EPQ draft

There is biblical evidence to suggets that supports the death penalty shown in the old and new testament. In genesis 9:6 there is a quote that reads; "whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed." This is ultimately agreeing with the idea of retribution-"an eye for an eye." In the old testament there are 36 capital offences specified including murder, however, Christians are fond of the belief that "Christians say it is inconsistent to preserve murder alone as a capital crime." The new testimant openly talks of the most famous biblical execution, which is Jesus on the cross. In matthew 15:4 Jesus says "He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die." Even though Jesus does not use voilence to excersize his belief or power, there is knowehere in the bible that suggests the state can not comdemn capital punishment. There is a quote in Romans 13:4 that reads does not bear the sword in vain; for he is the servant of God to execute His wrath on the wrongdoer" This is a clear and apparent reference to capital punishment which suggests that those who have done wrongly are admittable for capital punishment. The assemblies of God quoted in July 28, 2008 "Opinion in the Assemblies of God on capital punishment is mixed. However, more people associated with the Assemblies of God probably favor capital punishment for certain types of crimes such as premeditated murder than those who would oppose capital punishment without reservation. This consensus grows out of a common interpretation that the Old Testament sanctions capital punishment, and nothing in the New Testament negates maximum punishment as society's means of dealing effectively with serious crimes..." (http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000986)If we look at the opinion polls from the years 2001-2004, the data shows that 65% of those who are weekly churchgoers favour capital punishment. (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/religion-and-death-penalty)Most Chrisitians who are in favour of the death penalty are of the belief that the state acts out of authority of God whom has the authonomy to dispose of life out of his own freewill. This argument was expressed through the philosophy of St.Augustine. "The same divine law which forbids the killing of a human being allows certain exceptions, as when God authorises killing by a general law or when He gives an explicit commission to an individual for a limited time. Since the agent of authority is but a sword in the hand, and is not responsible for the killing, it is in no way contrary to the commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill' to wage war at God's bidding, or for the representatives of the State's authority to put criminals to death, according to law or the rule of rational justice." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/capitalpunishment_1.shtml)There is an argument that capital punishment is similar to suicide. The argument is that if a person kills another human being, there are ultimately surrendering their own life to the state if they are caught. Pope Puis XII quoted "Even when there is question of the execution of a condemned man, the State does not dispose of the individual's right to life. In this case it is reserved to the public power to deprive the condemned person of the enjoyment of life in expiation of his crime when, by his crime, he has already dispossessed himself of his right to life." There are also arguments that suggests Christianity is against the idea of capital punishment. Augustine quoted "Life is a precious gift from God and only he has the authonomy to take it away." Father Gino Concetti, L'Osservatore argued against Augustine and quoted "In light of the word of God, and thus of faith, life--all human life--is sacred and untouchable. No matter how heinous the crimes ... [the criminal] does not lose his fundamental right to life, for it is primordial, inviolable, and inalienable, and thus comes under the power of no one whatsoever." He is ultimately suggesting therre should be no exceptions to the established Christian teaching of 'Thou shalt not kill." All human life is sacred and is not ours to dispose of under any circumstance. There is further argument that the teachings of the bible are inconsistent. The New testament says that there are 35 crimes that are permittable for the death penalty, however, in modern society we would no longer consider such crimes such as; Blasphemy, Idolatry, magic etc, applicable for the death penalty. The bible speaks of forgiveness and compassion, such as the biblical quote "Love thy neighbour and pray for those who persecute you." However, how can we convery such forgiveness with the death penalty in place. We do not know if these criminals could reform and turn thier faith into a supreme being such as God, if they do not have a chance of reformation. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/capitalpunishment_1.shtml). The united methodist church believes that the power of the church is reformation for criminals who have disobeyed the law, therefore they are in full disagreement with the death penalty. They are fond of the belief that "all human life is sacred" No matter how your actions have impacted someone else. When law permitts the death penalty, any hope of that person reforming is taking away, and they are ultimately devalued from society. They go on to quote "For this reason, we oppose the death penalty (capital punishment) and urge its elimination from all criminal codes." (http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=6385) The religious views of Buddhism do not have an established opinion when regarding the death penalty, they nor agree or disagree. If we look at Buddhist teachings, it is obvious that the death oenalty is not compatible with thier beliefs. A quote from the Buddha states "An action, even if it brings benefit to oneself, cannot be considered a good action if it causes physical and mental pain to another being." This does not neccesserily relate to the issue of Capital punishment however has a calrifiable connotation that it is not moral nor good to cause physical harm if pain to another human being. When discussing life after death Buddhists believe in the process of reincarnation which is that you will be reborn into another body in your next life depending on the quality of life you have previously lived. Buddhists believe that with the death penalty in place, this will have an effect on both the offender and the punisher. Buddhism teaches that reformation of a criminal is much more desirable than their execution, as it gives them a chance to rectify their mistakes, which is ultimately the paramount importance. Despite such firm belief against the death oenalty, there are still some Buddhist influenced countries that continue to use it. An example of this is Thailand. It is essential to consider however that there is no country that considers Buddhism as thier official religon. These contries that do support the death penalty however are not always influenced by religion. Politicians have the authority to establish laws such as capital punishment as they believe it brings detterence to criminals and future convicts. They also may be influenced by the history of that country, if they have had abided by the death penalty in earlier centuries then they are non the wiser to accept it and believe it is a functional part of society. Alarid and Wang the contradiction stems from popular and monastic Buddhism. Lay Buddhists are show complete dedication in thier commitments of faith, however, others believe it is superficial and unfitting with daily life. The Buddha Dharma education suggested that Capital punishment entails killing which goes against the Buddhist first precept of 'do not kill.' throughout history there have been devoted Buddhist monarchs who have abolished capital punishment, there are still Buddhist influenced countries that legalise capital punishment however it is incompatible with the teachings of the Koran and Buddha. (http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd20.htm) Judaism has a strong disagreement towards the study of the death penalty. During the time when Jewish law operated as a secular and relgious jurisdiction, it rarely imposed the death penalty. The death penalty was abolished in Israel in 1954, however, this was with the exception of Nazi war criminals. In the 54 years that Israel has existed as an independent state, only one person has been executed. This person was Adolf Eichman, a Nazi war criminal with particular responsibility for the Holocaust. The old testament preached philosophies such as; "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth..." Exodus 21:23-24, There is a quote in genesis 9:6 that reads "A man who spills human blood, his own blood shall be spilled by man because God made man in His own Image." However, to truly understand the teachings of Jewish law one must read the Torah and consult the Talmud. The rabbis who wrote the Talmud made it exceptionally clear that they were intolerable of the death penalty, they achieved this through teachings of the sanctity of life, the use of emphasis of anti-death philosophies such as 'Thou shalt not kill." Finding alternative punishment for criminals, or compensation for the victims families, also imposing precedioral barriers that made the death penalty inoperative. Hinduism has a world wide established teaching of Ghandi that suggests "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Hindus nor favour nor disregard the death penalty however they do oppose killing, violence and revenge, following the principle of ahisma-non-voilence. India still has leglisation of the death penalty for reasons similar to Buddhist influenced countries, such as political influence, history of the country etc. There was contraversy raised with the debate on capital punisment in India through the case of Dhananjoy Chatterjee who had been sentenced for rape and murder, however his plea of freedom was denied and he was executed by hanging. There are over 100 people presently facing death row in India however this is suggested considerably low, and the death penalty is only used in the rarest of cases.