The Death Penalty Is Evil

Are we God? Sometimes I have to wonder if that's who we think we are. For who other than God is qualified to take the life of men? As it is written in Samuel 2:6: "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive, he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up." Yet we continue to assume the role of God by allowing the death penalty. I recognize that criminals are sinners and that some are even evil, committing heinous acts that must be punished, just as I recognize a family's desire for retribution when a loved one has been murdered. But thou shalt not kill.

So what should we do when a criminal has committed an act worthy of death? Jail, even assuming a life time of rape at the hands of other prisoners, certainly isn't enough for murderers. And it certainly hasn't prevented murder or any other crime. Murder and crime rates are a thousand times worse than a century ago, when America was a church-going nation and glory was given to God in schools, courts, and culture. Today, God has been ripped from schools, torn from the walls and floors of courts, and made a mockery of in culture. Listen to a rap record and you will hear the glorification of jail and crime, not glorification of the Lord. Such filth should be banned and burned, as should any type of music that rebels against the principles of the Ten Commandments. But placing God in His rightful place -- at the forefront of everything we do, watch, and listen to in life -- is just a beginning, because temptation and sin will always exist, as surely as Satan battles for our souls from Hell. To complete the transformation of our society and deter murder and all crime, we also need a new type of punishment, one not so offensive to God as the bringer of life and death, but that is a glorification of Him and His righteousness. Like in the Old Testament, where He would massacre a town or family for turning away from Him, we need to be equally harsh and righteous. Creative ways of torture and public humiliation would be a perfect way to accomplish this. For murderers, we should amputate legs and arms and sew them back wrong. Where once there was an arm there will be a leg, and a leg an arm. Rapists and child molesters will have their penises cut off and attached to their foreheads. Other crimes will be punished in a less severe, but similarly effective manner. Thieves can have their hands melted together with tar. Drug users will be forced to smoke various poisonous chemicals that burn their lungs until they are permanently scarred. Adulterers, on the other hand, will be placed naked in a glass box that is then placed in the desert where they can sit and cook for a day or two.

This, however, is not enough. Jail is not an effective means of punishment because it is merely a place where criminals are hidden from the public and given an opportunity to forget about the crimes they have committed. The criminal is not taught humility or pain in jail. It is important, then, we correct this by making all punishment available for public viewing. Television cameras should be allowed. Each town should also build public squares where the punishment for its criminals can be given in a more personal, intimate setting. Right next to the square, a church should be built, so the town's worshippers on their way to church can walk by and contemplate the fact that Hell is a thousand times worse than any such punishment.

When a punishment has been carried out, the criminal shall be cast back out into society as a freak. People may laugh at him, feel for him, pray for him, or completely ignore him; but what all will have in common is fear -- fear of sin, crime, and God.

You know the atheist, Christian-hating human rights activists will complain about this new world order. These are the very same people, however, that commit abortion, think it's fine that homosexuals tempt our children to their decadent, sinful lifestyle, and have driven religion from schools and courts. And I say to them how are criminals even human? They have turned from God; they have attacked humanity and stolen the rights of others, such that if the world were left to them, we'd be no better than animals. Letting this happen would do God a great injustice.