is strange because Scripture clearly supports the practice of capital punishment. God requires capital punishment for premeditated murderers. God said, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God he made man.” (Genesis 9:6). The phrase “sheds man’s blood” as a euphemism for two kinds of putting to death. First, it is used for an act of murder; secondly, for the just-punishment of a murderer. We must not equate these actions. An act of murder is far different from just-punishment of a murderer. One action is criminal; the other a God-ordained function of government. We cannot dismiss this teaching because it comes from the Old Testame
