Today I've pondered a great question, which I've wrestled with for years now. I praise God that I am personally emotionally detached from the reality of this great struggle, this struggle over the control of life.
Does anyone have the right to take a life?
I am pro-life. I view abortion as one of the most evil things a society can condone. It is interesting to me how the talk about abortion is all politics now. Few people on either side of the fence seem interested in why people get abortions or what societal factors create its acceptance... but that is not the story today.
Today I was in speech class, a class I really enjoy, a place where I've learned some amazing things about some amazing people. It's a summer class, so it's really fast paced, but I've still been able to have many deep conversations with the people in there. I absolutely surprised by the spectrum of faith I've found there. It's truly profound. I can't think of a single person in that class that would profess any athiesm or agnosticism, everyone has claimed God in some way I believe... but, again, that is not my point here. Today, Christina, a young latino girl with a heart of passion and the desire to become a prosecutor, gave a speech today defending Capital Punishment. She quoted the old testament where it says "an eye for an eye", and I'll admit I cringed. But she gave a decent speech that was a little lacking in logic, but still given with passion, which often, for better or for worse makes up for logic. I'm becoming a logic-junkie...so much so it is kinda scaring me, haha! After her speech I spoke with her a little bit, trying to pick her mind. We discussed some different ideas, and i tried to pull her ideas to their logical conclusion. I'm not sure if we saw eye to eye, but seeing eye to eye was, itself, the point. I had my bible with me and turned to Matthew 5:38-39 which says: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Earlier she had quoted what Jesus quotes in this passage, Exodus 21:24, where God is describing the punishment, in His law for His people, concerning someone who hits a pregnant woman and the baby dies. It says an "eye for an eye" which is interesting in this context and what that says about life and abortion.... but that is not the topic right now. I attempted to unpack how Jesus was qualifying what "an eye for an eye" meant during the sermon on the mount. I am no biblical scholar, and the old-testament law still causes me to ask God some honest questions, but Jesus' words ring true with his triumph over sin on the cross. Jesus' sermon on the mount was vertigo, flipping people's understanding of what the God we serve demands of us. Oswald Chambers in Biblical Ethics said "To preach the Sermon on the Mount apart from the Cross is to preach an impossibility". But Christ has made a way. He has made a way in a world there is no justice. He made a way for us to come to the Father, despite our sin....
I don't know if Christina heard my words, or if she knew the implications of this passage on her passion for retribution and worldly "justice". It was not my intent to argue with her or even prover her wrong, and we didn't argue although some class members asked me those loaded questions that, again, have zero logic in them: "so you're saying people who rape people should be set free?!?" which is a common idea about people, like me, who use morality to persuade people to give up their passion for capital punishment and admit there may be a better way. As if you were against Capital Punishment you would be against any prison time. I'm saying No CP but the alternate to CP being life without parole. So there, I said it. I'm against capital punishment... and the day I had to fight to define and defend my world view came on the day the Supreme Court made it illegal to kill a man who rapes a child.... As many of you know God is moving my expertise and passion into issues of gender rights and abuse rights etc... and rape is obviously one of the most evil and destructive acts that one can inflict upon a soul. It is easily akin to murder. It is wrong and there is no defense under the sun that should allow people who have committed these terrible acts to have the opportunity to inflict damage again. I was left with a quandary in my mind. How much do I believe what I believe? A long time ago, I used to argue for capital punishment, citing non-existent stats that show it lowers violent crime. I used to believe those people, those monsters deserve it (as if they were so different than me). When the Carr brothers executed my teacher, Mr. Bedford and five others, when I was in High School, I was for the death penalty. I had been, I always thought I would be.
Jesus changes some things though.... I'm the worst sinner I know, and I'm not afraid to tell you I've thought deeply about killing some people. Not so much recently, but in the past. A small part of my choice to join the Marine Corps was to fulfill my ideal of "judgment and justice". I never killed anyone during my time in the Corps, although my actions in Iraq could have resulted in the death of people. I am ok with that at this point in time. I have peace with God concerning this, but I cannot support the Death Penalty in the United States (or anywhere for that matter). We are not the most unjust nation, but I see severe amounts of injustice in our justice system and for the state to take a life is too much for me to condone. Capital punishment, in my opinion and conviction, is not justice. It is retribution. We as a society have given the stamp of approval saying "violence is ok". I see it more and more in my study of men's relationship to women in our own society, where misogyny is the rule, not the exception. Our society wrought with "Grand Theft Auto" and violent movies etc. I love violent movies, and i'm not immune to their affects. I guess I'm working out the particulars of my conviction... I'm full of contradictions perhaps. Some could call me a hypocrite at times. I am not categorically against war or killing when it is necessary to protect life. I'm not sure what to think about this war, but after my wrestlings with this subject I've come back to realizing the sinful nature of the world necessitates war, in theory, from time to time... but I'm open to a change of heart... I, along with the world, am in the process of being redeemed after all!
I don't say all this to preach to you, but to express the desire for people to perhaps hear me out and dialog with me about what they think. Please separate Kingdom values from Americanized cultural values please. Do you think that society can condone a life for a life? Are people redeemable? Do you think our nation has learned that justice is served when a heart stops beating in the lethal injection chair? Was Moses a murderer? Is there and Justice apart from God? What is your opinion on Capital Punishment?
I'm not arguing for "moral equivalency" but aren't those "monsters" we commit to death sinners like us? I can promise you I've committed 1st degree murder in my heart, Jesus says I'm guilty (albeit forgiven by His grace and love)
Questions I struggle with.... I'm not jumping for joy for the new Supreme Court ruling, even though it will keep people off death row... perhaps I'm somewhere in between... trying to balance all things in life with my conviction: Justice and Mercy
He has showed us, my friends, what is good. And what does the LORD require of us? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8, emphasis and minor "you/us" language-changes mine)
Thanks.
Dan
ps. 1 week until Africa. I will tell you my opinion on this subject when I return from hearing these women's stories....
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