Question: “What does the Bible say about the death penalty / capital punishment?”

Answer: The Old Testament law commanded the death penalty for various acts: murder (Exodus 21:12), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), bestiality (Exodus 22:19), adultery (Leviticus 20:10), homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), being a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:5), prostitution and rape (Deuteronomy 22:24), and several other crimes.

However, God often showed mercy when the death penalty was due.

David committed adultery and murder, yet God did not demand his life be taken (2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17; 2 Samuel 12:13).

Ultimately, every sin we commit should result in the death penalty because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Thankfully, God demonstrates His love for us in not condemning us (Romans 5:8).

When the Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus and asked Him if she should be stoned, Jesus replied, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). This should not be used to indicate that Jesus rejected capital punishment in all instances.

Jesus was simply exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus into breaking the Old Testament law; they did not truly care about the woman being stoned (where was the man who was caught in adultery?)

God is the One who instituted capital punishment: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). Jesus would support capital punishment in some instances. Jesus also demonstrated grace when capital punishment was due (John 8:1-11). The apostle Paul definitely recognized the power of the government to institute capital punishment where appropriate (Romans 13:1-7).

How should a Christian view the death penalty? First, we must remember that God has instituted capital punishment in His Word; therefore, it would be presumptuous of us to think that we could institute a higher standard. God has the highest standard of any being; He is perfect.

This standard applies not only to us but to Himself. Therefore, He loves to an infinite degree, and He has mercy to an infinite degree. We also see that He has wrath to an infinite degree, and it is all maintained in a perfect balance.

Second, we must recognize that God has given government the authority to determine when capital punishment is due (Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:1-7).

It is unbiblical to claim that God opposes the death penalty in all instances. Christians should never rejoice when the death penalty is employed, but at the same time, Christians should not fight against the government’s right to execute the perpetrators of the most evil of crimes.

Recommended Resource:  The Death Penalty: An Historical and Theological Survey

Liberty University announced recently that it will undergo a $120 million major construction upgrade over the next three years to steer it towards a new age of expansion and progress.

The Lynchburg-based University raised the funds in just two days in New York City by selling 30-year, tax-exempt education facilities bonds. In so doing, they will not have to cull funds from their endowment, fostering even quicker growth overall, ABC 13 reported.

Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. told PR Newswire, “It is humbling for me to witness God’s blessings of such magnitude on Liberty University. This is a wonderful Christmas gift to Liberty and its students.”

In the past, Liberty had used its own cash reserves to pay for major capital projects. However, it chose this time to make use of the prevailing low interest rates, tax-exempt financing and low construction costs, PR Newswire said.

Construction plans

The News and Advance said the showpiece of the overall plan will be the refurbishing of the back of the DeMoss Learning Center, where there are currently a number of buildings, a cafeteria and a small courtyard.

LU will demolish the older buildings to give way to a large outdoor quad and a freestanding library. Falwell said, “That’s something we’ve never had on campus, an open area for students to enjoy the outdoors and just sort of a green area,” The News and Advance reported.

An 8,000 square-foot land area in Campbell County will be used for a new health sciences building for LU’s existing nurses’ programs, plus new programs for physical therapists, athletic trainers, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, The News and Advance said.

ABC 13 said LU will additionally build a new practice area for the basketball team, and an intramural sports complex. Eventually, it hopes to add a large parking deck.

Fallwell said about $72 million of the money raised will pay for recently-completed capital projects. He told PR Newswire the new campus facilities “will greatly enhance the educational experience for students, [and] will revolutionize the look and feel of the campus.”

S & P Rating

LU acquired an AA bond rating from Standard & Poor’s, ranking it alongside the top 44 S&P-rated colleges and universities including Cornell University, John Hopkins University and Emory University, PR Newswire said.

Its high bond rating is due to LU’s strong financial grounding of late. Net assets increased from $100 million in 2007 to $530 million today, PR Newswire said. It is expected to exceed $1 billion by 2014, a goal which the late Jerry Falwell, LU founder, had targeted for 2017.

Falwell Jr. told ABC 13, “There’s going to be a lot of dirt flying around Lynchburg here the next few years.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to justify the Jewish state’s contested claim on the city before a parliamentary session.

According to Reuters, Netanyahu said “Jerusalem” and its Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism’s core canon.

In the Christian New Testament, Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times, Netanyahu said. He noted that none of the 16 Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran.

However, in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s comments came on Jerusalem Day, an Israeli national holiday marked by tens of thousands of Israelis marching through the city singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags.

Jerusalem Day commemorates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in June 1967, marking the unification of their ancient capital.

However the Palestinians consider the annexation of East Jerusalem illegal. They anticipate East Jerusalem to be the capital city of a future Palestinian state. Israel has pledged that Jerusalem will remain united as their capital city.

Jerusalem lies within Israel’s boundaries.  Mayor Nir Barkat added that the city’s boundaries are “nonnegotiable” according to Aol.News.

Holy sites

Jerusalem is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  For the Jews, the Western Wall, which is part of Solomon’s Temple that was destroyed in 70 AD, is the holiest site in Jerusalem.

For Christians the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the traditional burial place of Jesus and a regular pilgrimage place.
For Muslims, the gold-topped dome of the Rock, is believed by them to be where Muhammad ascended to heaven, Aol News reported.

Also, the Al-Aqsa mosque makes Jerusalem the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

However, the Al-Aqsa mosque stands on a plaza that Jews revere as the vestige of two biblical Jewish temples, according to Reuters.

In the international community a united Jerusalem under Israel is not recognized.

Many countries agree that East Jerusalem should be the future capital of a future Palestinian state.

Indirect peace negotiations with the Palestinians resumed this month after one to one and a half years of U.S. trouble-shooting.

However, the Israel and Palestine remain at odds over the issue of Israel which Palestine refuses to formally recognize as a Jewish state, Reuters reported.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Netanyahu’s recent comments, “I find it very distasteful, this use of religion.

East Jerusalem is an occupied Palestinian town, and East Jerusalem cannot continue to be occupied if there is to be peace,” according to Reuters.

Netanyahu promised that while Israel would retain control over all of Jerusalem, they would ensure freedom of worship at its holy sites.

However, Palestinians over the last decade have had limited access to al-Aqsa.  Christians in the West Bank also note similar problems in Jerusalem churches, Reuters reported.

There are 750,000 people in Jerusalem, two in three of them Jews with the remainder mostly Muslim Palestinians.

Some Palestinians are aligned with the Islamist Hamas, while those who would like peace blame Israel for sabotaging peace prospects because they insist East Jerusalem is a Jewish birthright, Reuters reported.