Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
The first time I heard of Pastor Nadakhani I was struck by his courage in the face of aversity. The Iranian authorities have barely been under any international pressure, so they have decided to enjoy their mind games by stepping things up a notch…
[Pastor Nadarkhani] who refuses to renounce his Christian faith could be hanged as soon as Wednesday, after a trial court ruling this week upheld his death sentence for “apostasy.”
Religious freedom advocates are calling urgently for governments to take up the case of Youcef Nadarkhani, a 32-year-old evangelical first sentenced to death late last year. If the sentence is carried out he will be the first Iranian Christian known to have been executed for his faith in 21 years. …Read More!
This is an ethical conundrum we have all thought about at one point. Enjoying God Ministries goes at length to put this question into Biblical context. To begin with…
Death Penalty
Contrary to what many suppose, there is not a consensus in the Christian community on the morality of capital punishment. Although a majority of evangelicals probably endorse CP, at least in the case of premeditated murder, a significant minority oppose it. For example, representatives of the American Baptist Convention adopted this resolution in 1960 concerning CP:
- “Because the Christian believes in the inherent worth of human personality and in the unceasing availability of God’s mercy, forgiveness, and redemptive power, and
- Because the Christian wholeheartedly supports the emphasis in modern penology upon the process of creative, redemptive rehabilitation rather than on punishment and primitive retribution, and
- Because the deterrent effects of capital punishment are not supported by available evidence, and
- Because the death penalty tends to brutalize the human spirit and the society which condones it, and
- Because human agencies of legal justice are fallible, permitting the possibility of the executing of the innocent, There’s More
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 